Driving climate mitigation and rural economic development in Thailand through sustainable wood construction

This fact sheet describes the engagement phase (March–June 2026) of the Wood Solution Thailand Program, a partnership between the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI), the Eco-Innovation Foundation (EIF), and the Thailand and Nordic countries Innovation Unit (TNIU). The program aims to establish a sustainable timber construction ecosystem in Thailand to reduce building sector emissions and support rural economic development through a forest-to-building value chain.

• The engagement phase of the Wood Solution Thailand Program, running from March to June 2026, serves as the foundation for a proposed seven-year initiative to create a sustainable timber construction ecosystem. This effort is a collaboration between SEI, the Eco-Innovation Foundation (EIF), and the Thailand and Nordic countries Innovation Unit (TNIU), operating under the Royal Thai Embassy in Sweden.
• The program's strategic objectives include supporting pioneer initiatives across the forestry-to-construction value chain, establishing the Wood Solution Support Platform for international experts and technology providers, and securing funding partnerships with private, philanthropic, bilateral, and multilateral actors. It also seeks to align with the August 2025 Thailand-Sweden Strategic Partnership to encourage business-to-business collaboration.
• The program is organized into five workstreams: a feasibility and roadmap study (including resource mapping and testing Thai wood species), support for Thai pioneer initiatives via coaching and R&D, the creation of a support platform to recruit at least eight Swedish/international experts and 10 technology providers, a gathering event in Bangkok in June 2026, and the development of funding partnerships.
• The proposed 'wood solution' model intends to transition cities from concrete to wood to create permanent carbon sinks, while providing economic incentives for replanting in landscapes. The value chain envisions timber sourced from agroforestry systems, plantations, and managed secondary forests to store carbon in biomass and buildings while generating rural employment.

APA

Stockholm Environment Institute (2026). Driving climate mitigation and rural economic development in Thailand through sustainable wood construction. https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/260508a-gill-piman-wood-solutions-thailand-8may.pdf

Chicago

Stockholm Environment Institute. Driving climate mitigation and rural economic development in Thailand through sustainable wood construction. 2026. https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/260508a-gill-piman-wood-solutions-thailand-8may.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Stockholm Environment Institute |title=Driving climate mitigation and rural economic development in Thailand through sustainable wood construction |date=May 2026 |url=https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/260508a-gill-piman-wood-solutions-thailand-8may.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{stockholmenvironmentinstitute2026driving, author = {{Stockholm Environment Institute}}, title = {{Driving climate mitigation and rural economic development in Thailand through sustainable wood construction}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2026}, month = may, url = {https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/260508a-gill-piman-wood-solutions-thailand-8may.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }