14 GREEN CITIES (ENG)

- 14 Green Cities -

Department of Environmental Quality Promotion Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment

Contents 14 Green Cities Northern Region

Thailand’s Promotion of Sustainable Cities: Policies, Plans, and Goals

5

Urban Mobilization for Sustainable Environment

9

Chiang Rai City Municipality Chiang Kian Subdistrict Municipality Wiang Thoeng Subdistrict Municipality Koh Kha Subdistrict Municipality Baan Sang Subdistrict Municipality

13 19 22 27 32

Central Region Takhli Municipality Pichit Town Municipality

Easthern Region Panus Nikom Town Municipality Chaman Subdistrict Municipality

39 46 52 58

Northeasthern Region Udon Thani City Municipality Renu Nakhon Subdistrict Municipality Nong Teng Subdistrict Municipality

64 72 77

Southern Region Phuket Municipality Krabi Town Municipality

83 87

Thailand has shown continual interest in the urban developmental approach that bases itself on good and environmentally friendly living standards, following the sustainable development blueprint that the global community aims to achieve. Thailand’s developmental trajectory, which encompasses the economic, social, and environmental aspects, resonates with the ASEAN member states’ aim to turn the global blueprint and goals into substantial and sustainable outcomes in their country. Sustainable city initiative becomes one of the critical strategies in the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community Blueprint included as a pivotal part of ASEAN Community Vision 2025, and later gives birth to ASEAN Environmentally Sustainable Cities or ASEAN ESC. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment assigns the Department of Environmental Quality Promotion to work as the key facilitator to help Thailand achieve the objective.

The Department of Environmental Quality Promotion’s mission is to materialize the ideas and initiatives from ASEAN Community Vision 2025 into tangible practices at a local and national level. Under the Environmentally Sustainable Cities project, the attempt aims for local administrative organizations to encourage and integrate people’s participation as a crucial factor in developing their potential and self-reliance in natural resource and environmental management. Simultaneously, the development should coincide with the context of each community’s social, cultural, economic, and geographic conditions.

With the joint financial support from the Thai Government, Japan-ASEAN Integration Fund, ASEAN Secretariat and Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES), the book “14 Green Cities’ put together inspiring approaches and examples of successful and sustainable environmental management made possible by the 14 cities that join ASEAN’s ‘Environmentally Sustainable Cities’ initiative. The book also features Thailand’s rising sustainable cities and their journey to become ASEAN’s ESC model cities. We hope that these amazing communities and their stories can inspire and motivate other localities to continue to develop themselves to become the true ‘environmentally sustainable cities’, and together create a more livable and sustainable world.

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Thailand’s Promotion of Sustainable Cities: Policies, Plans, and Goal

Coinciding with the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals: SDGs, Thailand has formulated policies that put significant emphasis on ‘sustainable development,’ one of the essential global developmental agenda.

In 2013, Thailand established the ‘Committee for Sustainable Development.’ Currently, the community has the Prime Minister sitting as the Chairman with the office of the committee for national economic and social developments as the committee and secretary.

The committee has assigned agencies responsible for the tangible and steadfast support and implementation of 17 Sustainable Development Goals: SDGs). The goals have been re-prioritized and elaborated into 30 objectives that best correspond with Thailand’s current situation and context.

Sustainable Development Goals are crucial to the change in the developmental trajectory of every sector in Thailand, particularly the local communities or local administrative organizations. They are the government organization with the closest connection and access to the public sector. The Thai government highlights the importance of the formation of policies and other related strategies to clearly outline the approaches to achieve sustainable development of the urban environment.

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20-year National Strategies (2018-2037) Give significance to the distribution of power to localities and the public sector’s participation alongside the eco-friendly urban development.

The Twelfth National Economic and Social Development Plan (2017-2021) Emphasizes the importance of sustainable and environmentally friendly growth of cities and communities by including it as a part of the plan’s environmental growth strategies for sustainable development.

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The national environmental quality promotion policy and plan (2018-2037) States one of its visions: “Thailand has a sustainable and balanced foundation of natural resources and environmentally friendly society.”

The 20 Year National Strategy (2018-2037) On environment works towards the 20-year air pollution management vision, “The state-public collective to solve air pollution problems and protect environmental quality,” aiming to achieve a ‘standardized environmental quality in every sector.

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Development Goals: Thailand’s sustainable cities

Member States of the Association’s ASEAN Community Vision 2025 and the ASEAN’s Implementation Plan 2016-2025 shine a brighter light on environmental issues with a consensus to achieve 11 topics related to collaborative ecological development goals. One of the goals is to improve urban living standards. What ensues is every ASEAN country’s conscientiously mobilization ‘urban environment’ and initiation of an urban development promotion project, ‘ASEAN Sustainable City Model.’ The project follows a sustainable and environmentally friendly approach to urban development. Also included is the development of ASEAN Sustainable Environmental Management Criteria to deliver an accurate evaluation.

The current Thai government has put a great deal of emphasis on facilitating urban development upon people’s improved living standards and environmentally friendly way of life. On October 10th, 2018, the cabinet agreed upon the principles and mobilization of sustainable cities and assigned the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment’s Department of Environmental Quality Promotion together with the Minister of Interior, Ministry of Education and other involved agencies to take part in outlining a concrete and sensible approach to mobilize the inception and development of sustainable cities. The initial objective is to achieve the ‘1 province one sustainable city’ goal with every province in Thailand by 2020.

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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Urban Mobilization for Sustainable Environment “A city with participatory development, environmentally friendly growth, and higher living standard.�

1 Building participation and the power of networking

Encourage participation and empowerment of local networks to enable the environmental management process, which coincides with varying urban conditions using locally developed action plans as an apparatus.

Encourage and establish local administrative organizations to mobilize activities following indicative criteria of Green City

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Summarize lessons learned and create a body of knowledge.

Expand operational networks.

2 Develop tools and mechanisms for the

development of a sustainable urban environment

Sustainable Indicator

Develop indicative criteria to function as a tool and guideline to improve, assess, and analyze local situations to elevate and achieve a new standard.

Create a mechanism and promote a provincial mobilization of Green City.

3 Elevate Green City to reach ASEAN scale

Develop and elevate operations and activities to create model cities with internationally standardized environmental quality.

Develop international ecological collaborations.

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- 14 Green Cities -

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Green Cities -

Northern Region

Chiang Rai City Municipality Chiang Kian Subdistrict Municipality Wiang Thoeng Subdistrict Municipality Koh Kha Subdistrict Municipality Baan Sang Subdistrict Municipality

Chiang Rai City Municipality Muang District, Chiang Rai

Vision: Liveable city, capital of happiness Population: 76,887 (2018) Number of communities: 64 Area: 60.85 square kilometers

Due to the affluence of its natural resources and strategic location with convenient access to a neighbor country, Chiang Rai serves as a door to trade, investment, and a part of a critical traveling route that connects to many other countries in the Indo-China region. A once slow-paced city is seeing a significant leap in urbanization. Maintaining a balance between its continually growing urban space and environmental preservation has become the province’s most significant challenge.

Chiang Rai, therefore, strives to keep its charm as a lovely and liveable city it always has been.

Environmentally Sustainable City Management Model Key of Success

Brainstorm, plan, and set in motion the strategy under the participation of every involved factor.

By taking the sustainable approach, the body of knowledge is transpired and exchanged; planning and operation should be done at an organizational level to enable continuous progress alongside educating the public.

Waste management collective Chiang Rai municipality once had to deal with over 100-ton wastes daily, a considerable increase from 4 years ago when the number was only 80 tons a day, consequently leading to a higher budget spent on waste disposal. The municipality has pushed forward is the 3Rs principles to resolve the city’s waste management issue and its use of resources. Through community participation, the city works to form a body of knowledge and cultivate awareness among young people, strengthening the locals’ skills and knowledge related to waste sorting and finding a mutual agreement regarding waste collection times and dates.

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Doi Saken: Urban Forest Doi Saken is the only natural forestland situated in the city of Chiang Rai. The area has been the lung for 70,000 population of Chiang Rai with the biodiversity that includes countless species of indigenous plants and wild animals. In 2010, the municipality began a promotional project for urban biodiversity conservation. Joined by the local community and children, the project had started to explore Doi Saken’s biodiversity. The collected data is put together into a forest and biodiversity conservation database of this particular forest land. Other areas within the municipality have employed the conservational approach to their local ecosystems, such as public parks. In the meantime, local schools have included the topic as a part of the students’ learning experience.

Protecting the big trees, expanding green spaces The urban landscape of Chiang Rai municipality stands out, not for its skyline of high rise buildings, but tens of massive rain trees that stand tall and providing shades to both sides of the roads. Some of the trees are over a century old and have been preserved as a part of the city’s urban fabric, making Chiang Rai greener and more livable. The initiative employs different types of participatory approaches and collaborations with many networks made up of organizations and agencies from governmental, private, and public sectors. It aims to preserve the city’s green spaces as a part of the strategy that hopes to turn Chiang Rai into the city of trees.

Learning Center for Environmental Management Learning Center # 1 Cultural diversity

From past to present, Kok River, one of the sources of the area’s local art and cultures, has run through the city of Chiang Rai, generating urban civilization and developments that reflect the connection between people and the river. Local cultural identity serves as a tool to revive the river and its surrounding urban and natural environment.

Learning Center # 2

Urban Agricultural Area Since 1995, the people of Baan Pa Ngew Community has transformed a deserted 3.55-acre plot of land into a community organic vegetable farm. Baan Pa Ngew Community has grown to become a model for safe and secure food production. Organic farming evolves into a part of people’s way of life. It grows seasonal plants and vegetables for consumers all-year-round. The farm also operates as a learning center of sufficiency agriculture with local farmers and the community being the instructors.

It is also one of the city’s destinations for agricultural tourism and a stop on its cycling routes.

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Learning Center # 3 Ecosystem of wetland

Nong Pueng Pond is a 35.5-acre natural wetland. It serves as the city’s massive water basin, which collects water for local usage during the drought season and restrains water from damaging the urban area during flood season. The local community works together with the municipal office in managing the area to stay beautiful and clean. Around the pond are large trees growing naturally. Miyawaki’s forest restoration method gives birth to new forestland, which has become a natural science class for students to explore and study. Everyone is welcome to be a part of forest conservation activities while the students are responsible for keeping track of the trees’ growth rates.

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Chiang Kian Subdistrict Municipality Toeng District, Chiang Rai

Vision: Chiang Kian, livability, cultural appreciation to become ASEAN’s model green city Population: 4,344 (2018) Number of communities: 12 Area: 76.3 square meters

“Chiang Kian is a clean and livable town that is home to citizens whose happy lives and wellbeing coincide with their appreciation and inheritance of local wisdom, under the sufficiency economy philosophy. The people actively participate in the community’s environmental management, which hopes for Chiang Kian to become a model ASEAN town.” The aforementioned is the objective this small town aims to attain when it comes to its local administration. Such intention has led to many developmental activities, encompassing art and cultural conservation to local wisdom under the sufficiency economy philosophy. With its focus on environmental management, Chiang Kian subdistrict municipality issues policies that require every village to complete community forest registration. The town also develops a set of rules and regulations that will enable community forests to benefit the people and the environment while maintaining the sustainability of the local ecosystem.

Environmentally Sustainable City Management Model Include problems as a part of the policymaking process, which encourages collective and collaborative brainstorming and mobilization to reach the shared goals.

Key of Success

Create a successful model and expand the approach and practice to other areas with consideration in each community’s preparedness and context.

Put a focus on sustainable conservation and use of local forestland to maintain ecological balance.

Every conserved forest is the foundation of sustainable resources.

The forestland of Phu Khao Kaew that home to Baan Phu Khao Kaew Community is a part of the Chiang Kian subdistrict municipality. The forest was once in a pristine condition and served as a local natural resource for locals. It was until the concession granted to a private company that the forestland began to diminish starkly. It was in 1995 when community leaders and the village committee finally acknowledged the importance of forest. Such awareness led to a discussion with community members to come up with forest encroachment prevention measures followed by the area of the local forestland being defined by

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geographically recognizable borders. In 2014, the Department of Forestry certified 313.65 acres forestland into a community forest with the plan of including the additional 3 acres. The establishment of Phu Khao Kaew Community Forest Committee led to the development of rules and regulations, which put the forestland under strict conservational use and activities to keep the community forest in its best condition. Activities include afforestation, tree ordination rituals, surveys, creating a database of indigenous plants, and biodiversity. The forest also serves as students’ natural classroom where they can learn about the local ecosystem and environment.

Waste reduction, disease prevention Due to the spread of dengue virus in the area several years ago, Chiang Kian subdistrict municipality, being a relatively small community and did not have sufficient facilities and services to carry out efficient waste management, was starting to recognize the importance of diminishing waste production of local households. The community promotes waste sorting from the source, the mid-way processes to the destination. Every home is required to separate wastes into four categories: recycled waste, organic wastes, general wastes, and hazardous wastes. The establishment of the Waste Bank Fund enables the local community to organize activities with the fund from local waste trade.

Wiang Thoeng Subdistrict Municipality Toeng District, Chiang Rai

Vision: Wiang Thoeng is a livable town with happy people, continually learning, developing, and managing a sustainable environment.

Population: 5121 (2018) Number of communities: 5 Area: 12.50 square kilometers

Wiang Thoeng is a long-standing town with its governing significance. The traces of its glory can be seen in areas along the local waterway such as Ing Canal, be there the remains of ancient temples, ceramic utensils, Buddha’s sculptures, and old moats.

Initially, the municipality was a combination of residential and agricultural areas, before the latter subsequently decreased over time, gradually being occupied by residential and community spaces.

Despite being rather small in size, the municipality is accommodating a large population, both with registered and unregistered identification, as high as twenty thousand. Therefore, the administration of the town and people is not an easy task, while one of the key challenges lies in the way Wiang Thoeng can manage itself upon such great diversity of the population.

Environmentally Sustainable City Management Model Key of Success

Encourage as much participation in the brainstorming process, practice, and revision of methods to correspond with the area’s physical conditions and people’s demands.

Encourage people’s participation in local organizations and networks through collaborative brainstorming, action, exchange, and learning for Wieng Tueng Community to develop its own locally derived practice and vision and become a sustainably livable city where the living standard is high, and the population is happy.

Reduce the source of waste production Wiang Thoeng municipality is known as a model community with highly efficient sustainable waste management. The amount of generated waste in 2020 shows a significant decrease from 3.3 tons per day to 1.4 tons per day, to currently 800 kilograms per day. By incorporating the 3 Rs principles to waste management, the community members learn to manage their household wastes. Wiang Thoeng municipality’s approach to waste sorting categorizes generated wastes into six types: organic wastes, general wastes, recycled wastes, hazardous wastes, infectious wastes, and miscellaneous wastes. The mid-way process includes garbage trucks collecting every kind of garbage and storing them before transporting them to the destination where different disposal methods are utilized. The process reduces waste disposal costs while the municipality’s budget is available for other developments.

Beautiful Moats, Clean Water The moats of Wiang Thoeng municipality are the community’s long-standing historical site.

With the growing population density, the area was facing worsening water pollution as the moats serve as the basin where wastewater from local households flow into, causing the water condition to become weaker with an unpleasant smell. The problem later led to the rebuilding of Wiang Thoeng mission, which takes on the approach that includes the participation of community members and the municipality in refurbishing the moats through various activities and methods such as dilution, construction of artificial ponds, the use of water hyacinth.

Sustainable City Model

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Learning Center for Environmental Management Learning Center # 1

Local Sufficiency School (LSS) and waste management Wiang Thoeng Municipal School is a part of ‘Khuang Wiang Thoeng Brings Happiness’, a lifelong educational zone operated with educational management with integrative environmental missions and activities, as well as sufficiency economy philosophy. The school’s curriculum aims to educate and cultivate knowledge to the youths as a Local Sufficiency School (LSS).

Learning Center # 2

Beautiful Moats, Clean Water Following the royal projects, the networks within Wiang Thoeng community incorporate the natural treatment of wastewater as the critical method to help resolve the chronic water pollution within the moats and develop preventive measures. The focus is put on people’s participation to carry out and manage every process of their self-dependent community.

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Learning Center # 3

Baan Wieng Jom Jorm Jor, a village with 100% waste-sorting system Baan Wieng Jom Jorm Jor is a village with its self-management system, particularly its all-encompassing waste management, which has become a model followed by many other local agencies. The process includes establishing the village’s working committee to define the guideline for the management of waste sources and production, the founding of the ‘civil society’ to oversee waste management consensus among members of the village, and the municipality. Every household is knowledgable about 3Rs method and develops a better understanding of waste sorting thanks to a practical guideline, which explains the waste management system from the source, the mid-way process, and the destination. Consequentially, Baan Wieng Jom Jorm Jor Moo 20’s has achieved its goal of becoming a village with a 100% waste-sorting system.

Learning Center # 4

Kad Noi Heem Ing Market: Three Fresh Market Principles ‘Three Fresh market principles’ is a concept realized to oversee the management of Kad Noi Heem Ing Market, which focuses on the selling of safe and hygienic products and food in an environmentally friendly operated market to generate income for the locals. The ‘merchant society’ serves as a factor that propels people to manage and participate in every administrative process under the Three Fresh Market principles: Green for the environment, Strength for the economy, and Strictness for people’s health and hygiene.

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Koh Kha Subdistrict Municipality Koh Kha District, Lampang

Vision: Koh Kha: A livable town with a good quality of life, a strong economy, convenient transport, transparent administration, care for the environment, preparedness to become a learning society, strong and compassionate community.

Population: 4,687 (2018) Number of communities: 3 Area: 4.47 square kilometers

It is hard to believe that a little over ten years ago, a small community such as Koh Kha where rice fields and orchards make up the majority of the geographical landscape, was once left to deal with environmental issues caused by poor waste management. A large amount of waste was transported directly to the landfill without proper sorting, which later resulted in many pollution and health problems. The estimation of the then condition revealed that within 7-10 years, without any adequate management, the local landfill wouldn’t be able to accommodate the accumulating amount of waste. In the meantime, the community was also facing the problematic use of chemical products in local agriculture, while people failed to realize the importance of problem-solving through collective intelligence.

Koh Kha Subdistrict Municipality’s approach to the issues aimed to promote awareness among the locals to develop a sense of community ownership.

Environmentally Sustainable City Management Model Key of Success Khuang Paya Ground is the platform that gathers opinions of people within the community. It serves as an essential mechanism for urban development. It allows every member of the community to express their ideas, and develop a sense of ownership, which motivates them to be protective of, and more participative in the management and development of their community with a public mind.

Managing the source Back in 2006, this small subdistrict was producing 10 tons worth of waste daily. Today, the area can reduce its waste production down to 2.68 tons using the 3Rs principles, which minimize the amount of waste produced from the source and, consequently, throughout the mid-way process and the destination. The methods include waste sorting, recycling, and monetizing the sorted and recycled wastes. Organic wastes are turned into fertilizers, worm food, and bio-gas, whereas recycled wastes are sold to waste banks or go into upcycle processes. Foam and plastic wastes are categorized as RDF or Refuse Derived Fuel, while general wastes receive proper disposal methods. The community is informed about specific areas where hazardous and infectious wastes can be disposed with Wednesdays being the day of the week when infectious wastes are collected and transported to Lampang Provincial Administrative Organization’s Waste Management Center.

Sustaining food security From managing sources of wastes to the aspect of green areas for food security and food safety and people’s well-being, the town adopts the concept where people learn to become their own food providers. ‘Refrigerator Garden for SelfSufficiency’ is the concept realized for every household within the community to have sufficient, chemical-free food. Koh Kha Municipality announces the Health Declaration, which encourages local families to grow a chemical-free vegetable garden for domestic consumption and bather between community members. Excess produce is sold to generate income, while household expenses reduce simultaneously.

Learning Center for Environmental Management Learning Center # 1

Earthworms for a better earth A learning center educates people about organic waste management with the help of earthworms. The use of worms as the manager of organic waste ends up creating a biofertilizer with affluent microorganisms and essential nutrients for plants. A part of the product is distributed to community members for organic farming. At the same time, the sale of surplus helps generate income for the group’s members, with some of the money given to the community welfare fund.

Learning Center # 2 Waste Bank

To encourage and educate community members about waste sorting the concept of a waste bank where they can trade recycled waste with a variety of products.

Recyclable wastes are sorted, weighed, and calculated into values that can be used as cash at the waste bank as community members realize the commercial value of recyclable trash and unused items.

Learning Center # 3

Model households in waste management A model household in waste management categorizes types of wastes into organic wastes, general wastes, sellable wastes, and hazardous wastes. The method has succeeded in reducing the number of produced wastes from 250-300 kilograms per day (2009) to 80 kilograms per day (present).

Learning Center # 4 Sufficient Home and Refrigerator in the Garden Promote farming according to seasons and the use of natural controls to rely less on chemicals. Each household is encouraged to plant at least seven types of vegetables for domestic consumption, and the excess produce can be exchanged among community members or sold. The idea hopes to create a subdistrict of well-being, strengthen a local way of life and sufficiency economy following King Rama 9’s initiative, as people learn to be self-dependent and self-sufficient. The idea has been pushed forward into a public policy known as a community health declaration.

Learning Center # 5 Beautiful homes Encourage community members to improve the landscape of their own homes and the community to be more pleasant and hygienic. Environmental and public healthcare criteria are developed to evaluate the living standard of local households while community members are in charge of the brainstorming, practice, observation, and evaluation. The approach helps provide a systematic solution to the area’s waste pollution problems through a community-derived process.

Learning Center # 6 Community forest by the people The community’s management of riverside public space creates a learning center and a ‘community food bank’, which invites the nearby local community to plant different types of trees and herbs, as well as rare species of plants.

The area is under the supervision of the tree carers who work in shifts and as a team. Activities are initiated, such as the Tree Donation project, which enables an expanding collection of rare species of trees through community participation. Community members who own rare trees and plants are encouraged to inform the municipality. The plants will be collected, nurtured, bred, and distributed to community members and public spaces.

Baan Sang Subdistrict Municipality Muang Payao District, Payao

Vision: Great environment, quality citizens, morally driven administration for Baan Sang sustainable livability Population: 4,224 (2018) Number of communities: 9 Area: 23.80 square kilometers

Thanks to the province’s abundant resources from rice fields and water resources to rich forests, the people of Baan Sang subdistrict municipality make their living from a variety of occupations, from agriculture to craft making and cottage industry. Most trades are rooted in the area’s local resources, although partial reliance on outside resources is unadvisable. The community’s renowned craft products such as stone mortars, weaving products made of water hyacinth, and the signature fermented sour fish have created considerable job opportunities and incomes for the locals.

Environmentally Sustainable City Management Model Key of Success By adopting the Royal initiatives into a part of the way of life, with a collective understanding and participation, community members can be a part of the development from the conceptualization process, execution, and results. People learn to incorporate and adapt ideas from the philosophy to their lives and culture without causing any damage to natural resources and the local environment.

Baan Mon Kaew Community Forest Conservation Baan Mon Kaew is a village that home to freshwater water sources and mountain water supply systems for Baan Sang Community. This once degraded forestland, a devastating result of illegal logging, has gone through a gradual revitalization thanks to the local community’s earnest attempt to preserve the forest of the land they call home. The successful forestation leads to the registration of 319-acre forestland into a

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community forest with continued activities to protect and expand the local woodland. The creation of reconnaissance routes aims to help preserve the local forestland. At the same time, conservation activities happen throughout the year, from tree ordination ritual, reforestation, indigenous plant survey, creation of firebreaks, and community forest plotting to locate tree density and indigenous plants for long-term conservation. The community also installs air quality monitor, which ultimately contributes to the reduction of the town’s greenhouse gas emission.

Clean water for the community Baan Mon Kaew community once faced a clean water crisis. The geographical condition of the area, comprised mostly of slopes, prevented the construction of shallow wells. Community leaders suggested the building of a weir to bring in water from Mae Pad creek. Community members help with the weir and pipeline system construction, which enables water to flow from the higher source to lower ground. Created is a mountain water supply system that provides fresh water for the village with a newly installed 4” steel pipes to replace the old PVC pipes. With the helping hands of community leaders and members, the people in the nine villages of Baan Sang nearby areas now have fresh water throughout the year.

A war against wastes Baan Sang subdistrict doesn’t have any garbage truck or a proper space for waste disposal. With the main source of freshwater located up in the mountainous area, the middle ground occupied by local households and agricultural lands, while the lowest plain situated next to Gwan Payao Lake, the municipality recognizes the importance of household waste management. Community members are knowledgeable about waste management at the initial stage of waste production. They learn to sort wastes into organic wastes, general wastes, recycled wastes, and hazardous wastes. The locals are encouraged to build a ‘Sa wein’, an apparatus made of woven bamboo striped used to wrap around the base of a tree to accommodate food waste, which will eventually decompose and become fertilizer. A team of volunteers is assigned to monitor illegal littering, which comes with THB 2,000-5,000 fine.

Learning Center for Environmental Management Learning Center # 1

Baan Mon Kaew Community, Moo 9 This model village set an example as a green city with sustainable environmental management. The execution encompasses five learning stations: 1. Water management 2. Integrated waste management 3. Energy management 4. Bamboo weaving and 5. Nature trail for exploration and study of the local ecosystem. The five stations serve collectively as a learning center, which also exemplifies an application of sufficiency economy to people’s contemporary everyday life with great consideration in local tradition, identity and wisdom. Another nature trail is also open for visitors to walk through a recreational and educational route with a beautiful waterfall being one of the destinations.

Learning Center # 2

Wastewater treatment project of Moo 3 community: Treating wastewater from fermented sour fish production The production process of fermented sour fish, one of Payao’s renowned local products, was once a significant cause of polluted water with a high density of micro organisms. Following a royal initiative, a wastewater treatment technology is employed with the help of natural mechanism. The method includes the use of coarse and fine filters, a gas trap, an anaerobic filtration tank, a shallow retention pond, and a constructed wetland system designed to work with the physical properties of the area’s wastewater and Socio –Geographic conditions.

Additionally, the leftover sludge is converted into solid fuel, while the treated water is used to water a household’s kitchen garden.

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Learning Center # 3

Female Agriculturist Club of Baan San Bua Bok, Moo 8 As an environmental conservation attempt, the Female Agriculturist Club of Baan San Bua Bok has been creating beautiful craft products from water hyacinth growing inside Gwan Payao Lake. Using local weaving techniques, these skillful weavers have been the minds and labors behind a growing collection of crafts products from handbags, trays to baskets, and shoes created with unique weaving patterns and intricate details. The group is managed under a participatory approach with a committee made up of female members of the local community adequately selected to oversee the operation.

Currently, the group has seen increasing orders from both domestic and international buyers.

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Green Cities -

Central Region

Takhli Municipality Pichit Town Municipality

Takhli Municipality Takhli District, Nakhon Sawan

Vision: “Takhli” City of Happiness Population: 23,843 (2018) Number of communities: 22 Area: 16 square kilometers

Once a hub of northern railway routes, Takhli has grown into an urban community with a higher population density. Shophouses mushroom on both sides of the city’s main roads while the outer areas are still mostly occupied with agricultural lands. The people living in the town’s municipal area are mostly in trading and agricultural business. Takhli is currently aiming to become a sustainable, livable city under the ‘Takhli, the lively town’ vision.

Environmentally Sustainable City Management Model Policies with clear administrative direction and approach formulated to solve existing issues and fulfill people’s demands. They also contribute to strengthening the public sector through education, enabling people’s understanding and participation as a crucial tool.

Key of Success

Collaborations between different working units such as integrated operation between water supply division, public health division, and treasury division, which offer people the convenience of paying more than one utility charges in one bill.

Participation requires engagement and contribution from the government, public, and public sector.

Integrated waste management Manage solid wastes from the source to the midway processes, and the destination using the 3Rs principles by encouraging community members to be a crucial part of the sorting process. The municipality also promotes the exchange of sorted wastes with money and products and the establishment of “Local Environment Volunteer Network.”

The mid-way process includes the provision of waste separation bins in the community with designated hazardous waste disposal point with and a proper waste collection system. For the destination, the municipality is selected by Nakhon Sawan province to be a model municipality in solid waste management and disposal of residual wastes and the ability to

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store and transport hazardous wastes for proper disposal.

The city of Takhli’s waste management innovation is made possible through the collection of waste management fees and water charges in the same billing cycle, which is indicated in the city solid waste ordinance. The municipality establishes the waste management committee while frequent meetings are held with the provincial administrative office to report the progress. Furthermore, systematic waste management is designed to encompass the source, mid-way processes, and destination.

Elevating environmental management to achieve sustainable development under the ‘Bawon’ concept (house (community), temple and school) Srisawat Community and its members join forces in committing to waste sorting at the household level in hopes to reduce to the production of wastes. Food wastes become food for swine and livestock while the animals’ excrements get converted into bio-fertilizer. Cow dungs conversion creates organic fertilizer used to adjust rice fields’ soil fertility while surplus products get sold to generate additional income for local households.

The approach led to a significant decrease in the

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use of farm chemicals. The initiative aims for the community to become a learning center that provides information about organic fertilizer production from animal manures. Baan Mai Phon Thong also employs the earthworm condominium method to help with the disposal of organic wastes. The worm manure is later used as a substitution for farming chemicals, simultaneously creating a chemical-free agricultural environment while generating extra income for local households.

The local temples take an active part in the community waste sorting system. Organic wastes are sorted and converted into compost. The daily sermons also encourage locals about the awareness and responsibility in waste sorting and the benefits of efficient waste management.

Schools contribute by turning general wastes into a variety of everyday life products. Plastic straws, paper cups, and milk containers are transformed into bags, aprons, and tablecloths used inside the schools’ cafeteria. Students bring plants from the school’s agricultural plot home and learn to nurture and observe their growths while parents take an active part in encouraging the children to adopt habits in waste management.

From pig manure to cooking gas Takhli Municipality has taken a proactive approach to solve the pollution problems caused by swine manure and polluted water from local swine farms. Proper information and knowledge about health and sanitation strategies have been provided through training as the community and livestock farmers learn to turn animal manure into biogas. It follows one of the activities initiated by the municipality to turn animal wastes into usable energy. The method hopes to help farmers reduce production costs while minimizing conflicts between livestock owners and the surrounding community. With financial support from the environmental fund, the biogas operation has evolved into Rojana Community’s pilot learning center of household biogas management.

Learning Center for Environmental Management Learning Center # 1

Center of Biogas production from animal manure, Rojana Community Takhli Municipality, together with local swine farm operators in Rojana Community, has been producing biogas from swine manure since 2015. The biogas production helps eliminate unpleasant smell and wastewater from swine farming, while the generated biogas becomes a new source of energy for local households. At the same time, the extracted bio liquid becomes a fertilizer kitchen gardens and fish ponds.

Learning Center # 2

Waste Management Center. Wat Khao Hua Takhli Temple, Saraphee Community As an officially established waste-sorting center, Wat Khao Hua Takhli Temple operates under an environmentally friendly approach with efficient environmental management.

The operation encompasses systematic waste sorting protocol, biofertilizer production, while environmental issues have been regularly included in the sermons. The temple also encourages its congregation to use reusable utensils instead of plastic products for merit-making and food offering ceremony.

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Learning Center # 3

Integrated Waste Management Center, Takhli Municipality The center was established in 2003 as a sanitary landfill before it received an additional budget in 2014-2016 to elevate its operations to an integrated waste management center. It offers services from recycling, waste sorting, biofertilizer production using organic wastes, and disposal of unusable general wastes. Takhli Municipality is a designated waste disposal center and responsible for the destruction of wastes from 14 local administrative organizations. The center charges THB 600/ton disposal fee and is currently handling 44-45 tons of waste per day.

Learning Center # 4 Sea-Pool Park

Located in Takhli Yai Community, this 18.6-acre public park is home to many trees with ponds and pools surrounding its island-like landscape. The park has been a recreational spot for people to relax and exercise. The municipality has been using the park to promote Thai cultures such as New Year merit-making, which serves as both a local activity and a tourist attraction. The park is also selected to be one of King Rama 10 Commemoration parks.

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Pichit Town Municipality Muang District, Pichit Province

Vision: Livable city, happy people through efficient administration and public services Population: 21,645 (2018) Number of communities: 25 Area: 12.014 square kilometers

As an urban community, Pichit is still far from the definition of chaos. The city’s growth has been gradual, while new developments have emerged from steady progress. However, the city is equipped with standardized public utility facilities that offer everyday life convenience, for example, Beung Sri Fa, an 800-hectare lake, and a massive public park situated right in the middle of the city. These qualities have a significant impact on people’s improved living standards and happiness and Pichit’s reputation as a dream retirement destination.

Environmentally Sustainable City Management Model

Key of Success

Urban management has been carried out with clear objectives with the tasks executed according to the urban developmental trajectory. Community members’ common interests and issues have been raised and discussed to develop expansive and inclusive urban development, for instance, a connection between health and environmental problems.

Developmental activities have been consistently organized between the municipality and local communities to encourage people’s continual participation in urban development.

Expand the network of allies into a collaborative system while continuing to seek and integrate new bodies of knowledge and innovations to urban development.

Waste is everyone’s matter People’s previous understanding views waste management as the sole responsibility of the municipality. It took Pichit 15 years to solve the misunderstanding, which eventually led to the city’s sustainable waste management and people’s new mindset about their roles and responsibilities for the sanitation and livability of the community.

Initially, the municipality organized several activities to educate community leaders about sustainable management of the urban environment.

The community leaders then passed on the knowledge to community members. What followed

were meetings, and brainstorming between community members, which led to developmental approaches realized to coincide with each community’s issues and demands. Surveys put together necessary information about each locality, following by the design of a community map. The municipality has been continually supporting the organization of various activities on different special days and occasions as a way to promote a collective awareness in environmental development among community members.

In terms of waste management, the municipality adopts a participatory approach at the household level. Community leaders take responsibility in promoting waste sorting among community members, as well as ideas in creating products out of scrap materials, compost using organic wastes, etc.

These days, every community within Pichit Municipality is free from waste accumulation problems with all the wastes systematically collected and disposed. In the meantime, community members have been highly participative in environmental activities such as tree survey and registration or encouraging local farmers to grow fruit trees to sustain the city’s food security. Such participation has strengthened a sense of community and people’s love for their hometown.

It also gives birth to many green jobs, which enable community members to generate income from environmental conservation, such as the production of organic liquid fertilizer that brings in extra income into local households.

Learning Center for Environmental Management Learning Center # 1

Learning and Center of Environmental Management: Waterfall Building, Bueng Si Fai Lake The solar-powered Waterfall Building is the learning center of Pichit’s ethnic history and the city’s environmental and energy conservation and management. The contents of the exhibition come in the forms of video screening, demonstration, and a living exhibition, including the display of products made of recycled materials and a presentation of renewable energy use in everyday life.

Learning Center # 2

Public Health and Environmental Division The learning center offers information on types and methods of waste management that have been successfully adopted by Pichit Municipality. The center also showcases products and interior decoration items made of recycled wastes. Currently, the products are in high demand from both domestic and global markets.

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Learning Center # 3 Learning and Center of Environmental Management: Baan Tha Luang Municipality School This model school employs and applies environmental management concepts based on the sufficiency economy philosophy. Through the school’s curriculum, students from kindergarten to high school levels learn about waste sorting, saving habits for the youths, sustainable consumption, all the way to gardening skills and production of learning media from recycled materials, etc.

Learning Center # 4 25 model communities in environmental management This community-run learning center for environmental management highlights the application of an environmentally friendly way of life-based on sufficiency economy philosophy such as the use of a bicycle in everyday life, household waste sorting, organic vegetable planting, and the transformation of wastes into products with value-added such as everyday items, home decoration items. Activities are varied between communities, ranging from creative use of waste materials as plant containers or Prachauthit Community’s waste recycling and transformation center that creates products from used scrap ribbons and ropes.

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Green Cities -

Eastern Region

Panus Nikom Town Municipality Chaman Subdistrict Municipality

Panus Nikom Town Municipality Panus Nikom District, Chonburi

Vision: Sustainable development based on sufficiency economy philosophy for Panus Nikom to become a livable city Population: 10,230 (2018) Number of communities: 12 Area: 2.76 square kilometers

Panus Nikom is a small, peaceful community with a total area of only 2.76 square kilometers. The town, however, possesses some unique characteristics from its long-standing history, local traditions, cultures, and renowned crafts products. Panus Nikom Municipality’s local administration policies highlight the importance of natural and environmental conservation, which uses a sufficiency economy philosophy to preserve soil, water, and forestland and maintain the town’s ecosystem.

Environmentally Sustainable City Management Model Key of Success

Build a town through people’s participation from brainstorming, action while being prepared for consequences and collective assessment.

City of trees and low carbon emission Striving to become a low carbon emission town, Panus Nikom prioritizes the conservation of the carbon sink. The approach has been put into practice through the preservation of big trees and the expansion of green spaces. A primary survey was conducted to register every large tree growing in the municipal area, following by the creation of a ‘tree map’, which helps the maintenance of big trees more convenient. In 2011, the municipality conducted another survey and registered 969 trees, which accounted to the storage capacity of 85.49 tons of carbon dioxide. The survey currently registers 4,050 trees, which account to 8-square meter green space per capita. The municipality is working to achieve the goal of 12-square meter green space per capita.

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Sustainable Waste Management Despite being a reasonably small town covering the area of only 2.76-square kilometers, Panus Nikom produced 20-ton waste daily. Therefore, the municipality set an objective to reduce the amount of generated wastes to 14 tons per day. The leftover organic wastes such as vegetable and fruit scraps from local markets are collected daily by garbage trucks provided by the municipality. The wastes are converted and end up producing over 400-kilogram compost per day. The fallen leaves from local public parks are also collected and turned into compost.

The locals also work together with the municipality in reducing the use of foam and plastic products.

However, there are few numbers of merchants who are still secretly using plastic bags.

Tree Registration The town’s green spaces have tremendously impacted people’s way of life and living standards.

The expansion of green space has always been one of the issues Panus Nikom municipality prioritizes. The green space survey works to document and register every tree with more than 14-centimeter circumference growing in the municipality. The municipality works together with the Department of Environmental promotion in collecting data of the town’s green space and the quantity of waste generated in the area. The data is synced to SAR: Self-Assessment Report and linked to the municipality’s collected data on greenhouse gases.

Waste-free schools Panus Nikom municipality encourages the local municipality schools to join the Eco-School project developed from the environmental studies curriculum and become zero-waste schools. The schools have asked students to prepare their food containers, cutlery, and cup. The school cafeteria vendors are required to prepare containers made of natural materials, which can be insufficient for the number of students. As a result, if a student didn’t bring their utensils, there might be a chance that they would miss a meal. Other activities are such as organic vegetable planting, Thai herb garden, extracted bio liquid and products made of recycled materials. The initiative hopes to cultivate a new mindset in waste management through academic knowledge and school experiences for the students to become responsible adults with an awareness and understanding of waste management.

Learning Center for Environmental Management Learning Center # 1 Panus Nikom Municipality Public Park This model for successful and practical green city initiatives includes planting more trees to exceed WHO’s standard green space per capita (9-square-meters), big tree registration, and the improvement of landscapes and public spaces to create a livable and pleasant urban environment.

Learning Center # 2 Srikittiwannanusorn Municipality School 1 Srikittiwannanusorn Municipality School is a model for school and community environmental management with successful results in carbon emission reduction. The school organized activities such as organic vegetable farming, herb garden, extracted bio liquid, and biofertilizer production, consumer products made of recycled materials.

These activities hope to cultivate a mindset and awareness about waste management and encourage participation between local administrative organizations, executive officers, schools, faculty members, and the student body to reduce carbon emission. The school has been campaigning the students to bring their utensils for the school meals while school cafeteria vendors are required to use only natural materials such as containers made of banana leaves.

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Learning Center # 3

Panus Nikom Municipality’s learning center for the livable town, livable community Health and environmentally friendly products from organic wastes and the integration of local wisdom in local herb planting using EM technology are parts of the initiatives to encourage community members to take part in the treatment and improvement of wastewater quality at a household and community level.

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Chaman Subdistrict Municipality Makham District, Chantaburi

Vision: A moral, ethical society with leading education, environmental consciousness, collective development, and a peaceful community under sufficiency economy philosophy.

Population: 10,230 (2018) Number of communities: 12 Area: 2.76 square kilometers

Chaman Subdistrict Municipality is one of Chantaburi’s most pivotal water sources, with a total 86.5-square kilometer land area. The subdistrict is a designated green and agricultural zone where most of the population are different generations of orchard agriculturists. With no operating industrial plants, this small, livable rural town is surrounded by nature’s undisturbed beauty and tranquility. The municipal area is also home to Khong people, an ethnic group in Chantaburi province with their own inherited traditions and culture.

Environmentally Sustainable City Management Model Key of Success

Instead of letting restrictions become an obstacle to urban development, the municipality understands its limitations and can find appropriate developmental solutions based on the community’s collective understanding and participation.

Emphasizing the role of a model community through sustainable and strong expansion and growth.

Eco-friendly homestay Due to a growing tourism potential with over 20 homestay businesses established in the municipality, environmental and waste problems ensued. Therefore, the municipality visited all the homestay establishments to survey to gather data and meet with the homestay operators to come up with a problem-solving approach. They also work to educate local entrepreneurs about waste and wastewater management. The municipality issues waste management regulations for every homestay to adopt a proper waste sorting system.

In the meantime, waste management learning center works to promote primary household wastewater treatment. Joining forces under “Thung Phen Homestay Community Enterprise,” these local homestays work together as a strong group of entrepreneurs with efficient management support from the municipality. A part of the local homestay establishment’s income goes into a fund to support the local community and environmental conservation.

Community waste management system Since Chamun Municipality is not an urban but a rural community with mostly agricultural areas and orchards, each house is situated far apart, which directly affects the municipality’s limited budget. It is also why the municipality doesn’t have a regularly operated garbage trucks or a proper waste disposal facility. Chaman Subdistrict Municipality has taken a participatory approach to the community waste management system, from encouraging households to sort waste to establish a community waste bank. Campaigns such as waste exchange activity and waste market are initiated to raise a collective awareness among the locals who actively take part in maintaining their communities from public spaces to keeping the in front of the house nice and clean.

Learning Center for Environmental Management Learning Center # 1 Ban Wang Tak Community Forest Ban Wang Tak Community Forest covers an area of approximately 10.27 acres. Rich in various indigenous plants and herbs, the area is home to century-old trees that have been preserved and studied while serving as local recreational space. Chaman Subdistrict Municipality has been working with various networks in the community to explore the area to collect and create a database of native vegetation, and their beneficial properties for further studies.

Learning Center # 2 Ban Thung Phen Waste Bank Run by the community for the community.

The waste bank aims to promote public participation in waste management from a proper waste sorting method at the source to disposal methods.

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Learning Center # 3 Better Home (Baan Na Mong): Sorting household waste at the source The waste bank aims to promote public participation in waste management from a proper waste sorting method at the source to disposal methods.

Learning Center # 4 Organic wastes and odor control Mangosteen Grower Group of Chaman Subdistrict initiates organic waste processing technique, which transforms mangosteen peels into “mangosteen charcoal.� The product, which can absorb odors inside cars, wardrobes or rooms, is designed to have stylish packaging and is in high demand in the market.

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Green Cities -

Northeastern Region

Udon Thani City Municipality Renu Nakhon Subdistrict Municipality Nong Teng Subdistrict Municipality

Udon Thani City Municipality Muang District, Udon Thani Province

Vision: Udon Thani: Livable city, trade, and investment hub through the collective effort for new developments, good governance, inherited culture under sufficiency economy philosophy Population: 130,572 people (as of 2020) Number of communities: 105 Area: 47.70 square kilometers

Due to its strategic location that connects to many nearby provinces and is not too far from the Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge, the municipality is one of the essential travel hubs to the Indochina region. The area also has its domestic airport with an imminent plan to operate international flights.

Such qualities contribute to the city’s economic potential and make it an ideal investment destination. The municipal area is also one of the region’s most important trade, investment, and employment hub continually growing population.

Environmentally Sustainable City Management Model Key of Success

Find and locate the city’s potential, internal and external factors, and push for new developments to happen from the existing assets while improving the city’s efficiency and quality to achieve better results.

Community waste management From 2013 to the present, Udon Thani City Municipality has operated a project to promote source separation management for a cleaner city with a livable, waste-free community contest held to encourage people’s participation in effective source separation. The activities aim to create greater awareness about waste management as each community takes a different waste management approach such as income generation through efficient waste sorting.

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School waste management There are 12 schools operated under Udon Thani City Municipality. Six of them are chosen as pilot schools, which work to initiate various activities and promote source separation as well as the use of recycled waste to invent learning tools. The schools also advocate students’ participation in waste and environmental management at educational institutions. The approach has successfully reduced the amount of garbage that needs to be sent to the municipality for proper disposal.

Ban Lae Municipal 3 School has established a learning center for recycled waste management, in which students learn to generate income from waste trade. The money from the sale later goes to fund the organization of their classroom activities.

Waste management methods Udon Thani City Municipality categorizes wastes into four types.

Organic wastes: convert into earthworm food, bio-fermented water, and compost.

Recycled wastes: establish a 0 baht shop, 0 baht flea market, 0 baht washing machine, waste recycling fund, and other activities to promote waste management for clean cities. In December of every year, activity is organized to invite people to participate in waste exchange event where people can exchange recyclable wastes with other consumer products or New Year’s gift raffle coupons.

Hazardous waste: Initiate educational campaigns about the classification of hazardous waste among community members and set up drop-off spots for hazardous waste within the community for proper collection and storage.

General waste: Develop innovations from general wastes. Separate and recycle plastic bags while the remaining scraps go under the care of the assigned private operators.

Learning Center for Environmental Management Learning Center # 1 Source Separation Management Learning Hubs The waste management resource includes seven learning hubs in different communities within the municipality.

1. Non-uthumphon Community: model community with comprehensive waste management system with operations encompassing recycling, organic waste management carried out through earthworm farming / bio-fermentation / production of compost from weeds, setting up rest points to collect and transport hazardous wastes to the municipality for disposal. The community has developed various innovations/products from scrap materials such as aerated foam bricks, brooms made of recycled soda bottles, water-saving plant pots, etc.

2. Klong Charoen 2 Community: Situated along an old irrigation canal, the community offers an empty plot of land to operate a community organic farming. Recycle wastes can be used instead of cash for 0 Baht washing machines and drinking water. Organic wastes are converted into bio-fermented water using the tobacco formula to produce insect repellent and organic compost for community agricultural plots. The community also promotes the consumption of environmentally friendly products.

3. Sri Chom Chuen 2 Community: A learning hub for waste recycling with activities such as waste exchange program where local trade recycled words beautiful pet fish. Local wisdom is incorporated to convert organic wastes into bio-fermented water and organic compost, while paper scraps become the material for low-relief

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image sculptures.

4. Don Udom 3 Community: This waste recycling learning hub organizes activities such as the 0 Baht market and has developed many products from recyclable wastes such as baskets made from aluminum cans.

5. Pichairak Community: a learning hub of general waste management with a community-run shop that buys and recycles plastic bags from local households.

6. Kao Chan 8 Community: a learning center for recycled waste management operated by a local youth group, 3D Youth Group. Every family works collectively as a community to achieve efficient source separation.

7. Kaiprajak Sillapakom 3 Community: this learning hub manages organic waste by turning them into food for earthworms. The compost is used in the production of bio-ferment water and fertilizers for agricultural use.

The sale of the surplus products becomes an extra income for the local households. The community also creates products from waste materials such as aprons made of fabric softener containers.

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Learning Center # 2 Ecological approach to community development under Sufficiency Economy Philosophy: Klong Charoen Community The development around the area along the irrigation canals in Udon Thani Municipality is carried out through the promoted role of local organic vegetable growers.

The municipality also supports further development of existing and new bodies of knowledge, factors of production, agricultural tools. The area covers Klong Charoen 1 Community 1, Klong Charoen 2 Community, Photisomphon Community and Pho Sawang 2 Community while the initiative enables people to optimize the use of local resources. It also aims to promote an ideal agricultural and urban community that creates income and solidarity among community members. The initiatives focus on bringing together various groups to participate in the household economy’s development to be more sustainable and self-reliant.

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Learning Center # 3 Municipal Forest Park 8 Operated by Udon Thani Municipality This urban nature learning center simulates a miniature forest to be an outdoor classroom for locals and interested individuals. The tree registration database is created to serve as the community’s knowledge resource. Grown and registered according to categories, the medicinal plants in this forest garden have been used in treatments provided by the municipal health service center 8.

The Forest Park T. 8 Learning Station comprises of: 1. Thai massage: volunteer student guides explain the benefits of medicinal plants from the forest garden used in Thai massage.

2. Plant Nursery: Sri Chom Chuen 1 Community 1, Si Chom Chuen 2 Community and Sri Chom Chuen 3 Community work collectively to nurture young plants and operate a community tree bank whose tree exchange program allows visitors to trade different species of trees with the forest garden.

3. Organic Fertilizer learning hub: Provide information and knowledge about the production of organic fertilizer from the weeds, fallen leaves, and branches of the trees growing inside the forest plantation. The fertilizer is used with the trees in the forest plantation and the Municipal School 8.

4. Tree QR Code: The student guides explain the use of QR code to retrieve data and information about different types of trees growing in the forest park.

5. Ruam Jai Rak Urban Forest Pavilion: The last destination of Forest Park T. 8 Learning Station is where viewers listen to the final lecture, which wraps up the entire experience before they are asked to answer a questionnaire. * English language guides are available for visitors who are foreigners

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Renu Nakhon Subdistrict Municipality Renu Nakhon District, Nakhon Phanom Province

Vision: Pollution-free, cultural city and happy people Population: 4,675 (2018) Number of communities: 9 Area: 2.40 square kilometers

Renu Nakhon’s strength lies in its distinctive cultural assets. The long-standing traditions and culture exist alongside the simple way of life where people live close to nature. Culture contributes significantly to creating a sense of belonging and solidity within the community, turning Renu Nakhon into a strong, caring community, enabling urban management to take place successfully through a participatory approach. By including people and local networks, urban developments can take place as a sustainable process. It takes into account the importance of the environment and people’s happiness along with cultural values from which the community’s identity originated, evolved, and intertwined.

Environmentally Sustainable City Management Model Key of Success Reinforce the community’s strength through a sense of belonging and a close-knit, family-like connection of the member, enabling people’s participation in community development.

At the same time, traditions and cultures help propel sustainable economic and social progress.

Waste Management of Renu Nakhon Subdistrict Municipality Despite its small size, the municipality once produced a large amount of waste daily, and waste disposal became one of the municipalities’ most significant problems. In 2010, the daily waste production was 6 tons, and gradually the local landfill was reaching its maximal capacity, causing the amount of undisposed waste to accumulate.

The municipality has come up with different activities designed to help reduce the amount of waste generated within the community, such as a campaign initiated to encourage community members to effectively sort wastes at the source,

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the provision of garbage bins in public spaces for different types of garbage. The municipality also offers training on how to create products from waste materials. The establishment of the ‘Funeral Assisting Fund from Recycled Wastes� operates by setting up a temporary waste shop in the community once a month to buy household wastes, which are thoroughly sorted and sold.

These activities have collectively caused the amount of produced wastes to reduce to only 3.5 tons per day.

Learning Center for Environmental Management Learning Center # 1 Conservation of Trees in Municipality Tree conservation campaign encourages community members to plant more trees to increase urban green spaces and develop collective awareness about the importance of trees. It also highlights the role of the public sector in the global warming crisis solution, emphasizing the participation from all individuals, sectors and industries. Tree planting activities have been regularly organized on special days and occasions in 9 different areas such as schools, public parks, empty spaces.

Learning Center # 2 Environmental Management in Schools At Renu Nakhon Wittayanukul School, the science subject group incorporates the growing of local herbs such as turmeric, citronella, sugar cane, Pa Plai, Yanang Daeng, Pao, Sap Sua, etc. as an attempt preserve the local wisdom and promote the use of local herbs in medical treatment. The conservation also extends to other types of trees. The social studies, religion, and culture subject group teach students the use of herbal compress balls and encourage them to use the tool to relieve muscle pain older members of the family as a part of the family’s quality time on weekends. The student volunteer group offers massage services for tourists who visit Wat Phra That Renu Temple.

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Learning Center # 3 Waste management in local schools At Renu Nakhon Wittayanukul School, the science subject group incorporates the growing of local herbs such as turmeric, citronella, sugar cane, Pa Plai, Yanang Daeng, Pao, Sap Sua, etc. as an attempt preserve the local wisdom and promote the use of local herbs in medical treatment.

The conservation also extends to other types of trees.

The social studies, religion, and culture subject group teach students the use of herbal compress balls and encourage them to use the tool to relieve muscle pain older members of the family as a part of the family’s quality time on weekends. The student volunteer group offers massage services for tourists who visit Wat Phra That Renu Temple.

Learning Center # 4 Community environmental management and participation of the public sector Model communities are operated under efficient environmental management, with campaigns such as bin-free roads, household source separation, encouraging community members to deposit to money from the sale of recycled wastes to the welfare fund. If a member of a family dies, the municipality will buy recycled wastes from the members of the Funeral Fund from Recycled Wastes. The money from the sales will be divided into two parts. One will be given to a participated household while the other part will go into the fund and be given to a family whose member passes away. Organic wastes become an ingredient for compost and bio-fermented water used in household organic vegetable gardens.

A share farming method is also employed where landowners are encouraged to spare an area in their land for interested individuals to grow vegetables, generate extra income, and exchange the produce between community members.

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Nong Teng Subdistrict Municipality Krasang District, Buriram Province

Vision: Livable city, sustainable environment Population: 12,380 (2018) Number of communities: 18 villages, 24 communities Area: 71.17 square kilometers

Nong Teng Subdistrict Municipality is one of the few communities in Thailand that has successfully adopted King Rama 9’s Sufficiency Economy philosophy and applied it to different dimensions of community development. The philosophy extends to the development of local agriculture, promotion of occupational opportunities, the environment, people’s well-being, and quality of life. Nong Teng Subdistrict Municipality has also developed a significant number of environmental management innovations, which have continued to create substantial benefits to the community.

Environmentally Sustainable City Management Model Key of Success

Gradually educate community members using different approaches and methods such as educational tours, seminars for knowledge to be exchanged and shared, the use of lessons learned, and the learning center as an inspirational source of knowledge.

Innovations bring more significant and continual developments to the community. Expand the collaborative network of allies while seeking new knowledge and innovations that are beneficial for the community.

Environmental management for sustainable self-reliance Nong Teng Subdistrict Municipality is a small municipality that does not have a standardized waste disposal facility. Without any systematically operated waste collection method, the community has been self-reliant when it comes to waste and environmental management. With greater knowledge, better understanding, and practice, the municipality has developed the area into a tourist attraction that can generate substantial income for the local community. The attempt takes place alongside the continually growing potential

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of the local environmental network, followed by the successful integration of environmental works and the development of people’s living standards.

Additionally, the model community operates as a learning center that promotes various environmental projects and activities such as waste management and household waste separation. This trajectory has brought about sustainable changes to the local economy, as well as the social and environmental aspects of the development, all of which contribute to the livability of the community. At the same time, people gradually become more knowledgeable about waste sorting and disposal, resulting in the more effective management of the waste generated within the community.

Learning Center for Environmental Management Learning Center # 1 Learning Center of Local Wisdom and Thai People The learning center specializing in integrative agriculture, energy, natural resources and the environment operates as a facilitator who help people and the local community carry out environmental operations inspired by King Rama 9’s royal initiatives. It also provides the needed supports to local agricultural and environmental management.

For instance, the development of innovations from scrap materials helps improve local agriculture and community environment management, which consequentially reduces the municipality’s operational costs.

Learning Center # 2 Ban Chan Community Forest This natural forestland situated along Chi River is abundant with high biodiversity. Its benefit for the local communities ranges from consumption, education to recreation while strategically acting as a barrier that prevents the flooded water from Chi River from damaging the residential and agricultural area. The community establishes a working committee to oversee the conservation and management of the forestland.

Learning Center # 3 Recycled Waste Bank This learning center for recycling waste management is established to promote household source separation. The bank is operated as a community-run business that hopes to motivate people’s participation.

Learning Center # 4 Nong Takrong Earthworm Farming Group This learning center for community organic waste management specializes in organic earthworm farming with products such as bio-fermented water from earthworm manure and earthworm compost. These natural products help reduce both production costs and the use of farming chemicals in local agriculture.

Learning Center # 5 Civil Community System, Ban Nong Teng Yai, Village, moo 17 Despite using relatively less electrical power, the community’s solar-powered waterworks system can produce sufficient water for people in the area.

Learning Center # 6 Global Warming Learning Center This learning center is situated at Ban Chan School, moo 6. As a collaborative operation with Ruam Palang Community Project, the center’s activities follow the project’s ‘livable city, self-sufficient way of life and fighting climate change’ vision. It also operates as a bridge that brings the local community and young people the knowledge and a better understanding of global warming. The center provides the necessary information, approaches, and everyday-life methods to help stop global warming. It also creates an urban environmental management guideline for the community to handle the worldwide climate crisis.

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Green Cities -

Southern Region

Phuket Municipality Krabi Town Municipality

Phuket Municipality Muang District, Phuket Province

Vision: Creativity, livable and sustainable city Population: 79,590 (as of 2019) Number of communities: 22 Area: 12.562 square kilometers

In the past, Phuket was known as an island abundant with tin where Chinese and Western immigrants settled down and made a living from trade and mining business. The settlement led to the fuse of foreign and local cultures, which later evolved into Phuket’s own cultural identity. Such unique characteristics are reflected in the local food culture recognized as the first City of Gastronomy in UNESCO Creative Cities Network in Thailand and ASEAN. The Sino-Portuguese architecture manifests the perfect clash between the West and the East, adding a distinctive flavor to Phuket’s vibrant culture. Such cultural asset, combined with the island’s spectacular nature, has turned Phuket into one of the world’s top traveling destinations.

Environmentally Sustainable City Management Model Key of Success

Develop a creative economy upon the city’s potential as a leading traveling destination and distinctive cultural identity.

The city’s successful development is made possible through collaboration between government networks and the public sector, along with the incorporation of new technology.

Waste management innovation In 2005, garbage pollution became one of Phuket’s biggest problems. As a major tourist destination, the area opened its door to many foreigners and foreign workers. Assigned to oversee the city’s waste problems, Phuket Municipality leveraged private investment, followed by the construction of an incineration plant or waste-to-energy plant. The produced electricity is used to power the province’s public facilities and systems and sold to the Provincial Electricity Authority. The use of the incinerator system as the primary waste disposal system requires the efficiency of the furnace system has to increase.

Integrated waste management is needed to efficiently reduce and separate wastes from the

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source. The plan called for every sector to participate in brainstorming, decision-making and execution.

The municipality has campaigned and encouraged local communities and entrepreneurs to minimize waste production at the source, from reduced excessive consumption to efficient waste sorting and recycling. Organic wastes, which account for up to 60% of the total produced weight, are turned into animal food and bio-fertilizer while the sale of recycled waste generates household income. Hazardous waste was separated for further disposal. The waste collection system is operated to coincide with the sorting method with garbage trucks properly collecting and transporting different types of wastes on the scheduled collection dates Through a concrete, consistent and sustainable operation, waste will become a renewable resource.

Beautify landscape, increase green spaces The latest development has brought a new life to Saphan Hin Public Park whose nature-filled landscape serves as an outdoor classroom for locals and visitors. The expansion of urban green spaces welcomes new trees, now growing around the roundabouts and on traffic islands. Overhead power lines and cables in the old town area are removed and buried underground to fully reveal the beauty of the Sino-Portuguese architecture.

The overall urban landscape and pedestrian walkways in the area have been improved to complement the architecture with the universal design approach to better accommodate users of all ages and genders.

Krabi Town Municipality Mueang District, Krabi Province

Vision: Livable city, happy people, a service hub and gateway to ecotourism, history, art and culture, and the future quality city (Q-City) by 2026 Population: 32,673 (July 2020) Number of communities: 14 Area: 19.0 square kilometers

Despite its century-long history, Krabi’s first urban development experience took place only a few decades ago. Initially, the development was clustered around the province’s famous islands while there were only a few tourists who traveled to Krabi’s city center. The urban reorganization and improvement of Krabi’s town area and landscape architecture have taken place with a proper environmental management system implemented to accommodate urban growth for downtown Krabi to serve as the province’s living room.

Environmentally Sustainable City Management Model The successful conservation of local wisdom and natural resources leads to a genuinely sustainable urban development.

Key of Success

By initiating community participation as a part of natural resource conservation, people’s quality of life has improved alongside a well-balanced ecological system. Locals can see how the preservation of nature can bring both financial stability and a happier life.

Incorporating collaborations from outside organizations, both Thai and international, to truly enable sustainable development.

From community ecotourism to sustainable natural resource and environmental management Krabi Municipality’s great asset is its abundant natural resources. All have the potential to become the province’s traveling destinations that can generate substantial income for the city and local communities. Due to the lack of proper development and management in the past, these places have faced rising environmental issues from exploitative fishery and mangrove forest invasion coastal erosion to shallow water channels, which collectively directly affected people’s way of living and quality of life.

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Krabi Municipality, therefore, has organized community-operated programs in the area along Krabi River. Created as a result, is a community ecotourism development project that aims for Krabi to achieve sustainable resource management.

Ecotourism routes are created, connecting cultural and art destinations with different activities curated to elevate visitors’ travel experiences, such as the development of a mangrove walkway and the establishment of a community crab bank in Na Muang Community, which also functions as a crab breeding center.

These community-run operations have created new jobs and generated income to local households while effectively strengthening the locals’ awareness in natural resource conservation, such as natural methods employed to crab farming. This collective ecotourism initiative has led to the average 2,000 THB increase of the monthly income of 42 households, subsequently contributing to the community’s economic strength. In the meantime, community members work together to closely monitor and prevent illegal fishery from exploiting local natural resources and environment.

Learning Center for Environmental Management Learning Center # 1 Mangrove Forest Resource Management Center of Krabi Province This learning center operates to promote the conservation of local green spaces, which serve as a part of the lungs of the Krabi and a classroom where one can explore and study a comprehensive mangrove ecosystem, from species of plants to life cycles of marine creatures, soil and air quality.

Learning Center # 2 Khu Mueang Community This learning center provides information about natural black crabs farming, which operates alongside the conservation of local mangrove forest. The parallel approach contributes to the soil’s high quality, which is the primary food source for marine animals. Also, the area is an ideal learning ground and a recreational space that appeals to the general public. Khu Mueng Community is responsible for the management and conservation of this local mangrove forest.

Learning Center # 3 Hin Kwang Market The development of the landscape around the mangrove forest near Krabi River includes additional green spaces designed to serve as a recreational public ground that welcomes locals and visitors. The area is connected to Hin Khwang pier and operated as a learning center of local history and culture. Further developments take place in the form of community-based tourism that values environmentally friendly production and consumption.

Public Participatory Promotion Bureau,

Department of Environmental Quality Promotion, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment 49 Rama IV Rd. Soi 30 Phayathai Bangkok 10400, Thailand Tel. +66 2 278 8400-19 E-mail: info@deqp.mail.go.th www.deqp.go.th, www.environment.in.th