Implementing landscape restoration and agroforestry activities across Thailand.
Thamma Raksa — which translates to “Nature is the Remedy“ — has been an active project in the Chumphon and Ranong provinces, and Isaan region, since 2010, seeking to address the consequences of erratic weather patterns, while providing additional revenue opportunities to farmers.
In Thailand, extensive mono-cropping and deforestation due to the development of cash crops, such as Jasmine Thai rice, have led to the severe degradation of this biodiversity hotspot.
By implementing landscape restoration and agroforestry activities, the Thamma Raksa project supports producers of rice, coffee, and rubber in the fight against soil degradation and extreme climate events. This project seeks to address the consequences of erratic weather patterns, floods, and droughts while providing additional revenue opportunities to farmers.
Sustainable rice farming (SRI) is viewed by many as “the best rice farming methodology” for economic and environmental purposes — with high yield and low methane emissions. Yet SRI can be challenging due to the need for water irrigation, which often costs small-scale rice farmers more than they can make in a year.
To help rice farmers in Thailand to afford long-term sustainability, we began implementing regenerative agricultural practices after many years of working with rice farmers, local agronomists, and academics.
Through extensive pilot studies and fieldwork, including daily data collection on key performance indicators, a sustainable rice project was developed. In the design process, we increased our impact on biodiversity by planting a multi-strata agroforestry model — including root crops, vegetables, perennials, fruit and timber trees, and six different cover-crop species.
In one year, the profit made from this regenerative agricultural practice was 18 times higher than conventional organic rice farming. With this new production model, farmers can now afford sustainable water irrigation systems, helping them pursue low-carbon rice cultivation while remaining debt-free.
Thirty-six species were planted in a multi-strata agroforestry model.
The PUR team monitors the growth of trees in our project sites.
PUR’s data team provides local training to our on-site field teams to track and monitor data in our projects.
Farmers participate in regular socialization and training activities.
Our Thamma Raksa: Mangrove project was established in 2018 in Ranong, Thailand. It supports a community of fishers and villagers in the fight against the degradation of vital mangrove ecosystems – mitigating coastal erosion, regenerating ecosystems, increasing food security, and sequestering carbon.
Mangroves suffered from the extensive development of shrimp farms in the 1990s. And due to other intensive fishery practices, marine biodiversity has been significantly degraded.
PUR’s Mangrove project in Thailand consists of replanting mangroves within the community — supporting and amplifying restoration initiatives launched by local fishers ten years ago, who have lacked the financial resources to maximize their impact.
To regenerate marine ecosystems and mitigate global warming, PUR engages coastal communities to plant mangrove trees and develop onshore agroforestry projects.
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