Building Back Better on Lanta Island
A Tale of Two Villages
Koh Lanta is one of Thailand’s up-and-coming islands for mass tourism. But while tourism is young to this island’s shores, fishing is still a long-time staple for many of its residents.
The December 2004 tsunami had a serious impact on Koh Lanta’s south-easternmost tip. Two villages highly dependent upon fishing, and generally disenfranchised from the island’s tourism dollars due to location, were badly damaged - Ban Hua Laem, a traditional Muslim fishing village, and Ban Sang Ga U, a chao lay or “sea gypsy” village.
Both villages needed help in the form of new boats, boat engines, houses, roads, piers, fishing gear, as well as human rehabilitation. The replacement of physical items posed not too much of a burden given the outpouring of assistance from a number of sources. However, here was an opportunity also for the mental and spiritual rehabilitation of two very proud and distinct minority groups – Muslims and sea gypsies. Both are groups of people whose age-old traditions were in grave danger of alteration due to changes posed by mass tourism, environmental degradation, and unchecked globalisation.
Current Projects
The Livelihood Restoration and Sustainable Ecology for Lanta Island Project (project brief, project document) aims for full-scale ecology and natural resource management planning for Koh Lanta and its people in the wake of the tsunami. The management aspects of the project have been initiated in a way that takes the island’s unique Muslim, Chinese, Buddhist and Sea Gypsy heritages into consideration. Starting with the above two most-affected villages, the project strives to let tsunami ‘victims’ become ‘prime movers’ in their own livelihoods and managing their own ecosystems.
UNDP’s primary partners in the Lanta Island project are the Community Organizations Development Institute, or CODI, and the Chumchonthai Foundation, CODI’s arm on the ground. Foundation staff have worked tirelessly since soon after the tsunami to manage, organise and expand the project.
As of 2007, the project is continuing to try to provide communities with the power to manage their own natural resources, and to bring parties concerned together to establish sound management of eco-tourism based on Lanta’s unique culture. The project has advanced through the initial phases of community organization and rebuilding, and is now entering the cultural heritage awareness, integration and promotion phases.
Many activities initiated by the project challenge traditional practices. For example: a public forum that includes community representatives and government officials uses a participatory approach that encourages inputs from women and teenagers as well as local community organizations. This is in stark contrast to the pre-tsunami decision making process which relied heavily on individuals making decisions for the local people.
At the end of the relief phase in June 2006, UNDP, in conjunction with the Coca-Cola Company and the United Nations Foundation, launched a project on ‘Working with Communities to meet Water & Sanitation Needs Sustainably’ to address the urgency of water scarcity in Lanta Island. Four villages were selected as experimental sites for water resource development implementation. In addition, additional funding has been mobilized from the Global Environment Facility’s Small Grants Programme to support small community projects on Lanta.
Project Objectives
Objective 1: All for One
It is not often in Thailand that you see the heads of the district, the local administration, NGOs and community representatives come together to discuss common issues. But this happens on a regular basis through the project’s 20-member Project Steering Committee (PSC). In the project initiation stage, the committee has endorsed 7 community working groups to plan and carry out their own initiatives. The community network has now expanded to 16 communities. The committee has also directed the landscaping/architectural improvements portion of the project, through an entirely participatory process.
Objective 2: Rebuilding
New houses have been built to replace houses totally destroyed by the tsunami and many more houses have been partially renovated. One dockyard capable of repairing medium-size boats has been installed in Sriraya village, and is managed by the community to serve the whole tsunami-affected area. It should be mentioned that to reinforced the pride and dignity of the local people, livelihood restoration assistance is not free nor given as a hand-out. The community organized themselves to rebuild their lives with support from the project. Boats were rebuilt by the villagers. Houses were rebuilt by the villagers.
Objective 3: Determining Identity
“People Mapping” is being done across Lanta to discover the true make-up of the island, and more importantly, to let its populace know what rich cultures are present. This vital information is instrumental to community-initiated projects. Seven projects have been initiated that concentrate on local culture and traditional wisdom, and it is hoped that more will follow. Never before in the history of Koh Lanta have master craft-people, artists, builders, fishers, chefs, clothing makers, singers, dancers, physicians and storytellers, no matter what their ethnic group, been recognized and encouraged to impart their knowledge in this manner.
Objective 4: Environmental Awareness
Of thirteen community-initiated projects, four represent the communities’ effort to manage their natural resources and environment. Projects involve waste management & garbage-free community organisations, organic/traditional farming systems, and marine & coastal ecology centres. These projects are crucial to the development of Lanta into a sustainable eco-tourism destination. Although in its infancy, the prospects for the success of this component of the overall project remain strong.
