Promotion and Development of Community Participation in Protected Areas of Khun Lao Watershed, Khun Jae National Park, Chiang Rai Province Watershed Community Promotion and Development Section Watershed Conservation and Management Office Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation i Preface The Promotion and Development of Community Participation in Protected Areas (PPP) of Khun Lao watershed, Khun Jae National Park by the Khun Lao Watershed Management Unit under the 15th Protected Areas Regional Office (Chiang Rai) are able to achieve the activity objectives and respond to the mission of the National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP) that people be living with the forest sustainably. These are accomplished by integration of the PPP activities with relevant sectors. Watershed Conservation and Management Office by Watershed Community Promotion and Development Section, which plays the role in setting the guidelines to promote the participation of local communities in the conservation of natural resources and responsible for the PPP activities. The section has collected the operating procedures, the successes, and analyzed the factors that contribute to the successes of the PPP activities as listed above during the fiscal year 2006 - 2018. This document has been prepared so that the relevant persons can apply as a guideline for the PPP activities or the others to promote the participation of local communities in accordance with the context of each area and also published to interested people. Finally, the working team hopes that this document will be benefit more or less. Participation Promotion and Development Group November, 2018 ii Executive Summary Promotion and Development of Community Participation in Protected Areas (PPP) of Khun Lao Watershed, Khun Jae National Park, Chiang Rai Province. Khun Lao watershed covers an area of 269,817 rai (431 square kilometers), with a height of 580 - 2,031 meters above mean sea level in Wiang Pa Pao District, Chiang Rai Province. Most of the areas are high mountains with a steep slope and only about 10% be the flat areas in the valley. There are 217,342 rai of forest land (or 80.55% of the watershed area). The Lao River flows from the high mountainous southward to the north then flows into the Kok River and outlet at the Mekong River. Khun Lao watershed forested area covers the high mountains to the south of Khun Lao Watershed, including Doi Lanka, Doi Nang Kaew, Doi Mod and Doi Pha Ngom. It’s known as the origin of several important streams flowed descend to the Lao River and having a diversity of the forest types such as mixed deciduous forest, dipterocarp forest, rainforest, hill evergreen forest, dry evergreen forest and pine forest. It’s the area of water supply for 24 villages in 3 Sub-districts of Wiang Pa Pao District, Chiang Rai Province namely Mae Chedi Mai, Mae Chedi and Pa Ngiu. From being the upstream area, it is designated as a first or second class in watershed classification categories in order to maintain the watershed area, no change at all cases in the nature of the forest area which required by the cabinet resolution on May 28, 1985 on the determination of the watershed classification and the cabinet resolution on February 21, 1995 on the definition of the watershed classification of the western and central regions, the Pasak Basin, the Northeastern (Border watersheds), including the Kok River Basin. In 1995, the Department of National Park, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP) announced the establishment of Khun Jae National Park. It covers all Khun Lao watershed forest area. The reason is that the forest is rich and biodiversity. It’s referred as the upstream of the Lao River and having a unique beautiful nature. The residential areas of the community are only removed from the national park but not included the arable areas. This caused the conflicts between the national park officials and Khun Lao watershed communities for land utilization. The indigenous people have moved to settlement in the area since 1981. They earned their life in agricultural way. The more population increased, the more agricultural areas were expanded. Fertilizers and chemicals were applied for growing plants. This made the deterioration of forest, soil and water resources and followed by water shortage and forest fire occurred in the area. If not accelerated, the abundant forests of Khun Lao watershed iii forest area will deteriorate. This is the cause of flood in the rainy season, water shortages in the dry season, and soil erosion due to lacks of tree and vegetation covers. Farmers suffer from insufficient water use in agriculture and impact on income and quality of life of people in upstream and downstream areas including the conservation of natural resources in the country as a whole. For the community to live with the forest sustainably, the DNP by Watershed Conservation and Management Office has adjusted the role of the law enforcement to facilitator and to create a public participation process by promoting and encouraging all concerned parties to talk about the causes and needs of the community including find the solution of problems. In addition, activity creation to protect and rehabilitate the forest according to the area and needs of the community has been done. The participatory driving processes of Khun Lao watershed in Khun Jae National Park has been operated by Khun Lao Watershed Management Unit under the 15th Protected Areas Regional Office (Chiang Rai). The strategy is to promote community participation through the PPP activities in the protected areas and surrounding communities including the collaboration with all relevant sectors in the area namely Earth Net Foundation, Rak Num Lao Community Network (local NGO), Royal Project Foundation, Huai Pong Royal Project Development Center, and other government agencies such as Department of Administration, and Department of Tourism, etc., as well as Sub-district Administration Organization. These are to become a cooperative network partners to work for maintaining the abundance of upstream forest and also for the people to live with the forest sustainably. Summary of the participatory work procedures are as follows. 1. Encouragement of the villager stage meetings for systematically acquiring and recording information of community issues by Khun Jae National Park, relevant government agencies in the area and private organizations, as Earth Net Foundation and Rak Num Lao Community Network (local NGO) have joined to discuss issues of natural resources and environment, and other related issues in their own community including to analyze the causes of the problems and seek ways to protect and solution. The main problems of the community in Khun Lao watershed area are the conflicts with park officials, threat of forest fire, forest encroachment due to the expansion of monoculture areas, water shortage in the dry season and use of agricultural chemicals in upstream areas. 2. Encouragement of the integration processes by the community selection and establishment the PPP village boards. This boards play a role in managing the DNP subsidy of 50,000 Baht in accordance with the project plan arising from the resolution of the PPP boards of the community. 3. Exploration of the basics information and land utilization by the relevant networks such as Khun Jae National Park, Khun Lao Watershed Management Unit, The Royal iv Projects, Earth Net Foundation, and community members. They have joined for the community information survey and land use mapping for each plot in all communities including data collection of geography, climate, soil, water, plant species and history of farmers’ land use. These information lead to a common solution that is to promote coffee growing under a shade trees which suitable for the upstream forest area. 4. Community has joined to set community’s rules of resource utilization through the mechanism of the villager stage meetings. The rules have been set for each village and lead to a memorandum of understanding with Khun Jae National Park for "No purchase, no sale of land in the protected forest zone”. If there is a violator, then the social rules to firstly handle. If not, it will be sent to the next legal action. 5. The community has joined to prepare the plans and activities including co- operating the planned activities as results of community members' resolutions. The PPP village boards will be the main mechanism for gathering the suggestions or resolutions, then make the action plans such as the forest fire prevention and control plan, the solution plan for the farming area expansion, the integrated checkdam creation plan, the edible plants and herbs growing plan in forest areas, etc., and the spending plan of subsidized budgets. Khun Lao Watershed Management Unit is a promoter and supporter who gives advices for carried out the activities that must not conflict with the rules. For example, forest fire prevention and control which villagers gathered together to make firebreaks along the Khun Lao ridge. This can be mobilized in conjunction with officials to quickly extinguish forest fire with the excellent results. Or plans for solution of illegal logging and the farming area expansion in the forest, in these cases there are also network partners such as Huai Pong Royal Project Development Center has joined in to reduce passion fruit plantation and purchase tea from the villagers. Earth Net Foundation has promoted and supported the coffee cultivation in the form of organic agroforestry and developed as a product of the Khun Laos watershed forest. The Rak Num Lao Community Network, which is a local NGO, has participated in fund raising, co-operating on checkdam construction, building water tanks and mountainous water supply. Furthermore, the network partners have also participated in monitoring and evaluation of activities undertaken by the community. They report operating results to the PPP Executive Committee and the PAC of Khun Jae National Park, which are representatives from various sectors such as representatives of Earth Net Foundation and its community in the area.