Learning from gender roles to improve mangrove forest management of the Ranong Biosphere Reserve

How did you first hear about the UNESCO Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme?

I have known about the MAB Programme ever since working with Dr Wijarn Mepool in 2012. He is a manager of the Ranong Biosphere Reserve and an expert on mangroves. So, I got to know about the MAB Programme from working in a biosphere reserve!

At that time, I was assigned to study mangrove socio-economic dependency in Ranong Biosphere Reserve, because we wanted to update our information about the community. In order to do that job, I went off searching for information in the biosphere reserve and sought the conditions for a 'declaration of understanding' on mangrove use by the local community.

Why did you apply for the MAB Young Scientist Awards?

I applied for the MAB Young Scientist Awards in 2015. I had just finished my Master's. I did not really have a budget to do research. As a Forestry Technical Officer, I was looking to do more research and I was interested in carrying on studying the Ranong Biosphere Reserve.

My ex-chief knew about a call for applications for the 2016 MAB Young Scientist Awards. It had been disseminated by the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation, which is the national focal point for the MAB Programme in Thailand. She encouraged me to apply. So, I did!

How did you use the grant in your work?

So, I used the grant for my transportation to Ranong to collect research data. I went there maybe four or five times, and I was staying there four to six days each time and paid for my assistant researcher.

Besides that, the grant helped with data collection, such as questionnaires, equipment, focus group discussions, and to organise workshops to share and check information results. I also used part of the grant to pay for the translation of the final report into English.

You now work at theDepartment of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR), on protecting mangrove forests in Thailand. MAB is currently working to promote mangrove restoration as a nature-based solution to biodiversity loss and climate change, in the context of the twin UN Decades 2021-2030 (Ecosystem Restoration & Ocean Science for Sustainable Development).

Why are mangroves so important?

Mangroves are ecosystems that connect land and sea in the tropical and subtropical regions of the world. So, mangroves are therefore very important to coastal ecosystems, not only as a large habitat and food source for coastal and marine life, but also as a 'natural super-market' for people.

They are also a natural barrier to coastal disasters. Mangroves help protect against coastal erosion. They help trap and filter waste and toxins from water flowing into the sea. They help reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

We rely on them. They are a source of fishery resources, a source of fuel, and a source of vegetables and herbs. They are also a tourist attraction and a source of knowledge. Mangroves are really important to humans both economically and socially. A lot depends on mangrove restoration and healthy ecosystems.

So, your research project was on gender roles in the management of Ranong Biosphere Reserve. How did you come to this topic?

In 2015, I had participated in a workshop on 'Applying Gender Integrated Planning in Mangroves', some five months before I applied. I wanted to apply my knowledge and tools from this training to do research. Also, when I reviewed the literature, I found that we did not have information about gender roles in Ranong. That is how I found my topic!

When I started studying gender roles in the communities, the first thing I saw as important was to assess how well they were doing looking at them from a global perspective. Gender equality is an important topic, with much interest and concern globally. Gender equality has got its own a Sustainable Development Goal: SDG 5, to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls. Importantly too, the strategic objectives of the MAB Programme's Lima Action Plan (2016-2025) emphasizes equitable societies in biosphere reserve.

In my opinion, studying gender roles, such as in the management of Ranong Biosphere Reserve, will help benefit activities and plans to achieve these goals - biosphere reserves, SDGs and national policies - which are the duties of my department.

In Thailand, gender equality has been enshrined in the Constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand since 2017, and by extension in the National Economic and Social Development Plan, including the strategic plan for natural resource management, which takes us back to mangrove communities. So, my research was happening at that time, a lot was happening

Ranong is a really special area, for one it has the biosphere reserve status, but it is also the only biosphere reserve in Thailand that has mangrove areas.

I am very keen on social forestry and participatory processes. I like to talk with local communities to learn how they behave and what they need. In terms of natural resources management, we have to know what suitable direction can be taken, for them and for a sustainable society.

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