Over the past decade, alternative development (AD) has come a long way. The recently launched "Sustainable Development Goals" and the "United Nations Guiding Principles on Alternative Development", which Thailand is proud to have played an active role in helping to shape, serve as valuable references to guide our AD efforts.
However, our work is far from over. We need to ensure we move forward from words and recommendations to actual implementation with measurable and sustainable outcomes. So please allow me as a development practitioner to speak frankly based on more than 50 years of experience working on the ground with the people.
In the 1960s, Thailand was the largest opium growing country in the world. His Majesty the King has led more than 50 years of efforts to develop the rural areas of Thailand and improve the livelihoods of the impoverished highland ethnic minorities. His Majesty's approach has led to long-term national development policies to tackle opium cultivation through improving the people's well-being. As a result, Thailand was removed from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime's list of opium growing countries in 2003.
Based on lessons learned, Thailand has reached out to assist other countries -- such as Myanmar, Afghanistan, Indonesia, and Laos.
From these experiences, I wish to highlight several critical factors we believe are fundamental to the success of AD programmes.
First, we need to recognise that AD is not just about drugs but about people and their livelihoods. The problem of illicit drug cultivation can only be addressed by solving the problem of poverty, providing people with viable livelihood opportunities, and ensuring overall sustainable development of an area. Only with legal choices in life can people stop illegal activities. Therefore, viable livelihood alternatives need to be in place before eradicating illicit crops. Importantly, development assistance should not be based on any conditionality. We must provide aid to entire communities to uplift their livelihood rather than targeting only those who grow drug crops.
Second, it is important to adopt a holistic and integrated area-based approach, addressing the problem sets of an entire area and whole community. We need to make sure that the basic factors for their development are in place -- for instance, water management systems and access to productive land. These basic requirements must be met while we plan for longer term activities such as capacity building, value addition, marketing and branding.
MR Disnadda Diskul is chairman of the Mae Fah Luang Foundation under Royal Patronage. This article is excerpted from his speech to the United Nations at New York on April 20, entitled, "The future of Alternative Development: Experience of AD implementation on the ground and key elements of success" during the UN General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) on drugs. (File photo)
Third, we must involve all levels of stakeholders in the entire development process -- central government, local authorities and the grassroots community. The local community must be on board and participate in the project from the very beginning and throughout, in order to foster a sense of ownership and empower them to stand on their own two feet over the long run. Women, in particular, are often the breadwinners of the family and key drivers of the community's development. We also need to work with the young generation who will be the ones leading their community in the future.
Fourth, AD programmes must be accountable and properly measured. The success of AD cannot be assessed based on the reduction of illicit crop cultivating areas. We must take a longer term view that is "human-centred". So "outcomes" rather than "inputs and outputs" must be measured. "What do the people get out of it" or the direct impact on the lives of the people and all aspects of their well-being -- socially, economically, environmentally, and culturally must be the indicators, in line with the sustainable development goals (SDGs).
Fifth is the importance of trilateral, regional, and international partnership and cooperation in sharing best practices and enhancing the effectiveness of AD programmes. Thailand has been and will continue to be a donor country in "software" -- providing our experiences in partnership with other donor countries to assist communities on sustainable alternative development programmes. We are delighted that, through the Mae Fah Luang Foundation, we will be partnering with the Germany on the "Global Partnership on Drug Policies and Development" to assist countries and communities wishing to implement AD.
I believe that AD and rule of law are two sides of the same coin and one cannot be attained without the other. Rule of law creates conducive conditions for AD to be possible and AD enhances rule of law from the grassroots level. Participation of communities in the AD process fosters a culture of lawfulness and governance within the community, promoting peace and national security.
In addition, I would like us to seriously consider the implementation of AD in urban settings, particularly when two thirds of the world population will live in urban areas in the future. Poverty, marginalisation, lack of employment, lack of dignity and lack of opportunity also exist in urban areas. Therefore, I truly believe that AD approaches can be applied as problems of poverty and crimes in slums and urban areas can also be addressed through a "people-centric" approach.
Finally, I wish to reiterate that alternative development and sustainable development are fundamentally linked. Central to both AD and sustainable development is addressing problems and needs of the people, the two links between AD and sustainable development is addressing problems and needs of the people, and empowering each individual to be able to lead self-reliant, dignified lives over the long run.
If well-being and resilience are fostered at the individual level, we will have strong communities, regions, and countries not only more resistant to drugs and other crimes, but ready to develop and carry on sustainable livelihood. Thus, AD programmes properly carried out will contribute to realising the SDGs. Thailand provides concrete evidence of successful projects fulfilling the SDGs, resulting in the community's improved well-being and deterrence from illicit cultivation.
Thailand stands ready to share the real living proof for those who are interested. We believe our experiences and lessons learned can benefit communities in need, fostering more peaceful and inclusive societies and creating a strong foundation to countering the world drug problem in a sustainable manner.