<Location>
Chiang Mai District and Chiang Rai District 

<Overview>
           The forest occupancy rate of Thailand has decreased to 25% as a result of worsening deforestation under recent development policies. This situation has created a sense of crisis within the government of Thailand, and they rushed to establish forest conservation policies as social trends shifted from deforestation to forest conservation. However, these trends along with the conservation policies have come to restrict use by the villagers, who have been coexisting with the forest for generations. Losing their means of living has created a vicious cycle of impoverishment, involvement in illegal logging and destruction of their environment.
           The receding of the forest is a major concern for people residing in the urban areas as well. Central Thailand, including Bangkok, suffered greatly due to the floods of 2011. The source of the Chao Phraya River flowing through Central Thailand is located in the mountain areas of Northern Thailand. The decrease of water-holding properties of Northern Thailand due to deforestation is actually one of the major factors behind the flood. Therefore, conserving the forest in Northern Thailand not only guarantees the lives of local residents, but also enables sustainable development of Thailand as a whole.

 <Purpose>
           The purpose of this project is to enable the people living in mountain villages of Northern Thailand, who are losing their means of living, to use, manage and conserve the natural resources on their own. Eventually, it will support replenishment of the forest, and establishment of sustainable living for the villagers.
           There is no one else who can conserve the forest except the local residents, who have successfully gained knowledge through long experience. However, even if the local residents try to negotiate with the Royal Forest Department in order to realize their own way of conserving and being involved in the forest, a lack of maps and records has become a major obstacle for them. This is where the role of Link begins. The local residents and we would work together, gathering information from the villages in order to create a “Village Encyclopedia”. After the book has been created, we will hold workshops focusing on usage of the “Village Encyclopedia” to support empowerment of the villagers.
           The main goal of Link’s project is to get local residents involved in conserving the forest, and to realize both the regeneration of forest in Northern Thailand and sustainable development, led by the residents themselves. 

<What is the project?>
           We propose creating a “Village Encyclopedia” together with the villagers, comprising two elements:
　(1)   Draw up a map showing the village as a whole, as well as community forest, agricultural land and residential land inside the village.
　(2)   Create a timeline laying out the changes that have occurred in their lifestyle along with development, extinction of wild animals, and history of forest conservation. In addition, create a list of wild animals and plants seen today, and how they are being used. 

<Why should we do the project?>
           By creating and applying the “Village Encyclopedia”, there would be various achievements leading to the improvement of their lives.
　(1)   Sharing maps and various data will enable the villagers to be more involved in forest conservation. This will enhance their ability to draft plans for promoting development, empowerment of community organization, and building their capacity (Inner effect).
　(2)   The villagers can present a map identifying the area of their community forest and their achievements in forest conservation activities. Consequently, their ability to negotiate with the outsiders would increase, thus enabling the villagers to collaborate with the Royal Forest Department. The eventual aim is to enable the villagers to manage and conserve the forest independently. (External effect).
　(3)   Using the “Village Encyclopedia” as material for environmental education in the local schools would enhance the progress of future generations within the village. (Future effect)

<Distinctiveness of the project>

 [Prevention]
           Deforestation has become a major cause of impoverishment and loss of means of living in the village. The situation in which villagers become unable to maintain their living could easily trigger various problems, such as increase of debt, involvement in illegal logging, human trafficking, drug trafficking, spread of AIDS, and increased prejudice. What Link would do is not to solve these problems individually, but to support sustainable development of the villagers in order to “prevent” these problems from happening.

[Villager as the leading actor]
           Link believes that only the villagers themselves can improve their living conditions, and therefore, we think the villagers should play the central role in our project.
           We urge the villagers to be actively involved in the process of creating the “Village Encyclopedia”. Furthermore, while collecting the information of the village, our focus will be on how we can have more villagers participate. As we carry out our activities in villages under a range of circumstances, the goal of the project is to spread our skills and experiences to more villages wherever possible.
           Once the “Village Encyclopedia” has been created, Link can simply introduce “how” the villagers can apply the knowledge, and therefore, the villagers will eventually have to implement things on their own. In conducting interviews after the projects, achievements using the “Village Encyclopedia” have been reported.