Reality check needed

Re: “Win-win solution for forests, people”, (Opinion, July 22).

While I fully support the forest restoration and agroforestry initiatives aimed at more sustainable management of the Mae Chaem ecosystem, we need to take the estimates of benefits relative to project costs with a hearty grain of salt.

The TDRI has estimated the environmental and social benefits of changing agriculture and natural management practices in Mae Chaem to be more than eight times the cost of the project. The benefits are real in terms of improved health and nutrition of local people, enhanced mental well-being, improved biodiversity, reduced soil erosion, carbon sequestration, and the like. But the value of these benefits are only rough estimates as these benefits are generally not sold in markets. The values are, for the most part, made-up numbers.

Economists have argued the value of these intangible environmental and social benefits for decades. Without the reality check of benefits priced in realworld markets, it’s difficult for anyone to validate the estimates. The entire approach therefore becomes an exercise in creative accounting.

Until such time that society recognises the true value of these social and environmental benefits and is willing to pay farmers a clear price for their delivery, so-called “natural resources accounting” will remain largely an academic exercise. To date, fabricated estimates have done little to influence policymakers to institute more environmentally sound policies, nor have they convinced farmers to change their practices. Like it or not, real markets and real prices still drive decision making and actions.

SAMANEA SAMAN