Bio-diversity

Natural marsh with aquatic plants and recognized as a wetland of international importance in Thailand, Nong Harn is the second largest in the northeastern region and has been a settlement site for communities for more than 100 years. Fifty percent of the income of the surrounding communities comes from the utilization of Nong Harn. It provides water , food, other aquatic animals , waterweed and habitat for migratory birds. Nong Harn is ,currently under various kinds of threat, mostly due to human activities. As population grows, and more cultivated areas expands, adjacent forest area which supplies water into the marsh is gradually shrinking. As traditional community way of life changes to modernization, Nong Harn has become a collector of all kinds of land-based pollution, ranging from community waste to industrial waste to agricultural waste. These pressing situation need to be reversed through, firstly, building capacity of immediate surrounding communities , and secondly , expanding a network and movement into others communities sharing the same ecosystems. Two previous projects supported by the Thailand Research Fund and Local Development Institute had led to a conclusion for initiating holistic rehabilitation and conservation of Nong Harn and disseminating lessons learnt to other communities. Project participants and/or beneficiaries: 1. Community members in 11 villages immediately around Nong Harn are primary beneficiaries, while in other 16 network villages are secondary. 2. Oumjarn Tambol Administrative Organization 3. Rajabhat University Udornthani 4. NGO Coordinating Committee for Development, Northeastern Region 5. Udornthani Provincial Environment Protection Volunteer Network Activities to be carried out under project: 1. Organizaing open forums , workshops and study tours aiming to attain right and holistic approach 2. Conducting resources inventories process 3. Launching experience-sharing forums in each 16 communities 4. Demarcating conservation zone 5. Launching reforestation around the marsh Anticipated Results/Immediate Ouputs of Project: 1. Increased capacity of 100 community members as witnessed through the emergence of conservation plan 2. Emergence of 26-village holistic environment network 3. About 40 members from 16 communities capable of disseminating to secondary target groups 4. One emerged conservation area for biodiversity learning

Thailand