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SAKON NAKHON, Thailand: This time of year, the land of upper northeast Thailand is awash in green. The annual monsoon feeds and sustains these agriculture-driven provinces.
But despite the first appearances, things are not going well. In dozens of sustainable agarwood plantations, trees are dying en masse. These are not normal trees, but some of the most valuable in the world.
For thousands of years, the fragrant resin known as oud that sometimes forms naturally within wild aquilaria trees is highly prized. Known as “liquid gold,” the resin from the trees is distilled and used as one of the most luxurious perfumery ingredients in the world.
The essential oil, with a musky scent, is one of the most expensive of its kind in the world – it varies in price depending on purity, but can attract around $ 200 per ml – due to its difficulty to harvest and its rarity. Other by-products of agarwood are bakhoor and frankincense, which have long been used in China, India, and the Middle East.
In Sakon Nakhon, a province that flanks the border with neighboring Laos, agarwood, also known as the wood of the gods, now appears to be a bankrupt industry.
Thaowan Pha-inn remembers when the weather made farming in Sakon Nakhon much easier. (Photo: Jack Board)
The drought has hit a small aquilaria plantation hard, visited by the CNA. Row after row of trees have been left brittle and parched, and workers can simply lift them out of the ground and stack them in a pile.
In another nearby plantation, damaging floods have produced similar results. A small group of trees, near maturity, appears to be close to ready for harvest; the rest are dead.
“The trees have grown well for the last three or four years. But they have faced droughts and floods. Previously, the weather was fine. No drought. But in recent years it is worse. They have gradually died, ”said Thaowan Pha-inn, a 60-year-old plantation worker.
“The rain does not come in its season. The amount of water is not adequate. Groundwater is not enough, ”he said.
Trees grow fast, but are sensitive to changes in their environment. Too much heat, dryness, or water can stunt growth or lead to death. That is exactly what is happening now in northeast Thailand, where climate change is beginning to wreak havoc.
It’s a strange phenomenon to witness for workers like Thaowan, who have always relied on the rhythmic weather patterns of dry and wet.
“When I was a child, the land was fertile. It rained in the rainy season. We could start growing rice in April. The rain was constant. That is the past. But these days I have no idea what is happening. “
Asia Plantation Capital has lost tens of millions of dollars following the massive failure of its agarwood operations. (Photo: Jack Board)
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THE MOST VULNERABLE AREA
The owner and operator of these agarwood operations is Asia Plantation Capital (APC), which began expanding in Northeast Thailand from 2010. It bought large tracts of land and converted them into growing aquilaria trees; he also grows the species in Sri Lanka and beyond. recently, in Malaysia.
The decision was based on a series of scientific studies by experts from the Isan region, taking into account the local climate and environment. But things have changed since then.
“We did all the normal routine things, like soil tests, rain checks, etc. etc. It ticked all the boxes, but obviously, as you can see now, several years from now, it’s been through the worst droughts in 40 years and then horrific flash floods as well, “APC CEO Steven Watts told CNA.
“We would not be entering an area where we did not think we could make money. Later, we are now learning other things, ”he said.
Drought and excessive rain have combined to paralyze these agarwood plantations. (Photo: Jack Board)
This part of Thailand is especially prone to the adverse impacts of climate change, where significant changes in rainfall and rising temperatures are forecast for the next few years.
It is already the region experiencing the most extreme temperatures in the country, and the future increase will further jeopardize agricultural production, including rubber, cassava, rice, and sugar cane.
“Northeast Thailand, of course, is the most vulnerable area,” said Dr. Seree Supratid, director of the Center for Climate Change and Disasters at Rangsit University.
“The first reason is that they don’t have many reservoirs. The second is that in most of the land, the soil quality is not as good as in the middle parts (of Thailand). “
“In the northeast … they have the sabai sabai life. The comfortable life of the past cannot continue in the future with these climatic extremes. It’s a shame for them, ”he added.
A rare patch of live agarwood trees at Sakon Nakhon, close to being ready for harvest. (Photo: Jack Board)
For APC, the expected outcome, Watts admits, is that new investments in agarwood in northeast Thailand have ended. The company directly recorded financial losses of US $ 36 million in 2019/20 and faces significant delays in future profitability, putting 90 of the company’s 130 Thai plantations in Sakon Nakhon under direct threat.
The situation has endangered the livelihoods of some 500 seasonal plantation workers. Already half of them are not currently being hired, says Watts.
Suphee Buphasiri has been working for APC since 2012 and has observed that their efforts to cultivate agarwood are very few.
“I have income to support my family and send my children to school. When my income goes down, the direct impact is that it doesn’t cover my household expenses, ”he said.
“If we can’t plant trees, we don’t have a job. If the drought lasts a long time, the agricultural jobs will be less or will disappear completely.
“We have to suffer more. I teach my children that we should spend less. They understand.”
Suphee Buphasiri is worried about the future if these plantations cannot provide her with work. (Photo: Jack Board)
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SPECIES DIVERSIFICATION
If agarwood fails in plantations, it puts the entire species at greater risk of extinction.
In the wild, trees are in danger due to illegal poaching. Since only a small percentage of trees produce resin, and the entire tree needs to be felled to verify its presence, populations throughout Southeast Asia have plummeted.
APC’s strategy is to protect the species and, at the same time, make a profit through its plantations. Its inoculation process ensures that each tree produces resin and the harvest takes place once the tree reaches maturity after seven to eight years.
Sustainability, adaptation and science are core business philosophies, but even the use of technology to mitigate climate change is proving problematic.
Plantation workers carry a dead aquilaria tree, devastated by flash floods. (Photo: Jack Board)
“In the long term, selective breeding of flood-resistant and drought-tolerant crop varieties is an option. However, since the life cycles of tropical trees are extremely long, such programs would require many generations to develop, ”said Dr. Kodi Isparan Kandasamy, a plant biotechnologist and special advisor to the APC Scientific Advisory Council.
“It is almost impossible to anticipate the imminent and future impact of climate change, which makes adequate preparation difficult,” he added.
Meanwhile, more are being invested in coconut, pineapple and papaya plantations, environmentally friendly species with multiple uses and a growing global demand. Species diversification is increasingly seen as a way to reduce risk and build local resilience.
Watts says the company is seeking alternative crops for Sakon Nakhon and is doing small-scale experiments with various cash crops to chart a way forward in the area and ensure local workers are not abandoned.
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Hundreds of seasonal plantation workers have lost their APC jobs due to climate challenges in Thailand. (Photo: Jack Board)
“We’ve created those mini-economies and the employment that goes with them and the financial rewards that go with them, so we are very interested in making sure we take care of those people up there. Depending on the crops we finish with, we will hope to re-employ those people, ”he said.
“We have looked at the contingency plans in terms of financing, additional funds, whatever we need. We are looking like a crystal ball because nobody knows what the next crisis will be in terms of climate. ”
Additional information from D Kanyakumarii and Thanit Nilayodhin.
