Overall Progress and Achievements
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THAILAND
While formal adoption of the Community Forestry Bill is still in the Parliament, the RFD has been providing a number of technical pilot projects to help local
communities manage their forests and to prepare the department for when the Bill is officially passed. These projects include:
Community forest and buffer zone pilot projects: Implemented in national forest reserves surrounding national parks and wildlife sanctuaries. The projects
aim to increase understanding of local tools and processes for developing collaborative management arrangements between local organizations and the
RFD to manage forests in buffer zones.
Small-scale forest plantations: Aim to support TAO in its role as primary local manager and encourage small-scale enterprises and employment. Areas of 10-
20 ha are allocated to the TAO for reforestation e.g., eucalyptus and teak plantations. The RFD works with the TAO to ensure stability.
Forest and forest fire protection: Initiated in 1997, the project promotes people’s involvement in forest fire protection. The RFD aims to support TAOs in
developing forest fire protection plans to reduce the impact of forest fires on local economies and ensure that fires do not devastate national parks and other
sensitive forest areas.
Forest management and the TAO: Covers all 75 provinces and aims to develop procedures for local forest officers to work effectively with the TAO
administration to manage forestland in their territories. TAOs develop forest management plans and activities, while forest officers play a crucial role in
providing extension support to plan and implement forest management activities.
One Tambon One Product OTOP: The government program that supports local communities to develop value-added products that have potential to become
commercialized. For example, products from medicinal plants e.g., wine, wild fruit juice, and medicinal tea are promoted in many villages in the Northeast.
Financial Disbursement Mechanisms to Support Community Forestry. including those mechanisms from decentralised government
No financial support is directly disbursed to community forests. However, TAOs are supposed to allocate a certain amount of money to support local forest management
programs, including CFs as part of TAO’s natural resource management responsibility. Although local budget allocation for CFs is not yet effective, some TAOs have funded
CF activities. For example, Dong Keng TAO, Nong Song Hong, and Khon Kaen allocate its budget of Baht60,000 a year to pay wages for forest protection groups Poo Pitak
Paa forest guards, responsible for forest patrols at least 2-3 times a week. Currently, each forest guard receives a Baht 500 monthly wage.