Thailand and Sweden have committed to building a sustainable timber industry that spans the entire value chain, from plantation forestry to engineered wood products and modern timber construction, following a Bangkok forum that brought together foresters, researchers, industry executives, and government officials from both nations. The Wood Solution Thailand Forum 2026, held at the Eastin Grand Hotel Sathorn on 2 June, marked the latest step in a partnership that began in 2022 and now spans forestry, academia, finance and government.
That is according to Arunrung Phothong Humphreys, Ambassador of Thailand to Sweden, who opened proceedings by pressing the question that has anchored the initiative from the outset before answering it herself. Sweden offered a strong forestry sector, an advanced wood-processing industry and decades of experience balancing economic growth with environmental stewardship, the ambassador said, asking simply, “Why Sweden?”
Because the relationship has been strengthened by the Strategic Partnership Agreement signed between the two countries, the ambassador described the project as a new model linking grassroots communities with emerging green industries. The initiative traces back to 2022 cooperation between the Thailand-Nordic Countries Innovation Unit under the Royal Thai Embassy in Stockholm, the Eco-Innovation Foundation, the Stockholm Environment Institute and Sida.
Speaking after the ambassador, Emanuel Lundin, First Secretary at the Embassy of Sweden in Bangkok, characterised the project as a shared effort to draw long-term value from Thailand’s largely underutilised forestry resources. He told the forum the journey mattered as much as the eventual outcome.
Marie Jürisoo, Director of SEI Asia, who led the three-month engagement phase ahead of the forum, said the process had been designed to accelerate momentum, deepen stakeholder participation and identify practical next steps. The morning session turned to the findings of several collaborative studies examining Thailand’s potential to expand sustainable forestry and timber-based construction.
The central question, according to Aaron Kaplan, Director of the Eco-Innovation Foundation, was what the initiative would deliver for Thailand and whether it could evolve beyond research into a genuine development movement. Researchers and industry representatives stressed that success would demand cooperation across forestry, education, construction, finance and government.
Running through the discussion was a recurring argument that the initiative amounts to more than timber construction alone, with speakers repeatedly returning to the need to build an ecosystem connecting forest owners, processors, manufacturers, investors, architects, and policymakers. Drawing on Swedish experience, representatives highlighted the role smallholders can play, describing how family-owned forests have become part of a long-term value chain supported by institutions that ensure fair pricing, certification, and market access.
A substantial part of the programme showcased projects already underway in Thailand, ranging from economic plantations and engineered wood products to construction applications. The Phrae Sustainable Wood City initiative featured prominently, reflecting the northern province’s long association with the country’s teak industry and its emergence as a potential model for wider development.
Outside the conference hall, a small exhibition signalled how far the initiative has spread beyond forestry, with one programme promoting bamboo as an underutilised commercial resource and another highlighting Casuarina, a pine-like species researchers believe could stabilise coastal areas threatened by erosion. Education featured strongly, with an academic programme in Phrae now training around 150 postgraduate students as future forestry resource and environmental managers.
Further along, displays set out forest product certification systems developed by the Department of Forest Industry Technology, alongside plans by the Hydro-Informatics Institute to expand its Water Management School into a broader Water and Forestry Management School. Several projects addressed how farmers can earn income during the years it takes for trees to mature, among them the production of lac, an insect-derived resin later processed into shellac and other commercial products.
Moving from Thai pioneers working on engineered wood products and bamboo development to international experience, the afternoon programme heard Swedish and other organisations share examples from countries where sustainable forestry and timber construction have become established industries. Kaplan closed the forum by describing the movement as a work in progress that still needs many more stakeholders to come on board, telling participants, “Today is a small preview of what is yet to come.”
A draft roadmap unveiled at the forum charts a phased path to 2037, carrying Thailand from foundation-building and pilot projects through industrial scale-up to eventual regional leadership in engineered wood products and timber construction, a horizon Kaplan said the partnership had only begun to lay the foundations for.
