"From Local to Global: Thailand’s Sustainability and Eco-Tourism Journeys"
An Official Side Event of the Earthna Summit 2025
As the global community intensifies efforts to address the environmental challenges of our time, the Earthna Summit 2025 will serve as a vital platform for fostering dialogue and advancing practical solutions. Held under the theme “Building Our Legacy: Sustainability, Innovation, and Traditional Knowledge,” the Summit, taking place in Doha from 22–23 April 2025, will convene global leaders, policymakers, researchers, and thought leaders committed to sustainability.
Against this backdrop, the Royal Thai Embassy in Doha, in collaboration with Earthna Center for a Sustainable Future, the Department of Wildlife Development, Ministry of Environment and Climate Change and the Environmental Science Center, Qatar University, will host a seminar titled "From Local to Global: Thailand’s Sustainability and Eco-Tourism Journeys" at the Park Hyatt Doha’s Ballroom on 23 April 2025 from 08.00 – 10.15 hrs.
The seminar will offer insights into Thailand’s holistic approach to sustainability and eco-tourism, showcasing best practices that integrate local wisdom, environmental education, responsible innovation, and community-driven environmental stewardship. It aims to deepen bilateral cooperation and knowledge exchange between Thailand and Qatar in areas of mutual priority, including sustainable development, climate resilience, and biodiversity conservation.
Program Highlights
1. Session I: Empowering Local Communities - An Enterprise for a Better World
- Key takeaways: Explore how the Doi Tung Development Project tackles deep-rooted issues in northern Thailand—opium cultivation, trafficking, statelessness, and illiteracy—through a holistic, people-centered approach. By fostering education, citizenship, and alternative livelihoods, and by promoting circular social enterprises and youth development, the project empowers communities toward lasting self-reliance. Doi Tung stands as a model of how integrated development can break cycles of poverty and create a more resilient future.
- Speaker: Visit-orn Rajatanarvin, Director of Knowledge and Learning Centre, Mae Fah Luang Foundation under Royal Patronage (MFLF).
- About: The Mae Fah Luang Foundation under Royal Patronage (MFLF), founded in 1972, is a private non-profit organization established to improve the quality of life of the people in poverty and deprived of opportunities. The Foundation provides the people in the project area with education, proper infrastructure, and legitimate ways to earn their living, while fostering co-existence between man and nature. (https://www.maefahluang.org/en/homepage)
2. Session II: Promoting Responsible Eco-Tourism and Environmental Education
- Key takeaways: This session examines how truly responsible eco-tourism must begin with education that cultivates a profound connection between people and nature. Through immersive learning and meaningful collaboration with local communities, the Environmental Education Centre (EEC) empowers youth and the broader public to take on active roles in conservation and sustainable development. In doing so, it lays the foundation for a new generation of environmental stewards.
- Speaker: Alex Rendell, Chief Executive Director and Co-Founder of Environmental Education Centre (EEC) Thailand.
- About: Founded on the principles of and passion for environmental conservation and sustainability, Environmental Education Centre Thailand is a leading organization dedicated to environmental education through structured activities centered around our classroom, nature. (https://eecthailand.com/)
3. Session III: Panel Discussion on Advancing Environmental Conservation
- Key Discussion Questions: Highlighting mangrove conservation as a vital pillar of coastal and marine biodiversity protection, this panel provides experts’ insights into conservation efforts, local stewardship, educational awareness-raising initiatives, eco-tourism development, and the ongoing Thailand-Qatar collaborations on mangrove conservation and coastal ecosystem resilience.
- Speakers: Associate Asst. Prof. Dr. Pasinee Worachananant, Vice Dean, Faculty of Environment, Kasetsart University, Dr. Aspa D. Chatziefthimiou, Chief Scientific Officer of Mangrove Restoration Project at Earthna, Mr. Jassim Lari, Head of the Marine Wildlife Section, Department of Wildlife Development of the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change, Prof. Dr. Jassim Al-Khayat, Principal Investigator, Environmental Science Center of Qatar University
- About: As Thailand’s premier institution in agricultural sciences and environmental technology, Kasetsart University has been at the forefront of sustainable innovation. (ku.ac.th)
This initiative underscores the Royal Thai Embassy’s steadfast commitment to global sustainability initiatives and aligns with Qatar National Vision 2030 and the Third National Development Strategy 2024–2030. The seminar will not only highlight Thailand’s exemplary sustainability and eco-tourism models but will also foster deeper bilateral collaboration between Thailand and Qatar in environmental conservation, sustainable tourism, and climate resilience.
Date and Time: 23 April 2025, from 08.00 – 10.15 hrs.
Venue: Park Hyatt Doha Ballroom, 1st floor
RSVP and Contact Person: Mr. Tanpong Wongboongird, Second Secretary, Royal Thai Embassy, Doha
or RSVP link: https://forms.gle/eUJLBCp12f6C6Npp7
Mobile/WhatsApp: (+974) 5117 7849 E-mail: [email protected]