Experts are urging the government to promote green buildings through property tax incentives, reduced import tax on energy-saving materials and speedy enactment of new laws related to the Building Control Act.

House, building and land tax incen tives should be offered for any building that goes green, said Wijarn Thunthithum, a specialist engineer at the Interior Ministry's Public Works and Town & Country Planning Department.

Incentives should be applied not only to new buildings, but also existing ones making green improvements, he said.

''There should be a recertification every five years to make sure these buildings continue to comply with the green building concept,'' said Mr Wijarn.

Atch Sreshthaputra, a lecturer at Chulalongkorn University's architecture faculty, said the green building idea was initiated in Thailand four years ago but with very little progress made to date.

Green building enthusiasts have thus far been limited to a small group that keeps up with the latest technology in energy-saving materials while the general public remains unconvinced. The focus has been on residential buildings, not commercial buildings that consume a lot of energy, said Asst Prof Atch.

The Energy and Natural Resources and Environment ministries have introduced initiatives for energy-saving certification to promote green buildings, but enforcement of some regulations have been obstructed by the political instability of recent years.

Fifty buildings in Thailand are applying for green-building certification from bodies such as the Thailand Rating Energy & Environment System (Trees) and the US-based Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED).

There are already five LEED-certified buildings in Thailand. Thirty others are preparing to submit their documents to submit for a certification, while 20 are applying for Trees.

There are as yet no Trees-certified buildings. Approval is made jointly by the Association of Siamese Architects and the Engineering Institute of Thailand, but only a limited number of inspectors are available.