Restoration of degraded forest land in Thailand: the case of Khao Kho

Background

In the 1960s, the Khao Kho district in Thailand experienced extremely deforestation and destruction due to both armed conflict and an influx of migration to the area. In 1990, the UNDP began the project "Reforestation of Denuded Forest Lands in Khao Kho" in order to reverse these trends.

Goals & Approach

The projects aim was to identify appropriate land management strategies, rehabilitate the land, provide land for sustainable agricultural practices, and create employment opportunities to deter future deforestation. A plantation approach was initially attempted, but when that failed the project switch to a more diversified approach that took into account socio-economic dynamics. Seven distinct sites were identifiied and the appropriate approach and tree species were deteremined for each, all of which had the long-term goal to encourage future natural succession and regeneration

Reported Takeaways

By 1995 the project had established a successful forest, which had survived to the date of publication.