The Natural Science Unit of UNESCO Bangkok Office is comprised of two main activities: Coastal Region and Small Islands (CSI) and Local and Indigenous Knowledge System (LINKS).
Project Update
Andaman Sea Project - News Update, Publications and Documentaries
Since 1998, the Andaman Pilot Project, funded by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) has focused on action research with the aim of promoting sustainable development on islands in the Surin region and Adang Archipelago as well as cultural heritage conservation among the indigenous peoples living there. In continuance of the substantial work UNESCO Bangkok has already undertaken in the Andaman Sea region, the following updates and multi-media publications report the most recent achievements and offer information on possible follow up activities.
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In Focus
Rights and Needs of Indigenous Communities and the Management of Protected Areas
In Thailand, almost several thousand sea nomads remain dispersed over the coastal area and numerous islands of the Andaman Sea. These people belong to three distinct communities, the Moken, Moklen and Urak Lawoi, each with its own set of cultural traditions and language. Since 1998, the Andaman Pilot Project, funded by UNESCO and currently managed by the ESD team, has focused on action research to achieve sustainable development on these islands as well as cultural heritage conservation among the indigenous people living there. With funding from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) the project contributed to the development of a model for equitable governance for the sustained conservation of the natural and cultural diversity in the marine protected areas of the Andaman Sea. Read more
Education for Sustainable Development in Action:
Another day in Paradise?
Designated as a national park in 1981, the Surin Islands are home to a small community of Moken, or sea nomads, who have been based there for many decades. Despite the restrictions imposed upon them by the protected area status, the Moken have tried to continue their traditional way of life through fishing, foraging, hunting and trading with other communities.
Tragically, the December 2004 tsunami completely destroyed the Moken Village in Bon Bay on South Surin Island. UNESCO Bangkok’s Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) Programme, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Chulalongkorn University’s Social Research Institute (CUSRI), the Marine National Park Division of the National Park Office and the Moken community have joined together in efforts to rehabilitate the community and the environment. Read more
Main Activities
CSI is a global platform for environmentally sound, socially equitable, culturally respectful and economically viable development in coastal regions and small islands. The driving force and main goal are the mitigation and management of conflicts over coastal resources and values. Via the CSI platform, wise coastal practices for sustainable human development are exchanged, the voices of small islands amplified, indigenous knowledge mobilised for equitable resource governance, and youth given a say.
Local & indigenous knowledge has gained international recognition as a vital factor for sustainable development and biodiversity management. One of the greatest challenges today is to determine how holders of local knowledge, and the communities of which they are a part, should best engage in these processes. Will the integration of indigenous knowledge in development and conservation efforts contribute to community empowerment? Or is there a risk that rural and indigenous peoples may be further dispossessed, and their distinctive worldviews misrepresented and undermined?
The LINKS project focuses on this interface between local & indigenous knowledge and the Millennium Development Goals of poverty eradication and environmental sustainability. It addresses the different ways that indigenous knowledge, practices and worldviews are drawn into development and resource management processes. It also considers the implications this may have for building equity in governance, enhancing cultural pluralism and sustaining biodiversity.