Poverty reduction in the Doi Mae Salong Landscape

Poverty reduction in the Doi Mae Salong Landscape

Background

The Doi Mae Salong Landscape has experienced deragadation in ecosystem services due to a variety of reasons along with the significant poverty and high risk to climatic variations. The IUCN partnered with the Supreme Commander’s Office of the Royal Thai Armed Forces to pursue forest restoration and support local livelihoods. The program ran from 2010 to 2013 in the Chiang Rai Province of Thailand.

Goals & Approach

The overall goal of the program was to reduce poverty in the region and improve access to economic opportunities at both the village and household level. This was mainly achieved through a participatory approach that included forest restoration, bio-engineering projects, introduction of multi-cropping and agroforestry, promotion of community-based tourism schemes. 

Reported Takeaways

The associated documents highlights the various initiatives pursued by this project. It recognizes issues of governance, land access, and education as the barriers to success.

Reference: 

IUCN. n.d. "From poppies to plant diversity: A visitor’s guide to the hill tribe communities of Doi Mae Salong,Chiang Rai Province, Northern Thailand" Accessed: June 2020

Affiliation: 

  • Royal Thai Armed Forces
  • Land Development Office of Chiang Rai
  • Royal Forest Department
  • Plant a Tree Today Foundation (PATT)
  • Highland Research and Development Institute (HRDI)
  • Hill Area Development Foundation (HADF)