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Nature-based Solutions

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At the Mae Fah Luang Foundation (MFLF), we believe that restoring and protecting nature is key to addressing climate challenges and improving community livelihoods. Our nature-based solutions (NbS) integrate environmental conservation with social development, ensuring long-term benefits for both people and the planet.

COMMUNITY-CENTERED NbS

Guided by our principle, “Cultivate Land, Cultivate People,” we prioritize local communities in every step of our conservation efforts. We recognize that environmental sustainability and community well-being are deeply connected. By working closely with local people, we create solutions that not only restore ecosystems but also enhance livelihoods, fostering a lasting and meaningful impact.

BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION

Recognizing the vital role of biodiversity, MFLF has established a biodiversity baseline for the Doi Tung area, contributing to Thailand’s national biodiversity database. Through partnerships with national and international organizations, we advocate for comprehensive policies and explore new opportunities to apply our expertise in biodiversity conservation.

At MFLF, we are committed to fostering harmony between people and nature, ensuring a sustainable future for generations to come.

CARBON CREDITS FROM COMMUNITY FORESTS FOR SUSTAINABILITY

MFLF’s flagship initiative, “Carbon Credit from Community Forests for Sustainability,” builds on over 30 years of experience in forest conservation and community engagement. By utilizing carbon credits as a financial tool, we align community-led forest protection with corporate commitments to reducing carbon footprints. This initiative creates a threefold benefit—preserving forests, strengthening local economies, and advancing global climate goals.

Project Structure:

Project Structure:
Project Structure:

Project Location

Our impact

41,310
hectares

of community forest protected and conserved across Thailand

281
communities

150,000
individuals

USD 2 million

reached communities 
for forest management and community development funds

83,890
tonnes of CO2

sequestered
(first 3 phases of operation)

Reduction in overall forest fires for all phases

Forest Fires (% of total area for Phase 1)

Our Partners

กลต

Sustainability Advisory

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Your sustainability implementation partner to achieve greater positive impact economically, socially and environmentally.

Introduction

For over four decades, we have been dedicated to uplifting livelihoods and restoring natural ecosystems, both in Thailand and beyond. Our belief in the possibility of sustainable transformation has been unwavering. Our mission remains to empower people to thrive amidst challenges, creating harmony between social, environmental and economic well-being.

Through a holistic and integrated approach, we tackle interconnected challenges within communities, uniting governments, experts, civil society, businesses and grassroots communities to drive meaningful change together. At the core of our approach is putting people at the center of their own development, ensuring inclusivity and participation that transcend boundaries of race, religion, gender, culture, or background. With professionalism, accountability, and data-driven solutions, we blend our expertise with a focus on tangible, measurable outcomes. The Mae Fah Luang Foundation remains relentless in driving impact as a frontline development organization and changemaker, transforming systems and lives, sharing valuable experiences and best practices through our Knowledge and Learning Centre, while expanding partnerships to ensure that our impact continues to grow.

However, the world faces pressing challenges, from climate change and resource depletion to social inequality and the temptations of fast gain. It is now more urgent than ever that we join forces for collective action, producing real results on the ground. Understanding this, the Mae Fah Luang Foundation has established the Sustainability Advisory to serve as a bridge—connecting and aligning efforts across all sectors and levels for the common good. We aim to ensure genuine impact where it truly counts.

What We Offer

  • Last-Mile Implementation Solutions: Helping organizations operationalize and execute their sustainability vision to create tangible and lasting impact.
  • Proven Success: A track record of successful sustainable development approach across economic, social and environmental dimensions, backed by a team of experts with extensive experience ensuring meaningful and measuarable outcomes.
  • Collaborative Networks: Strong relationships and convening power to unite all stakeholders—governments, businesses, communities, and civil society—driving co-benefits and scaling impact.
  • Practical Learning Models: Field sites and active models of good practices to inspire, bridge theory and practice, and showcase evidence-based solutions.
  • International Standards, Localized Application: Aligning on-the-ground impact with global standards, ensuring transparent disclosure and localized implementation.

How We Can Support You

  • Strategic Planning: Help you plan and prioritize your sustainability journey, ensuring alignment with your organization’s direction, operating model, and the risks and opportunities you face.
  • Collaborative Projects: Work with you in implementing impactful development projects that create measurable benefits for communities—from assessing needs, engaging stakeholders, and designing programs to providing technical expertise, managing projects, and conducting impact assessments.
  • Expert Guidance: Provide practical expertise in key sustainability areas where MFLF has firsthand implementation experience, such as greenhouse gas management, waste management, water management, community development, and nature-based solutions.
  • Tailored Support: Customize our services to fit your sustainability vision, ensuring a sound foundation, effective execution and long-lasting impact.

Sharing Our Expertise

Climate and Environment

Our accomplishment on zero-waste-to-landfill, commitment towards Net Zero, and embracing circularity reflect our dedication to environmental stewardship. We continue to make significant strides within our own businesses as well as together with the communities and key stakeholders.

Areas of Expertise:

  • Organizational, product, and event carbon footprint management
  • Emissions reduction and decarbonization strategies
  • Waste management and implementing zero-waste-to-landfill solutions
  • Extended Producers’ Responsibility (EPR) initiatives
  • Product and organizational circularity

Nature and Biodiversity

Our projects are built on the principle of harmonious coexistence between people and nature. Water management is often the first step, followed by our ongoing efforts in reforestation, which have helped protect over 100,000 hectares of forest while improving livelihoods and enhancing biodiversity. As an early adopter of the Task Force on Nature-related Financial Disclosure (TNFD), we continue to assess, manage, and improve our biodiversity impact.

Areas of Expertise:

  • Water management planning, implementation and evaluation
  • Biodiversity assessments
  • Nature-based solutions
  • Afforestation and reforestation initiatives
  • Forest carbon project development, monitoring and evaluation
  • Carbon credit registration and verification

Communities and Partnerships

Our globally recognized model on sustainable alternative livelihood development integrates multi-sectoral collaboration, with a focus on shared benefits. Our continuous role in shaping policies, convening partnerships and catalyzing transformations continues to drive positive change.

Areas of Expertise:

  • Stakeholder engagement and collaboration
  • Community baseline surveys and needs assessments
  • Community development (CSR/CSV) strategies and project implementation
  • Social enterprise development
  • Socioeconomic and environmental impact assessments and disclosures
  • Field-based study visits, workshops and technical training
  • Sustainability workshops, conferences and impact convenings

Contact Us to Learn More:

Phone: (66 2) 252 7114
Email: MFLFpartnership@doitung.org

(UNODC) to discuss potential collaboration in sustainable development alternatives and addressing the global climate change crisis.

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The Mae Fah Luang Foundation Under Royal Patronage, represented by Thanphuying Putrie Viravaidya  (2nd from the left), Chairperson of the Mae Fah Luang Foundation under Royal Patronage, and M.L. Dispanadda Diskul (2nd from the right), Secretary-General and Chief Executive Officer of the Mae Fah Luang Foundation under Royal Patronage, met with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) to discuss potential collaboration in sustainable development alternatives and addressing the global climate change crisis. The meeting was attended by Ms. Ghada Fathi Waly, UNODC Executive Director (third from left), Executive Director of UNODC, and H.E. Ms. Pattharat Hongthong (third from right), Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Thailand to the United Nations in Vienna. The meeting took place at the UNODC Headquarters in Vienna, Austria, recently.

Mae Fah Luang Foundation Expands 36 Years of Success, Continuing the Royal Legacy with a New Mission to Provide Sustainability Consulting and Partnering to Address the Global Climate Crisis

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The Mae Fah Luang Foundation under Royal Patronage, with its long-standing “Planting Trees, Planting People” philosophy, has adapted its organizational strategy to respond to today’s global challenges. With over 36 years of experience in implementing the Mae Fah Luang model, the foundation has now launched a new division dedicated to “Sustainability Consulting.” This division aims to help tackle the climate crisis and biodiversity loss, and to promote sustainable goals by collaborating with both public and private sector networks to address these pressing issues.

M.L. Dispanadda Diskul, Secretary-General and CEO of The Mae Fah Luang Foundation under Royal Patronage, said:

In 2025, the foundation will refocus its operations to adapt to the changing social and environmental landscape, with four key areas of work: 1) Area-based development projects to enhance the quality of life in local communities, 2) Social business initiatives under the Doi Tung brand to create stable employment and sustainable enterprises, 3) Nature-based Solutions to develop quality of life alongside environmental conservation, and 4) Sustainability consulting to help drive organizational sustainability by leveraging the knowledge and expertise accumulated through the Doi Tung Development Project and other past and present initiatives.

The foundation aims to integrate the Mae Fah Luang philosophy into global policies, applying the knowledge from Thailand to benefit other countries and organizations. The goal is to spread the royal work principles of Her Royal Highness Princess Srinagarindra, which can be applied on international platforms to achieve sustainability in all dimensions.

For the four key areas, roles and activities have been clearly defined:

  1. Area-Based Development Projects focus on improving the quality of life in local communities, integrating economic, social, and environmental aspects. These include initiatives like the Doi Tung Development Project, the Rojjai Rak Project in Mae Ai District, Chiang Mai, and community forestry projects in northern Thailand, as well as overseas projects in Myanmar, Afghanistan, and Indonesia.
  2. Social Business under the Doi Tung Brand aims to create stable employment and sustainable businesses in five key sectors: processed foods, coffee and macadamia, handicrafts, Doi Tung cafés, agriculture, and tourism.
  3. Nature-Based Solutions focuses on enhancing life quality while preserving natural resources. In 2020, the foundation initiated the “Carbon Credit Forest Management Project” with the government, private sector, and local communities. The project was registered as a voluntary carbon offset program under Thailand’s greenhouse gas management framework, covering over 258,000 rai of forest land and benefiting 281 communities in 11 provinces, with more than 150,000 participants. This initiative helps alleviate unemployment, reduce household debt, and mitigate forest fires and air pollution.
  4. Sustainability Consulting is a new initiative launched last year. This division offers practical sustainability solutions for businesses and organizations worldwide, addressing climate change, waste management, biodiversity conservation, and community development. The goal is to help businesses reduce carbon footprints, manage waste responsibly, and engage in community-based environmental projects to ensure long-term sustainability.

With this new organizational structure, the Mae Fah Luang Foundation is confident it can continue its mission to create lasting social and environmental impact, focusing on improving lives and contributing to the global sustainability movement.

Mae Fah Luang Foundation Participates in the 68th Session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) Advocating Alternative Development for Sustainable Global Drug Problem Solutions

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The Mae Fah Luang Foundation under Royal Patronage, led by Thanphuying Putrie Viravaidya, Chairperson and M.L. Dispanadda Diskul, Secretary-General and Chief Executive Officer, along with the foundation’s executives and team, participated as part of the Thai delegation in the 68th Session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) in Vienna, Austria, recently.

During the session, Thailand, represented by the Office of the Narcotics Control Board (ONCB), organized a side event titled “Addressing the Methamphetamine Crisis in the Mekong and Beyond.” The event was held in collaboration with China, India, Australia, and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Southeast Asia and the Pacific (UNODC SEAP). The discussions highlighted the challenges posed by the methamphetamine crisis, particularly the illicit production of methamphetamine (commonly known as yaba) in the Golden Triangle. The perspectives of both regional and non-regional countries were shared, reflecting Thailand’s efforts to curb drug trafficking along its borders and to research treatments for methamphetamine addiction.

Additionally, Thailand hosted an exhibition on the “Methamphetamine Crisis in the Greater Mekong Sub-region.” This exhibition, developed in collaboration with UNODC SEAP and supported by the six signatory countries of the Mekong Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Drug Control—China, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam—aimed to raise awareness about the severity of the drug problem in the region.

The exhibition showcased the methamphetamine crisis through visuals of major yaba and crystal methamphetamine seizures in the Greater Mekong Sub-region, as well as the physical and chemical characteristics of yaba and the severe health and societal impacts of drug abuse. Its primary goal was to raise international awareness of the magnitude of the drug problem and urge global attention to addressing methamphetamine and synthetic drug crises, which are rapidly escalating and causing widespread consequences.

Mae Fah Luang Foundation’s Role in Advancing Alternative Development

As part of the event, The Mae Fah Luang Foundation participated in a side meeting titled: “Updating the UN Guiding Principles on Alternative Development (UNGP on AD): Towards More Human-Centered and Territorial Approaches.” alongside the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This session focused on key outcomes from the 9th Expert Group Meeting on Alternative Development (EGM on AD), serving as a platform to review and refine the United Nations Guiding Principles on Alternative Development (UNGP on AD). During the discussion, M.L. Dispanadda Diskul, Secretary-General and Chief Executive Officer of The Mae Fah Luang Foundation under Royal Patronage, emphasized: “The Mae Fah Luang Foundation prioritizes tackling drug-related issues at their root causes through a ‘People-Centered Approach’.” He pointed out that over the past decade, the drug problem has become increasingly complex, particularly due to illegal crop cultivation, which has adversely affected natural resources. Thus, Alternative Development (AD) is a crucial mechanism that enables communities to achieve stable livelihoods, reduce dependence on illicit activities, and foster sustainable local economies.

Another key issue raised was the need for access to funding for environmental solutions. The discussion emphasized that Alternative Development should be recognized as a mechanism that not only improves livelihoods but also contributes to environmental conservation. For example, carbon credit systems could be developed as a source of income for communities, motivating them to protect forests and reduce the risk of engaging in illegal activities.

Furthermore, the session underscored the importance of human rights, gender equality, and Indigenous community participation in the development process, ensuring that these initiatives create meaningful and lasting impacts on affected communities.

Global Resolution to Strengthen Alternative Development Approaches

At the 68th CND Session, a resolution proposed by the Republic of Peru, co-sponsored by Thailand and Germany, was adopted. The Mae Fah Luang Foundation played a key role in the negotiations of this resolution, titled: “Complementing the United Nations Guiding Principles on Alternative Development.”

This resolution aims to modernize strategies to align with current challenges, assisting communities in transitioning from dependence on illicit drugs to sustainable economic opportunities while promoting environmental conservation, biodiversity, equity, and human rights—principles in which the Mae Fah Luang Foundation has extensive expertise and long-standing success.

This CND session marks a significant milestone for the Mae Fah Luang Foundation in advocating for Alternative Development on the global stage, furthering efforts to create sustainable change for communities worldwide.

M.L. Dispanadda Diskul, Secretary-General and Chief Executive Officer of Mae Fah Luang Foundation, called on H.E. Mrs. Ureerat Chareontoh, Ambassador of Thailand to Singapore,

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To discuss about sustainable development and carbon credit collaboration between Thailand and Singapore

On 15 August 2024 M.L. Dispanadda Diskul, Secretary-General and Chief Executive Officer of Mae Fah Luang Foundation, called on H.E. Mrs. Ureerat Chareontoh, Ambassador of Thailand to Singapore, to discuss about sustainable development and carbon credit collaboration between Thailand and Singapore, during their visit to Singapore to meet with related government and private agencies.

The Mae Fah Luang Foundation under Royal Patronage seeks to drive sustainable economic growth, particularly through community forest initiatives, by implementing integrated community development that can be applied internationally. The Foundation is currently engaged in various climate change projects in collaboration with government agencies and private companies across multiple countries.

On this occasion, Ambassador Ureerat commended the Foundation for its efforts to expand international collaboration, particularly in sustainability and carbon credits where Singapore has significant progress and expertise. The Embassy is pleased to support the Foundation in future partnerships with Singapore relevant agencies.