Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn has hailed a forest conservation project called Rak Pa Nan (Save Nan's forest) for its concept of locals and nature living harmoniously together.
Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn delivering a lecture on forest conservation and sustainability at a seminar organised by Kasikornbank Plc in Nan earlier this month. (Pool photo)
Advocates say the project has helped bring state agencies and villagers together to sustain efforts to protect forests and the environment.
Speaking in Nan recently, Her Royal Highness praised the concept, adding: "The concept of One Health is very interesting. If plants and animals are in good health, humans will be in good health too."
The princess was giving a speech entitled "Rehabilitate Forest, Generate Income" while presiding over the 4th Rak Pa Nan fair in Nan recently.
It is important to foster awareness about the importance of forest conservation and its benefits among children from an early age, said the princess. The effort to promote the ideal of generating income for communities through growing a forest was initiated 2013 in in Bo Klue district of Nan and Na Haeo district of Loei in the Northeast.
The scheme was later expanded to cover Chiang Mai, Tak and Mae Hong Son. As of last year, a total of 19,890 families have joined the scheme now covers 71,786 rai of forest land.
The forest conservation effort, named Rak Pa Nan in Nan province, saw the highest number of participants -- 4,112 families in all 15 districts of Nan where a total of 19,350 rai of forest land has been included for forest rehabilitation and conservation.
A survey among 1,187 participants in the scheme found they have generated a combined income of up to 508,045 baht so far.
Eighty percent of the 7.8 million rai of encroached land in Nan were forest areas including 1 million rai of watershed area, said Wicharn Simachaya, permanent secretary for natural resources and environment. Forest zoning is adopted to allow communities in each forest area to occupy the area without damaging the environment, he said.
Some parts of the forest are designated as shared usable space, which villagers are allowed to exploit as long as they comply with laws prohibiting them from cutting down certain types of trees, he said. The villagers are also encouraged to grow more trees.
Close to 400 such communities now exist in more than 200,000 rai of forest land, he said, adding the model could be expanded to cover all parts of Nan in the future.
In Nan's Santisuk district, for instance, a denuded forest, which had been used by villagers as a corn farm, has already been restored to its previous state before the trees were cut down, he said. Villagers, however, can still use the same forest for agricultural purposes yet without harming trees, he said.
With better understanding among the people living in these forest areas, all sides involved feel even more confident in this direction of work, said Banthoon Lamsam, chairman of the Board of Kasikorn Bank, a sponsor of the Rak Pa Nan project.
Transferring knowledge and ideas about this concept of forest conservation would help ensure the project is passed to later generations.
One remaining challenge is some villagers who are breaking the rules, said Atthaphon Charoenchansa, director-general of the Royal Forest Department. Another target is to curb manmade bushfires and chemical use while building up more water retention facilities and promoting more use of composed fertilisers, said Wibun Waeobandit, deputy Nan governor.
"From our experience in cooperating with this project, we've learned that it's really possible for us to have make a living on land in a national park area, which encourages us to do more," said Thikhamphon Kongson, president of tambon Bua Yai community council in Nan's Na Noi district.
In the future, the farming sector will shift to using smaller spaces, while marketing will play a more important role in connecting the production of agricultural products with the hospitality and tourism sectors, said Thanat Baiya, vice president of Hag Maung Nan Foundation (Love Nan City).
In Nam Kian community, for example, locals are combining their production of tea, cosmetics with tourism promotion, drawing on the marketing, design and communication skills of young people.