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Over the past few decades, non-government
organizations (NGOs) in Thailand have learnt many lessons
about development from their work in urban and rural areas.
The knowledge and experience gained has come from a process
of empowering people organizations (POs) to solve basic community-level
problems, improve their quality of life, and to find ways
to preserve, recover and use natural and biological resources
sustainably. Work towards these goals has been based on the
principles of diversification, the inclusion of men and women,
and the participation of communities at the policy level.
It has also included forging alliances for development and
creating PO networks for cooperative problem solving. These
experiences have built up a wide body of knowledge and have
resulted in the emergence of a new development paradigm.
The direction of the prevailing development
paradigm - the modernization model - has lead to a decreased
potential for community self-reliance and has widened the
gap between the rich and the poor. This has occurred because
the modernization model compartmentalizes development into
separate spheres and ignores the importance of people, local
wisdom and the environment. This model is also based on the
centralization of authority, which minimizes the opportunities
for people to participate in learning and decision-making
about economic, political and socio-cultural issues. It also
does not accept local people's rights to own and manage their
resources or their own development.
Following such a path of development has
deepened Thailand's crisis. There is now greater competition
for resources and more conflict between government and the
people. Particularly with globalization, Thai society has
had to face many critical and complicated problems that affect
various aspects and levels of society. The globalization of
knowledge, technology and communication, and their importance
as tools of development, has altered Thai thinking, knowledge
and social values, which has brought about structural changes
in the economic, political, social and cultural life of the
country.
Sustainable development, in contrast to the
modernization paradigm, is a development model which is integrated
and holistic. It takes into account local ways of life, indigenous
wisdom and natural resource equilibrium, all of which contribute
to greater self-reliance and improve quality of life. In addition,
sustainable development strengthens social balances through
encouraging local knowledge, cultural values and the participation
of various groups, particularly women and those who are normally
excluded from the problem identification and decision-making
processes at local and policy levels. Since this model emphasizes
POs and the cooperation of various stakeholders in society,
it can lead to solving community problems as well as Thai
social problems on a greater level.
Applying these concepts and drawing on the
lessons learned about the process of development, the Sustainable
Development Foundation was established to promote and expand
the sustainable development ideas and approaches. Its mission
is to support and strengthen NGOs, POs and local groups by
promoting sustainable development, learning through doing,
developing holistic visions, improving understanding of development,
and strengthening the cooperation between various groups in
society. Sustainable development tries to bring benefits to
the most disadvantaged in society, especially those who lack
opportunities, with the goal of strengthening their capacities
to improve local self-reliance and Thai society as a whole.
The Sustainable Development Foundation was
established in 2000 to support the 'Danish Cooperation for
Environment and Development (DANCED) Partnership Programme
Towards Sustainable Management of Natural Resources'. The
programme focused on the promotion of natural resource management
by community organizations.
The programme was comprised of four regional
projects:
- Northeast Sustainable Management of Natural
Resources by Community Organizations Project.
- Northern Watershed Development by Community
Organizations Project.
- River Basin Management Through Community
Organizations and Networks in Southern Thailand Project.
- Coastal Zone Management Through Community
Organizations and Networks in Southern Thailand Project.
The activities of the four regional projects
were coordinated by a Central Support Unit (CSU) in Bangkok.
SDF has maintained this structure, as the
combination of regional projects and a CSU is in keeping with
the foundation's complimentary objectives of facilitating
empowerment and collaboration.
Between January 2003 and is March 2004, SDF
was engaged in a bridging phase between the 'DANCED Partnership
Programme Towards Sustainable Management of Natural Resources'
and the 'Danish International Development Assistance (DANIDA)
Sub-component on Joint Management of Protected Areas (JoMPA)'.
SDF is now fully engaged in the JoMPA sub-component.
Aside from supporting these projects, SDF
works to strengthen NGO and PO networks by emphasizing the
development of holistic and integrated visions of sustainability.
These visions are derived from local wisdom and involve building
partnerships to cooperate in solving community problems which
will lead to sustainable development.
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