I. The progress report was received on July 28 ,2004, with following details.

Activities undertaken:

1. Launching capacity building and awareness raising activities: open forum, seminar, surveying &
analysis, compiling data & information, formulation of local knowledge and course on water resources
management, religious rite
2. demarcating conservation zones
3. Producing bio-fertilizer to replace chemical ones
4. Building charcoal-producing kilns so as to turn the aggressive sensitive plant into fuel

Immediate Outputs / Results:

- Increased awareness witnessed through more active community discussion
- Compiled information and situation on forest and watershed areas
- Three more members into the network
- Emergence of six working groups at village level
- 30 rai ( ~12 acres ) were set aside for toxic-free agriculture
- 20 members capable of putting into practice what were learnt ( to produce bio-fertilizer
and to build 20 kilns)


II.The project was visited on October 14, 2003, with following findings and observations:

Findings and observation

Project leaders from six primary target villages met with the visiting team at Ban(village)Hang , one of the six participating village, where discussion and exchange of experience were carried out. It was generally felt that the courses of project activities were what the communities would like to see happening and would solve their existing problems about water shortage. An after-GEF/SGP- support plan was already in the mind of these leaders and put forward for brief discussion and comment from the visiting team.

As the project area is situated in the vicinity of watershed area of the river ,coupled with the application of traditional irrigation practice , community members had been enjoying the provision from the river until recent years of degradation. With once abundant water supply, communities were encouraged to grow several crops on the same plot, seemingly without any fallow or substantial practices to rehabilitate the fertility. In order to secure handsome yields and income , the only resort is chemical application.

Comments

Even though representatives from participating communities had demonstrated capacity and will to deal with water problem, results of other demonstration activities are yet to be witnessed. For example, some representatives felt that getting rid of alien species by turning them into charcoal would not be very attractive, but anyway would try within a few months. Due to time constrain, the visiting team did not witness activities on reforestation and organic fertilizer in this one village.

II. The project was completed with only two disbursement.