Over the past few years, the majority of forest land in Nan province has been turned into single-crop plantations to support the livelihoods of more than 150,000 local households whose farming activities involve burning and deforesting.
Nan residents face haze pollution caused by the seasonal burning activities on these farms every year. The deforestation of the province's mountainous landscape also increases flood risk, leading to a huge economic loss.
To help prevent further damage to the province's ecological system, the KasikornThai Foundation recently joined hands with the Government Pharmaceutical Organisation (GPO) in a "pharma-agro" forest project, promoting agricultural practices that are friendly to the environment.
Through the project, farming of organic herbs has been introduced as an alternative to help forest bald mountains.
Anan Lapsuksatit, president of K Agro-Innovative Institute (KAI) under the KasikornThai Foundation, explained that "pharma-agro" forest areas have recently become a global trend to support forest sustainability.
The concept ensures that produce from the forest is harvested using good agricultural practices with no harm to the environment while answering to a growing demand for plant-based concentrates in the beauty, health, and pharmaceutical industries.
KAI aims to push concentrates from organically-grown herbs from Nan as a world-class product, Mr Anan said.
The development of pharma-agro plantations in Nan follows instructions from academics and experts in agriculture and pharmaceuticals to ensure the quality of the concentrates is in line with international requirements.
According to him, the herbal plantation has been introduced to 36 farming households in the forest zone.
Each family has allocated a one-rai plot of their land to plant the herb in accordance with organic farming practices.
Mr Anan said these herb growers are given salaries, and the prices of their harvest are guaranteed, encouraging them to plant more and inspire others to join the project.
"By allocating just one rai to grow forest herbs, the farmer can earn more annual income than from a single-crop plantation.
"It's solid evidence that they could earn more money with farming that is friendly to the forest. We are expecting to have more than 500 households participate next year," he said.
According to Mr Anan, participants must be registered under the government's Agricultural Land Reform Act, which allows them to live and earn in the forest land.
The pilot project's main production includes harvests of turmeric, fingerroot (krachai) and butterfly peas, which are used by GPO as raw materials to produce medicines.
According to KasikornThai Foundation, Nan contributed over 40% of the water volume to the country's main Chao Phraya River. However, currently, over 28% of 6.4 million rai of the province's forest have been completely deforested for single-crop plantations.
The pharma-agro forest is one part of the Nan Sandbox project initiated by the foundation to conserve local forests and enhance local income.
GPO Deputy Director Wiluck Wanganon said the organisation has put much effort into upgrading the quality of medicinal herbs grown in Thailand while sustainably boosting the country's pharmaceutical security.
She sees strong potential in farming communities in all regions of Thailand to plant high-quality herbs that align with the GPO's requirements.
Ms Wiluck cited the GPO's new product, Klobinex, which was developed from curcumin concentrates in Nan. The medicine, which helps stabilise blood cells, can prolong the frequency of blood transfusion for patients suffering from thalassemia from once every three months to six months.
The new drug will undergo a clinical trial at the Siriraj Hospital in October and is expected to be later prescribed to most thalassemia patients.
"One of the GPO's key policies is to increase the value of Thai medicinal herbs in plant-based medicine, supplementary food and cosmetics," Ms Wiluck said.