THAILAND / TRIBAL LAND
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STORY: THAILAND / TRIBAL LAND
TRT: 3.00
SOURCE: UNDP
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUIAGE: THAI / NATS
DATELINE: RECENT 2009, THAILAND
RECENT 2009, MAESAPAETAI, MAE HONG PROVINCE, THAILAND
1. Med shot, village of Maesapaetai in the Mae Hong province in Northern Thailand
2. Med shot, repairing ceiling of a house
3. Wide shot, children walking on path
4. Med shot, woman walking
5. Wide shot, children playing on swings
6. Med shot, goat
7. Various shots, rice paddies
8. Various shots, villagers at work in rice paddies
9. SOUNDBITE (Thai) Whit Poom, village resident in Maesapaetai:
“We used to have a bigger rice farm but now it has become smaller because of land erosion.”
10. Various shots, map 3D modeling
11. Various shots, villagers building 3D models
12. SOUNDBITE (Thai) Khun Um, model maker:
“It’s like a new toy, that makes it interesting and helps elders and children understand their location.”
13. Various shots, villagers building 3D models
RECENT 2009, BANGKOK, THAILAND
14. Wide shot, Suranee Phusuwan, UNDP project manager, walking into her office
15. Med shot, Suranee Phusuwan at her desk
16. SOUNDBITE (Thai) Suranee Phusuwan, project manager, UNDP:
“This tool not only makes communities more connected, but it also helps in the vital areas of agricultural planning, irrigation, forest fire prevention and flood mitigation.”
RECENT 2009, MAESAPAETAI, MAE HONG PROVINCE, THAILAND
17. Various shots, villagers building 3D models
18. Various shots, villagers working in rice paddies
Whit Poom’s family has been growing rice for 50 years on his farm in the Karen hill tribe village of Maesapaetai in Thailand’s northern Mae Hong Son province.
While crop rotating once served as a way to keep farms big and healthy, the clearing away of precious forest cover has led to even bigger problems, including erosion and an increased risk of flash flooding.
“We used to have a bigger rice farm but now it has become smaller because of land erosion,” Whit said.
So the Government of Thailand adopted new land use policies that restrict access to forests for conservation purposes.
Local residents can’t farm without permission. If they do, they risk fines or arrest. The new policies have caused confusion among the Karen and other northern hill tribes; often, local residents and the Government disagree on land ownership and use.
A UNDP-supported project that is constructing three dimensional models of hill tribe villages and their surrounding areas is changing that. Thanks to the project, rivers, mountains, forests and farming areas are now clearly marked, along with areas where land use and ownership must be clarified. Models have already been made of Maesapaetai and Huai Fan, with more villages to be completed in the coming months.
Khun Um, the model maker, says the project is an easy way for villagers to visualize what land belongs to whom and is also fun.
“It’s like a new toy, that makes it interesting and helps elders and children understand their location” Khun Um said.
UNDP project manager Suranee Phusuwan says the project brings many benefits to the communities involved.
“This tool not only makes communities more connected, but it also helps in the vital areas of agricultural planning, irrigation, forest fire prevention and flood mitigation.” Phusuwan said
The three dimensional modeling is part of a wider program of work being undertaken by UNDP in partnership with the Mae Hong Son Governor’s office that is promoting fair and equal treatment of hill tribes.