INTRODUCTION
	PROJECT AREA
	OBJECTIVES
	PROJECT OVERVIEW AGRICULTURE Coffee Macadamia TISSUE CULTURE HANDICRAFTS AND COTTAGE INDUSTRIES Textiles, Ceramics, Saa Paper TOURISM
	PROJECT RESULTS Reforestation and rehabilitation of degraded forests Improvement in the living conditions of the local population Drug eradication

DOI TUNG DEVELOPMENT PROJECT

INTRODUCTION

Doi Tung (Flag Mountain), in Chiang Rai province in Northern Thailand, is the site of a comprehensive Sustainable Alternative Development Programme (SADP) initiated in 1988 by Her Royal Highness, the Princess Mother, mother of the reigning King Bhumibol Adulyadej.

The felling of trees for timber and destructive subsistence farming techniques, such as the “Slash-and-burn” technique employed in the cultivation of the opium poppy, resulted in widespread destruction of lush evergreen forests and the rapid depletion of the rich forest resources of Doi Tung. Stripped of its luxuriant protective canopy, mountain slopes were directly exposed to the forces of erosion, such as tropical rainfall. The ethnic minorities who settled in the area were impoverished and malnourished, and many succumbed to the habitual use of narcotic substances. Lacking other viable options of earning a livelihood, young women were often forced into prostitution as a means of earning income to support destitute families.

Lacking access by road and a good transport infrastructure, the remote area around Doi Tung was virtually inaccessible. Given this extreme isolation, the area inadvertently fell beyond the scope of central government and as a result, poppy cultivation prevailed over some fifty per cent of the current project area. A large share of the total opium production in the Golden Triangle originated from Doi Tung. Several towns in the region were also important transit points for shipments of opium, bound for international distribution.

In spite of these adverse conditions, and against security recommendations by the military, the Princess Mother decided to set up home at Doi Tung. The construction of her residence there signalled the beginning of a long-term process to address and solve the social, economic and environmental problems of the region.

Realizing that the issues of poverty and environmental destruction are interlinked, the Princess Mother established the Doi Tung Development Project to tackle problems emanating from and related to opium production, including negative environmental impacts and rural poverty in the Doi Tung area. Her aim was to stop erosion and protect the endangered watersheds through intensive reforestation of the surrounding forestlands. Through the planting of cash crops, such as coffee and macadamia nut trees, farmers were offered an economic alternative to the cultivation of the opium poppy. The Development Project created jobs, especially for young women, and established health and education systems that have helped to raise the standard of living of the indigenous ethnic minorities.

Since the late 1960s, the Princess Mother had strived to improve the living conditions of rural Thais, particularly the ethnic minorities in the remote mountainous areas of Northern Thailand – areas that were only accessible by helicopter. It was this very image of the Princess Mother descending from the skies that the name, “Mae Fah Luang” (Mother from the sky) came to be a new title by which Her Royal Highness is addressed by the local people.

The tireless efforts of Her Royal Highness to improve the lives of the underprivileged were recently recognised by UNESCO. In commemoration of the 100^th anniversary of her birth in the year 2000, the Princess Mother was named one of the UNESCO-designated “World’s Great Personalities”.

PROJECT AREA

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The Doi Tung Development Project is situated in Chiang Rai, the northernmost province of Thailand. The Project extends over an area of 150 square kilometres and runs adjacent to the border between Thailand and Myanmar (Burma) for a distance of 25 kilometres. The region is dominated by the Nang Non mountain range with Doi Chang Mub, its tallest peak, at 1,509 metres above sea level. Within the project area, there are 26 villages, home to a population of over 11,000 people, consisting mainly of hill tribes. Half of the villages are Akha communities. Other important minority (ethnic) groups represented are the Shan, Lahu and Lawa. In addition, there are approximately 1,100 descendants of members of the Chinese nationalist army – the Kuomintang – living in Doi Tung. In the wake of the Chinese civil war, they migrated and settled along the Thai-Burmese border.

OBJECTIVES

1. The rehabilitation of the depleted forestlands around Doi Tung by employing nature-based and environmentally-compatible techniques, fostering the co-existence of man and nature
   
   
2. Improvement in the standard of living of the local population through the creation of jobs, and the provision of effective health and education systems
   
   
3. The introduction of crop substitution schemes whereby the cultivation of cash crops replaces the cultivation of opium poppy; the eradication of drug processing, trading and consumption

Beyond these socio-economic and environmental objectives, security aspects were also taken into consideration in the initial conception, planning process and formulation of the project. One of the key objectives was to improve the security situation along the border area through the presence of an increased number of security forces and to promoter greater allegiance to the Thai Kingdom by creating a greater sense of belonging and a Thai identity among the villagers through gradual cultural integration.

Finally, Doi Tung was established as a model project for other regions of Thailand that faced similar problems.

PROJECT OVERVIEW
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