A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Engineering of the Asian Institute of Technology, Bangkok, Thailand

Thesis (M.Eng.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 1976

This study is an attempt to describe the operation of the Forest Village System, a reforestation program of the Forest Industry Organization of Thailand, and to evaluate it in two aspects, namely, goal-achievement and economic worth. The analysis is done on the unit level and includes only teak plantations. The measures used in evaluating the achievement of the FVS is the number of rai of land reforested with teak based on the three plantation units studied, the Mae Chang plantation in Lampang, Mae Ho Phra plantation in Chieng Mai and the Kao Krayang plantation in Phitsanulok. For the economic analysis, the net present value of the investments made during the 60 year cutting cycle of teak and the expected benefits discounted back to the start of the project using 8% and 10% interest rates are used. To account for the uncertainty on the actual yield of the cultivated teak at the end of the cycle, three assumptions were made - 45 cubic meters, 35 cubic meters, and 25 cubic meters per rai. These are presented in this report in the following order: an introduction on how the FVS came into being is described in Chapter I. Chapter II outlines how the study was conducted, while Chapter III describes the FVS in words as well as in pictures. The achievement of the FVS is presented in Chapter IV with subsequent analysis on how it was accomplished and in Chapter V is the economic justification of the project. Finally, the summary and recommendations are given in Chapter VI.