Suchart Champions PM's Community Forest and Carbon Credit Policy to Generate Income and Improve Quality of Life
Thailand's environment ministry is accelerating community forest initiatives and carbon credit programs to generate income for rural communities, with over 12,000 community forests already established nationwide.
Suchart Champions PM's Community Forest and Carbon Credit Policy to Generate Income and Improve Quality of Life
On May 5, 2025, Natural Resources and Environment Minister Suchart Chomklin ordered the Royal Forest Department to accelerate implementation of the Prime Minister's directive to advance natural resource management alongside grassroots economic development. The focus is on promoting community forests and concretely advancing carbon credits to communities to generate income and long-term security for the public.
Royal Forest Department Director-General Nikorn Sirarojananond announced that the department has established policy guidelines to accelerate tangible community forest initiatives, emphasizing increased community forest establishment. Currently, the department has established over 12,000 community forests across the country, providing citizens the opportunity to sustainably and appropriately utilize forest resources. This is coupled with support enabling communities to register for carbon credits and gain genuine access to carbon trading markets.
Additionally, efforts aim to increase fair benefit-sharing from carbon credits to communities and expand community forest initiatives to other categories of state land for broader coverage. The department is also supporting academic research to validate the economic, social, and environmental benefits of community forests.
This policy serves as a crucial mechanism for strengthening communities, aligning with the government's approach to improving quality of life and driving the country toward sustainable low-carbon society. The Royal Forest Department affirms its continued commitment to advancing the community forest policy, enabling public participation in natural resource conservation and balanced forest utilization for long-term community and national sustainability.
