Bangkok,
16
The restored forest area that will eventuate from the newly planted trees will provide habitat for local wildlife and animals being rehabilitated at the adjacent wildlife centre. The site will also be used as an educational resource for visiting school groups and other interested parties.
The 2,500 trees were grown onsite in a purpose built
nursery and form part of a long term project funded by UAP Ltd, a prominent UK based
specialist supplier of Decorative Door Hardware and related products. UAP has
committed to offsetting its carbon footprint by funding the planting of 50,000
trees in this 3 year project with PATT. The project
began mid 2007 with research on the local forest ecology and identification of important
species which when planted will assist natural regeneration of the local forest.
A phenology trail has been established to aid seed collection year round and collect data on potential framework species. The forest is a seasonally dry lowland deciduous tropical forest.
A forest, degraded by selective logging, is being restored
by planting essential native tree species to facilitate the natural
regeneration of the forest. The aim is to use the forest as a gibbon rehabilitation
area providing semi-natural conditions in the last step before the animals are
released back into the wild. A tree nursery has already been established to
initiate and expand the project over time and gain experience and research data
to assist with propagation of the key tree species.
You can find out more about the project here: www.plant-a-tree-today.org/uap
27 June 2008
3 schools in Bankgok capped off their nursery programmes this week planting their seedlings with PATT. St Andrews, Shrewsbury, and French Lycee all completed the final stage of the nursery with students as young as 3 getting involved!
Shrewsbury International School kicked off the week with their Duke of Edinburgh students planting their nursery trees at the Song Khanong community forest in Phra Phradaeng on Sunday the 22nd. This is the second year Shrewsbury DoE students have run the nursery programme and it gives the students a great chance to learn about nature while taking action themselves in their own time.
St Andrews International School Sukhumvit campus followed up with their year 9 students also venturing to Song Khanong to plant out their nursery trees and learn about the programmes being developed by the Royal Forestry Department in Phra Phradaeng with community forests. This is the second year for St Andrews year 9 as well and the school is keen to continue the successful initiative next year.
Finally the French Lycee Intenational School mobilised around 70 of their nursery students yesterday - some as young as 3 years old - to plant their trees at Suan Sii Nakorn Khuan Khun park managed by the Royal Forestry Department in Phra Phradaeng.
All events were great successes keeping in focus the theme of the nursery programme: Taking Action. The aim is to inspire future generations to become stewards of the earth and care for our environment through action centred programmes.
More on PATT Education Programme here >
24 June 2008
PATT and PDA signed an MOU last week to work together in the Sap Tai area near Khao Yai National Park to establish a nursery and education facility to aid forest restoration, research and education in the area.
The facility will be funded by Raimon Land Plc, a Thailand property development company with a history of support for PATT. Raimon Land's motto is ...developing a better environment and by supporting this initiative they are contributing to the long term development of a better natural environment in this crucial bio-diverse area.
PATT will work in partnership with PDA (Population and Community Development Association) who have agreed to supply the land for the nursery while PATT will manage the projects undertaken there. The location is within the boundaries of the Cabbages and Condoms Resort, operated by PDA at Sap Tai, Phaya Yen sub-district, Pak Chong, Nakon Ratchasima (Korat) province. The resort once acted as a PDA 'CBIRD' Community Development Centre however development activities in the area have been significantly scaled back and the resort now principally provides accommodation, a restaurant, activities, and conference facilities for customers.
Next to the resort is the village of Sap Tai. Villagers here have been recipients of development projects from PDA aimed at income generating schemes to reduce their reliance on natural resources leading to forest encroachment and degradation. Villagers have also participated in tree planting programmes on their land in the past. Land around Sap Tai is a mixture of public land administered by the DNP and land belonging to Sap Tai.
Background
PATT's vision is to establish a nursery to provide the foundations for ongoing sustainable reforestation and community development projects in and around Khao Yai National Park. The nursery centre will also act as a training centre for local people and an environmental education facility.
Responding to a Need
Khao Yai National park is Thailand's oldest and one of the country's largest national parks. Located only a few hours drive from Bangkok the park is a UNESCO world Heritage site and is part of the Dong Phayayen – Khao Yai Forest Complex which lies in the provinces of Saraburi, Nakhon Nayok, Nakhon Rachisima, Prachinburi, Srakaew and Burirum. The Dong Phayayen-Khao Yai Forest Complex spans 230 km between Ta Phraya National Park on the Cambodian border in the east, and Khao Yai National Park in the west. The area contains substantial and important tropical forest ecosystems, which can provide a viable habitat for the long-term survival of over 800 species of fauna – some critically endangered - located within (UNESCO).
The mountainous Khao Yai National Park has a history of poaching and unsustainable agricultural practices. Struggling with debt, villagers [have] increasingly resorted to poaching, illegal logging and land encroachment (UNDP) which has had a detrimental effect on primary forest and also led to soil erosion, landslides and flooding. There is a need for forest restoration, reforestation, conservation and education to protect existing forests and create new ones in partnership with local people.
The Nursery aims to achieve the following:
• Provide employment and training for local people
- Train local people in nursery management and reforestation
- Provide training facilities for workshop
• Establish a base for reforestation and research in the local area
- Produce forest tree saplings for reforestation in the nearby area
- Undertake simple ecological surveys of the local existing primary forest to determine key tree species including framework species for planting
- Supply trees to other organizations for their tree planting projects
- Provide facilities for basic research on how to propagate and conserve rare or threatened tree species
• Facilitate environmental education initiatives
- Serve as a venue for educational activities for school children
- Provide a working resource for hands-on programmes
A Multi-Stakeholder Approach
A multi-stakeholder approach is seen as the best way to initiate sustainable programmes. While the nursery programme will be run by PATT, to achieve long term success the input and cooperation of Raimon Land, Sap Tai village, local authorities in the Department of National Parks (DNP) and tambon administration, other NGOs and consulting organisations such as FORRU- CMU and of course PDA will be crucial.
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