24 Conserving Tropical Fruit Tree Diversity by Using Their Products and Promoting Agrotourism Lessons from an Empowered Community in Southern Thailand
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24 Conserving tropical fruit tree diversity by using their products and promoting agrotourism Lessons from an empowered community in southern Thailand Montree Issarakraisila, Margaret C. Yoovatana and Songpol Somsri GPD ‘passport’ GPD code: 29 Focus area: Commercialization and home use Collective action and social networking Character: Institutional arrangements and processes incorporating several techniques or methods Species and varieties Garcinia spp. and Nephelium spp. involved: Name of location: Kiriwong village, Nakhon Si Thammarat GIS reference of N 08°26′09′′; E 99°46′76′′ location(s): The Kiriwong village is located from 150 to 600 masl altitude at the foot of the 1,835-metre-high Luang Mountain. Name of farmer Mr Wirat, Mrs Ari, Mr Sontaya, Mrs Gantita (data resource): Other villagers and members of activity groups Conserving TFT diversity in Thailand 299 Introduction Kiriwong is a small village surrounded by the Kao Luang mountain forest landscape of Nakhon Si Thammarat province in the southern region of Thailand, which is known as one of the most important hubs of rich biodiversity in Thailand (Yaimuang et al., 2010). The capital city of Nakhon Si Thammarat is about 780 km south of Bangkok city. The village is known for its very rich natural tropical ecosystem with mixed multispecies tropical fruit tree orchards (Plates 56 and 57). The village economy is based on tropical fruits, mainly mangosteen (Garcinia mangostana L.), and the sale of fresh fruits or products made from the plant and tree crops found in their tropical fruit gardens. The village is also well known for tourism, attracting both local and outside visitors to enjoy some of the freshest, cleanest air in Thailand. The tourist activities are organized as ‘community-based tourism’, a form of ecotourism where the local community has substantial control over, and involvement in, its development and management, and a major proportion of the benefits remain within the community (WWF, 2001).1 Kiriwong is located 30 km west of Nakhon Si Thammarat and about 35 km from the ocean. The climate is tropical monsoon with two seasons: the hot season falls from February to April with an average daily temperature in the hottest month of about 29°C, and the rainy season begins from May and ends in January with an average daily temperature in the coolest month of about 26°C. The average yearly rainfall is 2,380 mm with heavy rains occurring from October to December. Soil is mostly sandy loam. Local context In 1988, after several days of heavy rains, Kiriwong was devastated by a flash flood that was triggered by the reduced water-retaining capacity of the degraded forests upstream. The flood destroyed houses, temples, orchards, roads and the landscape of the river valley and its feeding streams. This natural calamity prompted the community’s concerted effort to protect the fragile and highly diverse local agro-ecosystem of steep mountains covered in natural forests. In order to encourage the participation of all community members in this initiative, the community focused on activities that derive direct livelihood benefits from the indigenous plant species and local resources. The area was already known for its waterfalls, rainforest and beautiful tropical landscape. The farming communities in the area had been growing tropical fruit trees like mangosteen (Garcinia mangostana L.), durian (Durio zibethinus Murr.), rambutan (Nephelium lappaceum) and langsat (Lansium domesticum) for several generations, and the subdistrict is known as a major production belt of mangosteen in Thailand. These fruit crops provide the main income source for these communities along with bitter beans called petai from Parkia speciosa, a leguminous tree. Both home gardens in the valleys and commercial orchards on the hillsides are traditionally grown as mixed multispecies fruit gardens, called Suan Som Rom 300 Issarakraisila, Yoovatana and Somsri by the villagers, which contribute to and benefit from the moist and fertile soil and atmosphere conditions due to the combination of various types and layers of trees and plants (Yaimuang et al., 2010). Methodology Kiriwong village is known in Nakhon Si Thammarat for its rich biodiversity and agrotourism activities and was taken up as a site for the GEF UNEP TFT project2 for the on-farm conservation of tropical fruit tree diversity. Data were gathered through participatory rural appraisal (PRA) and semi-structured key informant interviews and community group meetings held during the project period from 2009–2014. Activities in Kiriwong are organized and implemented through several designated groups. The representatives of four activity groups were invited to explain in more detail about their activities: Mr Sontaya from the herb home group, Mrs Ari from the clothing and natural dye group, Mr Wirat from the agriculture and environment group and Mrs Gantita from the homestay group. Site visits were made to investigate the activities of each group. A detailed study was conducted by a consultant to understand the processes and institutional structure in Kiriwong village; how villagers had organized themselves and developed a range of activities related to the marketing and conservation of local tropical fruit tree species. The village has been an eye opener for many rural development practitioners to see how to facilitate a process of change towards improved incomes and livelihoods by making use of natural resources in a sustainable and environmentally friendly way (Yaimuang et al., 2010). The village particularly shows how the support of local initiatives and activities based on local knowledge and interests facilitated through several semi-independent but collaborating groups can bring about transformative change in the lives of local people. Members of communities participating in the project from India, Indonesia and Malaysia visited the groups and communities in Kiriwong to see what can be possible and to strengthen self-confidence in pursuing similar activities in the commercialization and conservation of local biodiversity. Description of GPD Nakhon Si Thammarat province located in the south of Thailand has abundant tropical fruit trees (Table 24.1), and the village has developed a wide range of biodiversity-based products from Garcinia and Nephelium fruit species, including natural dyes for fabrics, soaps, cosmetics, sweets, juices and health products. Besides the development of various products, the villagers have established several agroecotourism activities such as homestays, cycling or trekking activities and visits to the temple and special natural spots or viewpoints. Tourists often come for half a day to three days, frequently in organized groups, to enjoy the nature, culture, fruits and diversity of Kiriwong village (see Plates 56 and 57). These agroecotourism activities provide additional income and help to Conserving TFT diversity in Thailand 301 bring in customers for the established market outlet that displays the range of processed products that are made by several activity groups. There are now in total nine active activity groups established in the village focusing on specific processing techniques, species or products. They comprise three groups for cloth dyeing, a durian paste group, a herb processing group, a handicraft products group, a group making necklaces from local plants, a money-saving group and a group focusing on environmentally friendly agricultural practices. A range of agroecotourism activities have been developed, from sightseeing to demonstration workshops of the different product groups to see how the products are made. Nowadays, since the establishment of several homestays and small-scale resorts, more tourism activities are provided such as fishing, mountain biking, cultural tours and hiking trails (www.kiriwonggroup.com). This good practice for diversity management (GPD) can best be described as a process or system where people in the community started to capitalize on their mixed and highly diverse backyards and orchards in this mountainous area for the commercialization of a wide range of products. These activities were organized through several semi-independent and simultaneous operating groups who arrange their own funding and decide their activities based on their own interests. The groups do not work in isolation but collaborate with and strengthen each other in a concerted effort to improve livelihoods while conserving the local highly diverse agro-ecosystem. This practice was initially triggered by environmental concerns after the flash flood to avoid the degrada- tion of the forest and orchards on the hillsides, and was further strengthened with the promotion of agroecotourism by the local government office and several outside donors. It was started more than 20 years ago by a few villagers or so-called ‘change agents’ and now involves the whole community of the village. Awareness of nature conservation and the active participation of all people in the community were important factors that contributed to the develop- ment of this practice and are important drivers for their further development. In the rest of this chapter we outline the activities of four of the activity groups in more detail. Agriculture and environment group Mr Wirat strongly believes in environmental conservation and has provided local leadership for social capital building in Kiriwong. In 2001, he organized a group of 30 local women and men farmers and established the agriculture and environment group. The aim of the group was to reduce environmental