National Annual Tree Loving Day in Thailand Date in the current year: October 21, 2024

National Annual Tree Loving Day was created to raise awareness of the problem of deforestation, which is one of the major environmental issues in Thailand, alongside climate change, raising sea level, air and water pollution, waste management, and overfishing. The main causes of deforestation in Thailand are population growth, inefficient agricultural and land ownership policy, and illegal logging enabled by corrupt government officials.

The history of Thai forest management dates back to 1896, when King Chulalongkorn (Rama V) established the Royal Forest Department that was entrusted with managing forests and controlling revenue from the teak forests of northern Thailand. Three years later, the king declared all forests government property and banned all logging without the permission of the Royal Forest Department.

Unfortunately, instead of being concerned with forest conservation, the Thai government and forest management authorities were interested in gaining as much profit from logging and timber export as possible. Although the government began to establish forest conservation areas in the 1960s, the situation worsened during the period of political instability in the 1970s, when the army began to clear forest where insurgents took shelter.

According to estimates, forest cover in Thailand declined from 61% to 34% of the country’s land area during three decades between 1945 and 1975, and Thailand proceeded to lose even more of its forest after that. Following the introduction of a complete ban on all commercial logging in 1989, the expansion of agricultural lands has been the main cause of deforestation in Thailand, although illegal logging remains an issue as well.

Deforestation is a major contributor to green house effect. It also affects the water cycle, leading to erosion, flooding and landslide, and causes decline in biodiversity. Therefore, in the long term, deforestation does more harm than good to Thailand’s agriculture and has a detrimental effect on the country’s unique mangrove ecosystems.

To combat deforestation, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment of Thailand approved a 20-year strategic plan with the goal of increasing the country’s forest cover to 40% (25% of conserved forests and 15% of commercial forests).

National Annual Tree Loving Day in Thailand was established to raise public awareness about the effects of deforestation. It is marked with tree planting ceremonies and other environmental events and activities aiming to highlight the importance of trees and forests for ecosystems and human life.

By the way, National Annual Tree Loving Day is not the only observance in Thailand dedicated to trees and forests. The country celebrates National Forest Conservation Day on January 14, and the Buddhist holiday of Vesak is also observed as National Tree Day.