Local Community Business and Awareness on Environmental Protection for Sustainable Development

At CBIRD Ban Phai, Khon Kaen Province, occupational groups presented their findings.

Participants in CBIRD Nang Rong, Buriram Province, exchanged their viewpoints.

Lecture on UN's Sustainable Development Goals at CBIRD Wiang Pa Pao, Chiang Rai Province

Lecture on UN's Sustainable Development Goals at CBIRD Ban Phai, Khon Kaen Province

At CBIRD Mahasarakham Province, speaker raised questions on sustainable production of local products.

Participants exchanged and discussed among each other at CBIRD Krabi Province.

Group workshop: brainstorming for ideas, problems, and solutions

Group workshop: collecting ideas and information for presentation

Participants exchanging ideas with speaker

Group presentation session at CBIRD Nang Rong, Buriram Province

Participants exchanged their ideas and opinions with speaker at CBIRD Sai Yok, Kanchanaburi Province.

Project coordinator assisted participants during the group workshop.

Lively discussion and presentation at CBIRD Krabi Province

Reviewing and commenting the group findings and discussion results

Participants evaluated the activity's contents, implementation, and beneficial outputs.

This phase provided workshops aiming at expanding academic knowledge and more understanding in policies concerning environmental protection and regulations. Through the activities, the target participants, e.g. local occupational groups and local enterprises, gained consciousness, beneficial skills, and know-how that enable them to run community businesses with increased awareness on natural resources and sustainable development goals.

In the first part of the workshops, invited professors and scholars in innovative and sustainable development fields from the project provinces or nearby provided the target participants key knowledge of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals and also current movements and developments of the SDGs implementation. As well, the rules and regulations in Thailand concerning environmental protection and promotion of public participation in the policy process were also lectured. Then, in the second part of the workshops, the participants were divided into smaller groups according to their occupations. From the knowledge gained in the first part, each group brainstormed for possible adjustment and solutions that they can apply in order to improve the performance of the group to be with more awareness on the afore-mentioned topic and also to solve the groups’ existing problems. Then, they presented the discussion results to the speakers for comments and to other participants for idea exchange. At the end, participants evaluated the contents, implementation, expectation and benefits of the activities before giving feedbacks to PDA’s CBIRD Centres whose project consultants would seriously take into account and compile them into the policy recommendations for constant and sustainable economic development in local communities in the next steps.

The Project “Business for Social and Environmental Development” is one of the projects that the KAS supported the civil society organisations in Thailand to propel the actualisation of the Social Market Economy Principle in the country. With the workshops, trainings, and study visits throughout the year, the project aims to bring about the quality of life to Thai people in target local and rural areas through having sustainable income and occupation.