Updated from the DGIB internal management system 'MIS'
May 1998
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DGIB MIS System
internal management system
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| Title : | Loc. Part. in Highl. For. Cons. N. Thailand |
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| Description : | CARE Danmark is proposing to implement a project in the Thoong Hua Chang District, of Lampoon province, designed to conserve existing upland primary forests while developing the livelihood security of forest adjacent communities.
More than half of the proposed target group are ethically Karen, while the remaining population is lowland Thai.
The project has three major areas of intervention:
ú Forest Conservation - Rehabilitation of forests in the project area through participatory land use planning and management, and the development of community-based sustainable forest resource management strategies.
ú Local Capacity Building - Strengthening of local community organisations and sub-district councils with the aim to increase their capacity to initiate local programs, receive Government support, and solve problems at the local level.
ú Sustainable Natural Resource Management - Provision of alternatives to reduce pressure on natural resources and promote sustainable development and environmental integration. These include the promotion of sustainable agriculture and natural resource management systems.
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| Objectives : | The project's development objective is as follows:
To increase the institutional capacity and livelihood security of 39 villages in the Li River watershed area, thereby increasing their ability to manage and preserve existing natural resources in an ecologically sustainable manner.
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| Justification : | - Biodiversity value. The upland Thai forests constitute important biodiversity resources, with clear long term value for both local communities and the Thai nation. However, given that the area of primary tropical forest has decreased from 18 million rai (28%) of the total watershed area, to 12 million rai (18% of the area), an important resource is increasingly under
threat. Although there are a number of pilot watershed management projects have been initiated over the last decade, there is currently no external support being offered (either at community or institutional level) to forest conservation or watershed management in the Thoong Hua Chang District.
- Environmental impact. The rate of forest conversion and denudation of Thailand's watersheds is having a significant downstream effect. Without
remedial action, the situation will only worsen, with severe consequences for the nations water quantity and quality.
- Institutional presence. Thoong Hua Chang district is not being supported by any major Government upland development programs. Province authorities at Lampoon have set the goal to improve the upland areas of the Thoong Hua Chang District, in recognition of the important role of this district as the watershed for the Li River. However, the local Government authorities in the district lack the necessary resources to implement this plan.
- Local conditions: It is expected that, given the favourable geographic and environmental conditions in the province, and the size and ethnic composition of the local populations, community based natural resource management interventions are likely to have a significant impact in the area. CARE will be the only NGO working in the Thoong Hua Chang District.
- Ethnic composition: Over half of the 600,000 people of ethnic minorities residing in the hills of northern Thailand are Karen. Due to their coherence to traditional lifestyles and remote location, they have been largely ignored by Thailand' |
| Execution : | The project is located in the Thoong Hua Chang District, in the Province of Lampoon, Thailand, and is divided into three sub-districts covering an area of 486 km2. The Province of Lampoon is found in the upper northern region of Thailand. This region is steeply undulating, its altitude ranging between 700 and 2,000 meters above sea level. Increasing deforestation in Thoong Hua Chang District (an important upper water catchment area), is having serious downstream effects, manifested by both increased flooding and reduced flow at different times of the year. The continued loss of primary, highland forests in this area, also represents an important biodiversity loss for the region.
The strategy proposed in this document, will ensure that the project works more as a facilitator, rather than direct implementor. Through phasing support to local communities (from an intensive manner, to increasingly less intensive), the project expects to build upon existing community structures, with a view to leaving behind self-sustaining structures, after the project is completed. |
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Information in the TROPICS system is provisional only
Comments and suggestions to tropics@odi.org.uk |
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