Opportunities in using the conservation of biodiversity to alleviate poverty in Thailand

摘要

Improving the living status of disadvantaged rural people is one of the main policies of the Government of Thailand, which is firstly to decrease their expenditure, secondly to increase their income, and lastly to enhance their economic opportunities. Most of the rural people in Thailand rely on agriculture and forests for their living. In this paper the prospects of alleviating their poverty based on biodiversity conservation through ecotourism management and food banks from forest community establishment as well as forest plantations for medicinal and natural product investment are proposed. The opportunity of future benefits from Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) contribution in Thailand is also discussed.