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Nong Teng Subdistrict Municipality
Nong Teng Subdistrict Municipality Krasang District, Buriram Province
Vision: Livable city, sustainable environment Population: 12,380 (2018) Number of communities: 18 villages, 24 communities Area: 71.17 square kilometers
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Nong Teng Subdistrict Municipality is one of the few communities in Thailand that has successfully adopted King Rama 9’s Sufficiency Economy philosophy and applied it to different dimensions of community development. The philosophy extends to the development of local agriculture, promotion of occupational opportunities, the environment, people’s well-being, and quality of life. Nong Teng Subdistrict Municipality has also developed a significant number of environmental management innovations, which have continued to create substantial benefits to the community.
Environmentally Sustainable City Management Model
Key of Success
Gradually educate community members using different approaches and methods such as educational tours, seminars for knowledge to be exchanged and shared, the use of lessons learned, and the learning center as an inspirational source of knowledge.
Innovations bring more significant and continual developments to the community. Expand the collaborative network of allies while seeking new knowledge and innovations that are beneficial for the community.
Nong Teng Subdistrict Municipality is a small municipality that does not have a standardized waste disposal facility. Without any systematically operated waste collection method, the community has been self-reliant when it comes to waste and environmental management. With greater knowledge, better understanding, and practice, the municipality has developed the area into a tourist attraction that can generate substantial income for the local community. The attempt takes place alongside the continually growing potential
of the local environmental network, followed by the successful integration of environmental works and the development of people’s living standards. Additionally, the model community operates as a learning center that promotes various environmental projects and activities such as waste management and household waste separation. This trajectory has brought about sustainable changes to the local economy, as well as the social and environmental aspects of the development, all of which contribute to the livability of the community. At the same time, people gradually become more knowledgeable about waste sorting and disposal, resulting in the more effective management of the waste generated within the community.
Learning Center for Environmental Management
Learning Center # 1 Learning Center of Local Wisdom and Thai People
The learning center specializing in integrative agriculture, energy, natural resources and the environment operates as a facilitator who help people and the local community carry out environmental operations inspired by King Rama 9’s royal initiatives. It also provides the needed supports to local agricultural and environmental management. For instance, the development of innovations from scrap materials helps improve local agriculture and community environment management, which consequentially reduces the municipality’s operational costs.
Learning Center # 2 Ban Chan Community Forest
This natural forestland situated along Chi River is abundant with high biodiversity. Its benefit for the local communities ranges from consumption, education to recreation while strategically acting as a barrier that prevents the flooded water from Chi River from damaging the residential and agricultural area. The community establishes a working committee to oversee the conservation and management of the forestland.
Learning Center # 3 Recycled Waste Bank
This learning center for recycling waste management is established to promote household source separation. The bank is operated as a community-run business that hopes to motivate people’s participation.
Learning Center # 4 Nong Takrong Earthworm Farming Group
This learning center for community organic waste management specializes in organic earthworm farming with products such as bio-fermented water from earthworm manure and earthworm compost. These natural products help reduce both production costs and the use of farming chemicals in local agriculture.
Learning Center # 5 Civil Community System, Ban Nong Teng Yai, Village, moo 17
Despite using relatively less electrical power, the community’s solar-powered waterworks system can produce sufficient water for people in the area.
This learning center is situated at Ban Chan School, moo 6. As a collaborative operation with Ruam Palang Community Project, the center’s activities follow the project’s ‘livable city, self-sufficient way of life and fighting climate change’ vision. It also operates as a bridge that brings the local community and young people the knowledge and a better understanding of global warming. The center provides the necessary information, approaches, and everyday-life methods to help stop global warming. It also creates an urban environmental management guideline for the community to handle the worldwide climate crisis.
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