Questions/Answers

This initiative aims to solve and prevents the urgent problems of wildfire and forest management, which were threatening the abundance of forest and natural resources. The challenge is howto make people involved with forest destruction orpeople in economic hardship, and the community live in harmony and earn a living from the forest without destroying it.Poverty is one of the main contributing factors of wildfire and solving it requires cooperation from the community and related parties to administer a plan to overcome the challenge. These agents work together to implement the three key measures; forest planting, wildfire prevention, and forest expansion and conservation, whose objectives are as follows - (1) to promote incomes without forest destruction (2) to evoke engagement from the community and related parties in forest conservation, reduce overlapping processes, create a sense of mutual belonging, and (3) to increase the forest areas, which would be a sustainable source of food for the community.

This initiative is in alignment with the second category - Promoting integrated mechanisms for sustainable development. The aim is to build cooperation in forest management from policy to practice, with the mechanisms that promote significantengagement in the operation of the Wildfire Prevention Center.

This is in alignment with Goal 15 on the 2030 Agenda, particularly the sub-goal 15.9 on integrating ecosystem and biodiversity values into national and local planning, development processes, poverty reduction strategies and accounts. The initiative was successful in enhancing the integrated cooperation mechanisms from all related parties in solving and preventing wildfire based on the concepts of poverty and inequality reduction, forest planting, forest as the food source,wild products commercialization without destruction,and job creation for people affected by poverty or previously involved in arson. It is local wisdom-based forest conservation and expansion through beliefs and rituals that encourage engagement from the community, with the goal of sustainable forest development.

In the social term, local wisdom-based social control enhancedthe community’s engagement, particularly in establishing the Wildfire Watch Network. Forest planting, forest ordination ceremony and weir construction are ritualistic activities promoting nature reverence and sustainable conservation. In the economic term, economic mechanismswere used to promote jobs and sustainable income generation from wild products and solve poverty.The locals’ role is tocreate and protect the forests, whose wild products generate incomes for the community, ultimately leading to sustainability. In the environmental term, a collaborative partnership between the community and partner organizations promoted the upkeep of the forests and river sources.

This initiative, with the given authority from The Subdistrict Council and Subdistrict Administration Organization Act B.E. 2537,has made a significant contribution in combatting wildfire and forest encroachment in the northern area of Thailand, which are listed under theurgent agendaNo. 9onnatural resource security, and the balance between conservation and sustainable use.It also supported the operation of larger organizations, particularly the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, which includesthe Wildfire Division, Department of National Park, Wildlife and Plant Conservation,the Royal Forest Department andthe Department of Environmental Quality Promotion.Moreover, on the regional scale, the initiative is in alignment with the Regional Forum on Environment and Health in Southeast and East Asian Countries.

This initiative allowedall groups of marginalized people, including women, to have accessforest resources, so they could make a living and develop independence, usingknowledge from the New Theory of Agriculture and self-sufficiency economy.

The target groups were ‘former forest destroyers’ and people with economic hardship, the community and partner organizations. (1) Promoting jobs and income generationfor former forest destroyers’ and people with economic hardshiphelped change their behavior into ‘forest planters’, and by setting up the Forest Watch Volunteer Group, they successfully developed a sustainable social capital. (2)Local wisdom-based social control evoked engagementfrom the community and partner organizations in forest conservation, leading to the establishment of the Wildfire Watch Network in the community, and the regulations on forest area usage. (3) Partner organizations gathered informationand administeredthesolutions to wildfire problems in the area. The Wildfire Prevention Center by Mae Prik SAO acted as the coordinator for partner organizations and the community in monitoring and managing wildfire, with the main objective of sustainable forest and wildfire management.

The key steps in the implementation are as follows. 1. The local administrators, community leaders and partner organizations joined force to spread awareness to the target groups about the current problems in forest conservation. 2. The causes of wildfire and encroachment were determined by the working party, and the information was then used to administer the solutions. 3. The working party administered an operation plan, which consisted of measures in forest planting, wildfire prevention, and forest conservation.The Wildfire Prevention Center by Mae Prik SAO acted as the coordinator between partner organizations and the community. 4. The local administrators, community leaders and partner organizationfollowed up the progress and performed assessments,the indicator of success was the increase in incomes and job promotion, which were achieved by revitalizing the forests; as a result, the people were able to benefit from them, without destroying them. Also, local wisdom-based social control mechanism werethe indicators of cooperation and engagement from the locals, as the owners and beneficiaries of the areas.

The main obstacle was the limitations of bureaucratic reimbursement, so the Mae PrikSAOcontacted the partner organizations and the community to inform that the expenses that could not be reimbursed by the government would be covered by the community. This is in alignment with the principle of integrated project administration in which the community takes part in the administration process and takes responsibility.The community became stronger and independentas a result ofleadership and democracy promotion.

This initiativewas based on an operation plan that integrated four operating systems–the WMIS, the FGIS, the Wildfire Watch Network and the Wildfire PatrolTeam.The operating mechanismwas contextually suitable and integrative in that it promoted understandings about how to live in harmony with the forest and how to prevent wildfire, and drew engagement from the people in setting up forest and wildfire protection networks. An integrated model was successfully developedto concretely solve environmental problems, meeting the objectives ofthe forest management policy set by East and Southeast Asian countries.

This initiative was inspired by the Department of National Park, Wildlife and Plant Conservation’s mission in integrating collaboration from the governmental organizations and local communities to solve wildfires in Thailand. The Mae PrikSAO recognized the importance of collaboration from all related parties, and prioritized the locals’ needs and suggestions, as they were the owner of the area. With the incorporation of MIS and GIS to drive the mission along with the workforce of the community and partner organizations, a Local Wisdom-based Policy Innovation in Forest Management was developed and implemented.

This initiative was used as an innovation model in forest and wildfire management for other subdistrict administrative organizations in Mae Suai District, Chiang Rai Province.It was recognized by the local authorities as being a collaboration-based innovation with distinctive characteristics of harmoniously integratingthe use of high-speed patrol vehicles, WMIS and FGIS, and the Wildfire Watch Network to effectively monitor and prevent wildfire.The result was the increase of forest area from 6,468 to 6,927 acres. The model can be applied to any forest areas in the North, as, research suggests, northern people have the tradition in cohabiting with nature, and the risk behavioursthat can contribute to wildfire are similar.

No

The resources used in the initiative are as follows. (1) Human resource –a working party was set upin February 2018as a coordinator for the partner organizations and the community. (2) Budget –the annual budget for the implementation was 200,000 THB, according to Mae Prik SAO’s Strategy Plan (2018 -2022). (3) Materials and equipment –the budget of 50,000 THB is reserved for the materials and equipment necessary and sufficient for the wildfire patrol. (4) Management –the operating systems of the Wildfire Prevention Center were used for effective management and redundancy reduction.

The Mae Prik SAO, the main driving force of this initiative, incorporated the engagement from the community and partner organizations, integrated plan and budgets, and database systems. Consistent with the Sustainable Development Goals, this would lead to shared planning and decision-making, hence reducing redundant processes and yielding better responses to the community’s need.

Yes

The Mae Prik SAO reported to the Office of the Decentralization to the Local Government Organization Committee about the results, and the National Institute of Development Administration performed a transparency assessment based on interviews with the staff and local people by using the CIPP model, which focuses on the following dimensions: 1. Context, which is based on suitability and engagement 2. Input, which is based on 4M (Material, Method, Machine and Man) 3. Process, which is based on collaborative mechanisms, and 4. Product, which is based on the outcomes of the implementation.

The indicators are as follows: (1) the direct association to the wildfire and encroachment problems in the area (2) the engagement from the people, which was enhanced by local wisdom-based mechanisms (3) the innovation’ outputs and outcomes in turning the forest into the source of food and incomes for the community (4) the ability to share the knowledge with partner organizations and the community, and (5) sustainability in using the innovation with clear missions that responded to the locals’ needs.

The results showed that the implementation was cost-effective. The fact that the community and partner organizations took part in wildfire prevention and forest management eliminated redundancy, saved costs, and was able to put the plan into practice. Forest destroyers became forest saviours, the community contributed to forest conservation and expansion, and the operation was efficiently and effectively driven by information technology systems. The challenge of living in harmony with nature was overcome, and the model could be applied to other areas in the vicinity.

This initiative was powered by The Subdistrict Council and Subdistrict Administration Organization Act B.E. 2537 regarding the duty in natural resource and forest management. The Mae Prik SAO categorized the mission under the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation section, the Chief Administrator’s Office, with the local administrator as the director of the Wildfire Prevention Center. The working process is as follows. The first step was holding a meeting on the administration of an integrated plan between partner organizations, which included the WaweeRoayl Project, Highland Research and Development Institute, Mae Fah Luang University, Chiang Rai Rajabhat University, Tourism Authority of Thailand (Chiang Rai), Mae Prik River Source Management Division, Mae Suai Local Administration Division and other SAOs. Then, the system for preventing and solving wildfire was implemented, along with the cooperation from the community, and an MOU and an agreement on forest area usage were signed by related parties.

This initiative was in alignment with the 2030 Agenda, as it promoted collaboration between partner organizations and the local community. The stakeholders engaged in this initiative are as follows. (1) Former forest destroyers and people with economic hardship were included and supported in terms of skill development, commercialization without destruction, and conservation. (2) Local wisdom-based social control mechanisms in beliefs and rituals were used to involve the local community in forest conservation, planting and ordination. Community members such as monks, school officers and organization leaders were the contributing agents, responsible for hosting related events. (3) An integrated collaborative partnership was the core concept in putting the plan into practice with the help of partner organizations. The WMIS and FGIS served as the learning facility for the community, enhancing active civic engagement. The outcome assessment showed that the people were able to make a living without destroying the forest, the river source was abundant, and human was able to live in harmony with nature.

The lessons learned from the implementation are as follows. (1) In terms of area-based forest management, the steep mountain terrains were dangerous and thus, limited the access; therefore, the Mae Prik SAO has planned to create firebreaksaround the mountain ridge and streams to stop the fire from reaching high-risk areas and installed large water containers in those areas. (2) The SAO has planned to install large containers between houses so that the fire can be extinguished promptly in case of the spread to the residential areas. (3) The SAO has planned to educate the people on New Theory Agriculture in hope to increase forest resources, which, in turn, sustainably provides food and incomes for the people.