About the Ranong Man and Biosphere Reserve:

 

The Ranong Man and Biosphere Reserve is located 650 km south of Bangkok, on the Andaman Sea coast of Thailand, not far from the border between Myanmar and Thailand. In total, the biosphere reserve covers an expanse of 31,007 hectares. The reserve is partitioned into three zones (core, buffer and transition zones), per UNESCO MAB designation. The core zone is designed to promote conservation activities and limits human disturbance within the encompassed area. The buffer zone subequently "buffers" the core zone from heavy human influence, with small scale human activities in the area being allowed. Finally, the transition zone is designed as a region in which local communities can sustainably use the natural environments to promote their livelihoods. In the case of Ranong MAB, these activities primarily include in-shore fisheries, shrimp farming, rubber palm plantations, and ecotourism.

 

There are currently many communities living within the Ranong MAB, including the Ban Ko Loa Nok, Ban Ko Loa Nai, Ban Had Sai Khao, Ban Lang, Ban Thung Ngoa, and Ban Tha Chang. Workshops and seminars invite representatives from local communities to learn and participate in conservation management plans and sustenance of biodiversity and ecosystem services within the reserve. Though numbers of inhabitants within the reserve are increasing, flora within the mangroves are good condition. The Mangrove Forest Research Center has conducted research on forest biomass since the banning of logging concessions for charcoal production in 2002, and found biomass to be increasing. Though generally believed to be in good condition, little recent research has been done on faunal communities within the reserve.

 

Although the reserve encompasses expanses of mangroves, hill humid tropical forests, seagrass beds, and both aquaculture and agriculture areas, the mangroves are the representative forest type of the reserve. Over 50 species of mangrove tree have been identified within the biosphere reserve, and the forest currently exists as the largest stand of mangroves within Thailand. Research on the reforestation efforts, conservation methods, and carbon sequestration potential are currently being conducted through the Mangrove Forest Research Center.

 

Thailand was previously a large world producer of charcoal (Kammen and Lew, 2005). Previously, exhaustive mangrove logging concessions for the production of charcoal were prevalent in the area. In 2002, the activities of the concessions were halted under two Thai Royal Forest Department Acts; the Forestry Act B.B 2484 (1941) and the Forest Reserve Act B.E. 2507 (1964). The cessation of charcoal production activities and current reforestation efforts have mitigated the regrowth of the forest. Currently, the management plan of the Ranong MAB is looking to collaborate with the USAID funded Lowering Emissions in Asia's Forest (LEAF) international program promoting REDD+ protocol within Southeast Asia.

 

Today, the Ranong Man and Biosphere exists as a good example of the success of reforestation efforts, and looks to continue improving its managment schemes in a comprehensive manner. Through lesson sharing and dissemination of knowledge, the Ranong MAB looks to provide advice to, and learn from, other mangrove reserves globally.