SDGs

A national survey on experiences of discrimination and social attitudes towards LGBT people in Thailand

There is a lack of comprehensive research on attitude toward LGBT people and challenges they face, making it difficult for advocates, development partners and policy makers to promote effective policies and make informed decisions. To address this the ‘Being LGBTI in Asia’ UNDP program, which is aimed at advancing the well-being of LGBTI people and reducing inequality and marginalization on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, supported a study in collaboration with Love Frankie and AIT. This national study examined the experiences of and social attitudes towards lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people. It involved a survey with 2,210 participants from across the country, including 1,349 LGBT people and 861 non-LGBT people, and focus group discussions in Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Phitsanulok and Pattani. The study found that there are overall favourable attitudes towards LGBT people in Thailand and significant support for inclusive laws and policies, but also persistent experiences of stigma and discrimination, violence and exclusion.

Keywords LGBT, SOGIE, Gender Equality, Thailand

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Economic and Social Impact Assessment of the Municipal Water Supply System Improvement in the Slum Areas of Mandalay, Myanmar

As requested by JICA-RI, AIT acted as a technical advisor to the impact assessment of urban water supply in Myanmar. JICA has supported the effort of the Government of Myanmar to expand the access to safe water and to improve the water supply system in the managerial and the technical manner. The project was implemented for the introduction of the water supply system in Pyi Gyi Tagon Township and disinfection facilities for the existing water supply systems in other parts of Mandalay. JICA normally measures the outcomes of water supply projects in terms of served population or the daily maximum water flow rate. This project assessed the household-level impacts on the economic and social aspects of the livelihoods and health of the beneficiaries. The survey data were collected in 2018 and 2019, with which the panel data set was constructed. Currently, the data analysis is underway, and the results will be reported to the Mandalay City Development Council (MCDC) and wider scientific audience in due course.

Keywords urban water supply, impact assessment, economic impact, social impact, panel survey, Giffen goods

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Building a participatory civic platform in Thailand, Vietnam, and Japan through project-based ecotourism for the mitigation of ocean plastic pollution

Based on the request from Prefectural University of Hiroshima, AIT acts as a focal point in Thailand for this trilateral civic engagement project to address the ocean plastic pollution problem. Annually, eight million metric tons of plastic waste is discharged into the oceanic zone, causing serious damage to fisheries and cultural ecosystems in each country. This project will examine the potential for problem solving based on civic participation by assessing a new ecotourism model, building a civic platform, and establishing a system for monitoring, analysis, and communication of the plastic pollution through partnership with Iriomote Island, where Japan’s first ecotourism association has been spearheading the monitoring, analysis, and communication of garbage washed ashore, as well as Prefectural University of Hiroshima and Vietnam National University Hanoi Campus. Thailand and Vietnam were selected since market economy has penetrated and world-class tourism destinations flourish. The project will also engage participants from other countries in ASEAN such as Lao PRD and Cambodia.

Keywords plastic pollution, ocean environment, microplastics, common-pool resource management, ecotourism, multilateral partnership

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Delivery of Training Program for Technology Clinic for Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) in Thailand

The project was initiated based on the request from the Climate Technology Centre and Network (CTCN) which is the operational arm of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Technology Mechanism and hosted by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in collaboration with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and supported by 11 partner institutions with expertise in climate technologies. This CTCN Assistance project is intended to deliver a training program on a Technology Clinic for SMEs (= SME Clinic) in Thailand in its agro-food processing sector. The project will undertake the following key activities: (i) preparation and finalization of training program; (ii) development of training materials; (iii) organization of an SME Clinic workshop; and (iv) preparation of a synthesis report and recommendations based on the workshop outcomes. The clinic workshop will cover topics to build the capacities of SMEs to a) acquire and streamline specific climate technologies into their processes; b) apply new business models; c) upgrade or develop new products or services; and d) develop business plans or proposals. The training material will cover, but not limited to, the transfer and commercialization of precision farming technologies for SMEs in agro-food sector, and discuss business case studies that demonstrate good practices relevant to the training program. These will be used to provide concrete examples on successful climate technology transfers from other countries and to provide ideas and guidance to participants in preparing their strategic action plans.

Keywords SME, capacity building, agriculture, food processing, business model, climate change

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Investigating the Miraculous Growth of the Thai Cassava Processing Industry

Thailand is the world’s No.1 exporter of processed cassava products, especially tapioca starch powder. Any other country pales in comparison. While it is well known that tapioca production and export have grown dramatically over the last several decades in Thailand, it is not widely known why this industry has grown so successfully only in Thailand. Our major research question is whether the growth and development of this industry were driven by substantial foreign direct investment. Qualitative interviews with selected factories were conducted in in Nakhon Ratchasima Province in November 2019. To further investigate the mechanism of growth, the project will conduct a structured questionnaire survey with owners and/or managing directors of various cassava processing factories in the nation in partnership with the Thai Tapioca Starch Association. Through the survey, we will collect information on their profile, practices, performance, relationship with other value chain actors as well as the Tapioca Starch Association. the operation size at present and in the past, sources of technology and market information, history of mergers and acquisitions, composition of nationalities of capital, and constraints on further growth.

Keywords industrial growth, cassava, tapioca, foreign direct investment, technology transfer

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Low Business Opportunities in Forestry Project

This project is designed to train university lecturers, NGOs, and government officials from ASEAN member states on identifying the low-carbon business development opportunities created by forestry climate change project. Trainers were from Japan, ASEAN, and AIT. Training was held in Siem Reap in 16 – 23 March 2019 (3 days for fieldwork and 5 days for in-class lectures), for which more than 60 people attended. Trainers were from Asian Institute of Technologies, Japanese Universities, local universities in Cambodia, Wildlife Conservation Society, World Wildlife Fund for Nature, and more from ASEAN member states.

Keywords REDD+, low carbon business, forestry, carbon credits

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Detection of Land Use Change

This is project is a research collaboration project between Lund University in NRM of SERD, AIT in Thailand and the Royal University of Agriculture. Named FRAWASA, this project is aimed at identifying land cover change in Cambodia, assessing land availability for forest restoration and climate-smart agriculture. It suggests policy interventions for reducing carbon emissions from deforestation and for increasing carbon stocks through forest restoration and smart agriculture.

Keywords REDD+, carbon emissions, carbon sequestration, carbon removals, emission reductions, forest restoration, climate smart agriculture

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What is Essential is Invisible’: Empowerment and Security in Economic Projects for Low-Income Women in Four Mekong Countries (Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam)

This research project, using both qualitative and quantitative data collection methods, focused on women’s economic empowerment and social protection projects in four Mekong countries: Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar and Vietnam. It involved an exploration of the gaps between the level of policy makers and intended beneficiaries in terms of their conceptions of the ideas of empowerment and security and their perceptions of what is happening on the ‘ground’. In addition, the research examined under what conditions empowerment (as locally defined) and an increase in a sense of security (again, as locally defined) came as a result of economic empowerment and social protection projects, and under what conditions there was no such apparent benefit – or even negative effects – in spite of the well-meaning intentions of the projects. One key finding is that empowerment is not a single recipe, it needs to be contextualized, and that for a large number of low income women in the four countries, empowerment was a social or relational process, an aspect of empowerment often neglected by donors and development practitioners.

Keywords Economic Empowerment, Income, Gender, Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Vietnam

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Understanding Barriers and Working Pathways to Women’s Political Participation In Myanmar

The aim of the project is to assess the extent and forms of women’s participation in the political sphere in Myanmar, and explore barriers and enabling factors. We define participation beyond just actions that influence or support governments to taking part in collective decision-making in a broad sense. Previous research has demonstrated low levels of women’s representation in national, subnational, and community governance, and explored the social and cultural norms that bar women from taking leadership roles.1 This research will extend these insights to analyze the pathways to participation across multiple levels of governance: (1) National parliament, political parties, and social movements; (2) State/Division parliaments, government offices; and (3) District, township, and village groups. Using the concept of pathways will allow us to utilize and study women’s personal path to political power, to understand what can undermine at any point upward mobility in the political system and what can facilitate or provide entry points or further engagement at different moments in a woman’s life.

Keywords Gender, Political Participation, Equality, Myanmar

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Trade Hub

Thousands of species are threatened globally with extinction, there has been a swift decline in biodiversity and ecosystem resilience and people are being kept in poverty as trade in wildlife and agricultural commodities from low and middle-income countries has rapidly increased. The Trade Hub includes economists, trade modellers, political scientists, ecologists, development scientists, large companies, UN bodies and NGOs who will work together across supply chains to influence trade related policy and practice. It will also produce research to help ensure that trade becomes a driver of positive change in the world, with biodiversity loss halted and people permanently lifted out of poverty. The Hub will select trades that are already having, of have the potential to have, a major impact on biodiversity, as well as those that are important for local livelihoods:

  • bamboo and rattan
  • live animals
  • skins of animals
  • wild meatocoa
  • coffee
  • palm oil
  • rubber
  • soy beans
  • sugar

Emerging trades, for example in crops such as bush mango and the African cherry, will also be studied as examples of wild-sourced species that are being gradually domesticated into agricultural systems. These various trades will be studied within eight countries, chosen for being in different stages of economic development as well as producing a wide range of wildlife and agricultural products: Brazil, China, Cameroon, Gabon, Republic of Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Tanzania, and Indonesia. The project will study how different systems of trade have affected biodiversity from a biophysical, social, political and economic point of view, and trace the impact of the supply chain all the way from supplier to consumer countries via trading companies. As well as feeding into public policy advice, this research will also help companies understand their products’ true environmental impact all the way back to the raw materials.

Keywords Trade, Brexit, Sustainability, Biodiversity, Equitable Growth

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