.jpg)
The forest in Khon Kaen Province, Thailand. (Photo: iStock)
The Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC) in Thailand has bought 400 tons of carbon credits at what is considered the world's highest price for such a project.
The bank purchased 120 million baht worth of credits at 30,000 baht per ton in the BAAC Carbon Credit project, which marks the first forest carbon credit scheme in Thailand.
Centered on two treebanks in Khon Kaen province, Tha Li and Ban Daeng, the project aims to fulfill the needs of both the public and private sectors in achieving carbon neutrality and net zero emissions.
It involves registering, tree counting, certifying carbon credits through external assessors, and verifying the carbon credit quantity with the Thailand Greenhouse Gas Management Organization.
The initiative also assists farmers in the "3 Forests, 4 Benefits" program, fostering their participation in the sustainable management of community natural resources.
After deducting operational expenses, farmers in the project's communities will earn a net income of 842,100 baht.
Currently, The Tree Bank project comprises 6,814 communities with 124,071 members. More than 12.4 million trees have been registered in the program, with a total value over 43 billion baht.
Transforming trees into assets adds value to the land and serves as collateral for loans, assisting the sustainable development of communities.
BAAC members in communities currently generate an annual income of 116 million baht from products derived from forests.
A one-rai area with 100 trees per rai will produce around 950 kilograms of carbon credits every year, with a selling price of 3,000 baht per ton of carbon.
Farmers can expect a net return of around 2,000 baht per rai per year after deducting expenses at a 70/30 ratio.
Farmers who plant trees along the edges of fields, averaging 40 trees per rai, can anticipate earning approximately 800 baht per rai per year.
At present, 84 registered communities have stored over 2.7 million tons of carbon dioxide.
BAAC is supporting Tree Bank communities with a budget of more than 3.8 million baht. The bank said that the project is also encouraging reforestation efforts on both private and communal lands.
Around 108,000 trees are planted each year, and it is expected that this scheme will generate a carbon credit quantity of over 510,000 tons for the market in the next five years.
