Modern energy sources, such as petroleum products, are increasingly being used in the daily life of the Thai people. Among rural Thais, however, fuelwood and charcoal in South Asia and Africa, have such serious fuelwood shortages, that they use animal dung for fuel. The problem is still not so serious in Thailand. Rapid infrastructure development in the past decade has resulted in changes in the pattern of energy utilization. Modern forms of energy, mainly electricity and liquefied petroleum gas, have been brought to the rural households. It is mainly in the more remote villages and among the hill tribes that the households are still totally dependent on wood energy, particularly for cooking.
The household sector user about 20 million tonnes of wood annually in the form of fuelwood and charcoal, but wood supplies from around the houses, (from home gardens, woodlots, and public forests) are able to fill the demand. On the other hand, there is a fuelwood shortage in the industrial sector, which requires about 6.5 million tonnes annually. The small-scale industries find fuelwood to be cheaper than and technologically preferable to modern energy sources. Many local industries have problems adapting economically to modern energy, and some have had to close down for lack of fuelwood.
The energy shock caused by the oil crisis in the 1970s has long been forgotten. In the 1980s, low-priced imported oil and locally abundant natural gas boosted the use of modern energy, so that the share taken by renewable energy, particularly fuelwood, steadily declined. Nevertheless, there are problems associated with modern energy. The recent serious trouble over pollution caused by thermal power plants in Lampang provides a warning that all is not well. Expansion of electricity generation of this kind may not be feasible, when human health and environmental conservation are taken into account. Moreover, the establishment of new hydro and nuclear power plants may not be possible in the next 10 years, because of the public's attitude towards the inundation of forests and farms and to the safety of nuclear power.
Demand for electricity increases by 1,000 megawatts annually. Means must be found to meet this demand. The issue of energy conservation must also be faced. The efficiency of utilization of energy in the industrial and household sectors is low. Nevertheless, the people prefer to use traditional cooking stoves because of their low price compared with the more efficient ones. Many of the charcoal kilns and wood-burning kilns are likewise inefficient.
Despite population growth, consumption of fuelwood and charcoal in Thailand has not appreciably increased in the last 10 years. The construction of a good road network, the electrification of the rural areas, and the popularization of modern household appliances, all of which are results of the rapid economic development of the country, have caused the increase in the use of modern energy.
Overall, the rural people have been able to meet their fuelwood needs, but in many localities only by over-exploiting the sources. There are three key issues, namely:
· uneven supply of fuelwood brought about by:
_ decline and uneven distribution of remaining forests;
_ uneven distance of households from woodlots;
_ lack, or poor performance, of energy plantations.
· inefficient utilization of fuelwood by:
_ inefficient cooking stoves;
_ inefficient charcoal kilns and wood-burning kilns.
· limitations on alternative energy sources
_ slow conversion of industries to modern energy sources;
_ high cost of modern energy compared with freely collected fuelwood;
_ under development of technology for wind and solar energy for rural use.
Energy consumption grew from 17.2 million tonnes of oil equivalent (Mtoe) in 1981, to 30.9 Mtoe in 1990. This represents an average annual growth of 6.0 percent, just below the average GDP per capita annual growth of 7.3 percent during the same period. Per capita energy consumption was 0.55 toe in 1990. Figure 9 shows the growth trend of consumption in 1981-1990 as well as the breakdown between "modern" and "renewable" energy sources.
A more detailed breakdown of past consumption by supply sources is given in Table 12. "Modern" sources include petroleum, natural gas, coal, coke, and hydro-energy. "Renewable" sources include fuelwood, charcoal, bagasse, and paddy husks.
Consumption from modern energy sources grew fast in 1981-1990, while the consumption of renewable energy barely grew during the same period. In 1990, modern energy consumption increased by 14.3 percent over the previous year. Modern energy consumption was then 21.7 Mtoe, consisting of 1.3 Mtoe of coal and coke, 16.9 Mtoe of oil products, 0.3 Mtoe of natural gas, and 3.3 Mtoe of electricity. Renewable energy consumption declined by 3.8 percent over the previous year. It was 9.2 Mtoe, consisting of 4.7 Mtoe of fuelwood, 2.0 Mtoe of charcoal, 0.8 Mtoe of paddy husks, and 1.7 Mtoe of bagasse.
Total energy supply in 1990 was 4.13 Mtoe, or in excess of consumption. The energy supply consisted of 30.3 Mtoe of modern energy and 11.0 Mtoe of renewable energy. Imported energy accounted for the remaining 45.4 percent of total energy supply. (Table 12) Crude oil and petroleum products comprised almost 99 percent of imported energy, growing from 15.4 Mtoe in 1989 to 18.5 Mtoe in 1990. It is expected that the utilization of petroleum products will continue to increase.
Table 12: Consumption and supply of energy in 1990,Mtoe
Source |
Consumption |
Supply |
Imports |
Modern energy |
21.714 |
30.284 |
18.748 |
Petroleum |
16.895 |
19.734 |
18.520 |
Others |
4.819 |
10.550 |
0.228 |
Renewable energy |
9.191 |
10.969 |
0 |
Fuelwood and charcoal |
6.662 |
8.137 |
0 |
Paddy husk |
0.814 |
1.117 |
0 |
Bagasse |
1.715 |
1.715 |
0 |
Total |
30.905 |
41.253 |
18.748 |
Source: NEA, 1991, except for TFSMP modification of fuelwood consumption.
Assessment of the future prospects of total energy demand and supply is beyond the scope of this paper. It suffices to note that the Kingdom has so far been able to take care of its energy needs, and should be able to continue to do so, although not without problems. Concern for the environment is getting stronger in this fast over-crowding world, and desire for clean and environmentally benign energy is at the top of the environmental agenda. There is heavy resistance to nuclear and hydro-power and to air-polluting thermal power plants. But in the short to medium terms (up to 15 years), conventional modern sources of energy must be relied upon in spite of their problems, because the Kingdom's energy needs must be met, if the pace of economic development is to continue. In the long run, technology for harnessing other forms of energy, such as wind and solar power, must be perfected and adopted by countries like Thailand.
The transport, industrial, and residential-commercial sectors were the largest consumers of energy, for 94.1 percent of total consumption. Table 10 shows that the transportation sector used only oil products in 1990. Modern energy, especially oil products, was the main source of energy for the industrial sector, while renewable energy, especially fuelwood and charcoal, was the main source of energy for the residential-commercial sector.
Table 13: Energy consumption by sector in 1990, Mtoe
Source |
Agriculture |
Industry, mining, and construction |
Residential and commercial |
Transport |
Total |
Modern energy |
1.803 |
5.893 |
2.650 |
11.368 |
21.714 |
Petroleum |
1.795 |
2.813 |
0.919 |
11.368 |
19.895 |
others |
0.008 |
3.080 |
1.731 |
0 |
4.819 |
Renewable energy |
0 |
4.765 |
4.426 |
0 |
9.191 |
Fuelwood |
0 |
2.500 |
2.216 |
0 |
4.716 |
Charcoal |
0 |
0 |
1.946 |
0 |
1.946 |
Paddy husk |
0 |
0.550 |
0.264 |
0 |
0.814 |
Bagasse |
0 |
1.715 |
0 |
0 |
1.715 |
Total |
1.803 |
10.658 |
7.076 |
11.368 |
30.905 |
Source: NEA, 1991, except for TFSMP modification of fuelwood consumption.
The rural areas account for 80 percent of energy consumption in the residential sector. Although LPG and electricity have made inroads fuelwood and charcoal continue to be heavily used (Table 14). Rural households consumed about 0.41 m3 of fuelwood and 97 kg of charcoal per capita (Table 15).
Table 14: Energy consumption in the residential sector in 1990, ktoe
Source |
Greater Bangkok |
Other cities and towns |
Rural area |
Total |
Modern energy |
476 |
326 |
362 |
1,164 |
LPG and kerosene |
182 |
138 |
145 |
465 |
Electricity |
294 |
188 |
217 |
699 |
Renewable energy |
47 |
271 |
4,108 |
426 |
Fuelwood |
18 |
86 |
2,112 |
2,216 |
Charcoal |
29 |
185 |
1,732 |
1,964 |
Paddy husk |
nil |
nil |
264 |
264 |
Total |
523 |
597 |
4,470 |
5,590 |
Source: NEA, 1991, except for TFSMP modification of fuelwood consumption.
Table 15: Per capita annual consumption of fuelwood and charcoal in rural households
Region |
Fuelwood, m3 |
Charcoal, kg |
North |
0.320 |
109.0 |
Northeast |
0.590 |
59.0 |
Central |
0.533 |
219.3 |
South |
0.285 |
95.0 |
Kingdom |
0.410 |
97.1 |
Source: NEA, 1990. The unit, m3, refers to solid wood, over bark
In 1992, TFSMP conducted a survey of fuelwood consumption in the industrial sector. About 10.8 million m3 of fuelwood valued at about 1,825 million baht was consumed by the industries in 1992. These are especially the small-scale industries which have been unable to with to modern energy. They employ about 100,000 people.
The industrial and household sectors are the only users of fuelwood. Consumption of fuelwood is declining because of substitution by modern energy. In spite of population growth, this decline is expected to continue because of changes in the urban-rural distribution of population and continuing substitution of wood energy by modern energy.
Wood energy consumption has been estimated by the task fore for the Master Plan for Energy, using NEA data. To adjust for the underestimation of industrial fuelwood consumption in previous years, the ratio between the figure from the 1992 TFSMP industrial fuelwood survey and the corresponding NEA projection for 1992 was used as adjustment factor. The results are shown in Table 16, which also show the adjusted fuelwood consumption projection for 1992-2017 based on regression analysis by the Office of Agricultural Economic (OAE). The OAE study determined the effect on fuelwood and charcoal demand (FCD, in thousand tones) of the price of LPG gas (PLH, in baht/t), fuelwood and charcoal price index (FPI), rural income per capita (RIC, in baht), and ratio of urban to total population (PUP). The result shows the effect of FPI and RIC is insignificant. The resulting regression equation is as follows:
FCD = 26921 + 0.0928 PLG - 137.4838 PUP (R2 = 0.757)
t-ratio 8.19 0.912 -2.147
Table 16: Projected fuelwood consumption in 1992-2017
Based on Master Plan for Energy survey Based on
Year |
Household charcoal |
Industrial fuel wood |
Household fuel wood |
Total |
OAE regression analysis |
1992 | |||||
Million tonnes |
14.03 |
6.48 |
5.74 |
26.25 |
26.56 |
Million m3 |
23.38 |
10.80 |
9.57 |
43.75 |
44.27 |
1997 | |||||
Million tonnes |
12.99 |
6.16 |
5.45 |
24.60 |
26.45 |
Million m3 |
21.65 |
10.26 |
9.09 |
41.00 |
44.09 |
2002 | |||||
Million tonnes |
12.00 |
5.85 |
5.18 |
23.03 |
26.34 |
Million m3 |
20.00 |
9.23 |
8.63 |
38.37 |
43.91 |
2007 | |||||
Million tonnes |
11.02 |
5.54 |
4.90 |
21.46 |
26.23 |
Million m3 |
18.36 |
9.23 |
8.18 |
35.77 |
43.72 |
2012 | |||||
Million tonnes |
10.03 |
5.23 |
4.63 |
19.89 |
26.12 |
Million m3 |
16.72 |
8.71 |
7.72 |
33.15 |
43.54 |
2017 | |||||
Million tonnes |
9.05 |
4.91 |
4.36 |
18.32 |
26.01 |
Million m3 |
15.08 |
8.19 |
7.26 |
30.53 |
43.35 |
Source: TFSMP 1991 - Subsectoral for Production and Utilization
The overall surplus of fuelwood is expected to continue. Fuelwood consumption is declining and planting of trees in an effort in increase forest cover for other more general reasons is expected to further increase the fuelwood supply. Table 17 shows that even at current planting rates the fuelwood surplus would increase. Under the Self sufficiency and Master Plan scenarios, which call for establishment of forest plantations, it would increase even more.
Table 17: National fuelwood supply and demand projections (million m3)
Year |
current trends |
Master plan |
Self sufficiency |
||||
Consumption |
Supply |
Surplus |
Supply |
Surplus |
Supply |
Surplus | |
1992 |
43.7 |
46.7 |
3.0 |
46.7 |
3.0 |
46.7 |
3.0 |
1997 |
41.0 |
46.4 |
5.4 |
46.6 |
5.6 |
47.0 |
6.0 |
2002 |
38.4 |
46.2 |
7.8 |
49.8 |
11.4 |
50.1 |
11.7 |
2007 |
35.8 |
44.8 |
9.0 |
49.4 |
13.6 |
49.5 |
13.7 |
2012 |
33.2 |
44.4 |
11.2 |
56.3 |
23.1 |
54.9 |
21.7 |
2017 |
30.5 |
44.2 |
13.7 |
56.8 |
26.3 |
56.0 |
25.5 |
Source: TFSMP 1991 - Subsectoral Plan for Production and Utilization
The analyses given under the Agroforestry and forest plantation development programme show that forest plantations would not be profitable at low wood prices, and certainly not at present fuelwood prices. In the development of forest plantations to supply wood to the industrial sector, fuelwood will be a by product. Fuelwood supplies will increase in the future, if forest plantations and agroforestry are promoted as planned.
It can be concluded therefore that there is no need for a separate long-term fuelwood development programme. In the short to medium terms, there is a need to attend to fuelwood problem in the North and in some specific localities in other regions.
Rural energy shortages in such localities can be eliminated through a part approach consisting of:
· Increasing supplies. Tree planting in open spaces in the farms and home gardens should be promoted by providing low-cost seedlings of fuelwood trees. While the worth of forest plantations solely for fuelwood is questionable, households can profit from limited planting of fuelwood trees in nearby areas.
· Reducing demand. Obstacles to the adoption of energy efficient cooking stoves, kilns, and boilers should be cleared by reducing the cost manufacture.
· Alternative sources. The rural electrification and infrastructural development programme should be completed to bring modern energy to the remaining rural areas, particularly in the North. Research on the development of economically competitive devices for harnessing solar and wind energy should receive continuous support.
Non-wood forest products include a diverse array of useful commodities. In forestry circles, non-wood forest products are traditionally know as minor forest products, which is indicative of the extent to which these products have been grossly undervalued. Even if they are not as important to the traditional forester, non-wood forest products are highly valued in the daily life of the rural people. To them timber is most useful in that period of their life when they have to build their shelter; otherwise, timber has less use. Unlike non-wood forest products, which they can both consume and sell, timber cannot be turned to cash, except illegally.
These people have other, even more fundamental need for their subsistence and economic development, such as their staple food and cash crops. To many landless people, these needs can only be met by clearing the forest, upon which they also depend for their daily supply of non-wood forest products. When forest resources were plentiful, they could always find a forest tract to farm, and another forest tract for collecting the commodities they needed. Then the forest dwindled from three-quarters, to two-thirds, to one-half, to one-third, and now to one-quarter of the country's land area. Deforestation has reduced the resource base of non-wood forest products to the point that it is now quite inadequate. To adapt an over-used adage, the goose that lays the golden egg is being killed.
Whatever resource base is left is needed not only for this generation of people, but for posterity. Better and more crucial uses may be found for these commodities in the future than now; those uses would be imperilled by the disappearance of the resource base. With the establishment and effective securing of a Protected Area System, the diverse biological resources, from which these non-wood forest products are derived, will have a better chance of survival. In other, unreserved natural sources, conservation through wise use must be practised by the local people. Those commodities which have high economic potential must be raised as crops, so that people did not have to depend on the wild plants to obtain them. The problem lies in making these things happen.
At least five million people, the approximate number of actual forest dwellers in Thailand, are critically dependent on non-wood forest products. The total population deriving benefits from these commodities is substantially greater. The major contributions of non-wood forest products are as follows:
· They provide material needs, cash income, and employment at levels which are significant to the rural and national economies of the Kingdom.
· Their extraction represents a non-exhaustive or sustainable from of tropical forest utilization. This model enhances the value of intact forests, counterbalances the incentives for deforestation, and offers a chance for the survival of the tropical forest resources.
There is an immediate need for conserving the forest resource base, while developing the harvesting, marketing, and local processing of non-wood forest products. If no action is taken, many rural people will suffer, the way of life of traditional forest dwellers will disappear, and with it will be lost their vast store of knowledge on the use and sustainable management of non-wood forest resources.
Non-wood forest products include both plant and animal products. In the context of the Thai Forestry Sector Master Plan, the term excludes fuelwood, charcoal, and various forest products now regarded as agricultural products, such as rubber, orchids, spices, silk, and oil seeds. Fuelwood is handled as a separate TFSMP development programme, while development programmes for the other products have been developed outside the forestry sector.
TFSMP gives due recognition to the importance of non-wood forest products, and tries to find solutions to problems pertaining to their conservation and sustained production, so that the rural people and the rest of the Thai population may continue to benefit from them. Various issues are analyzed; their resolution is undertaken; goals and objectives are set; the policy and institutional framework is defined; and a development programme is formulated to put together the recommendations in an implementable package.
