BEFS Thailand - Key results and policy recommendations for future bioenergy development

Abstract

The Government of Thailand, through its Alternative Energy Development Plan, has set a target to increase biofuel production to five billion litres by 2022. The Thai Government sees this expansion as a way to strengthen the country’s energy security, foster rural development and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The FAO Bioenergy and Food Security (BEFS) project aims to strengthen the capacity of developing countries to balance the trade-offs associated with bioenergy development and miti gate the impact of bioenergy on food security. The analysis presented in this document includes the main findings and recommendations for policymakers on how to achieve Thailand’s envisaged biofuel targets in a sustainable way without threatening food security. The targets are found to impact on Thailand’s future agricultural outlook and lead to additional utilization of Thailand’s natural resources. Growth of the sector in line with the targets has the potential to affect the nation al economy and households through various channels such as the price of food made from biofuel feedstock crops. How the Thai Government manages the potential pressures that the bioenergy sector will exert on its natural resources and agricultural markets and the general populace will determine the future sustainability of biofuels and bioenergy as alternative energy sources in Thailand. Full details of the methodologies and data employed to produce the material in this document are being published in a separate volume entitled “Bioenergy and Food Security – The BEFS analysis for Thailand”.