This year Thailand wilted in what the Meteorological Department described as the hottest summer in 40 year, with temperatures ranging from 38 to 43 degrees Celsius in some provinces. Rivers and wells dried up, leaving 69 out of the country's 73 provinces in the grip of drought.

This, after everyone thought that last year's summer was the hottest Thailand has ever had, when the temperature went up to 35-38 degrees Celsius.

What is in store for us next year ? Is there a way to combat the summer heat and the drought that comes with it ?

Sceptics will tell you that what is happening in Thailand is part of the global climate change brought about by the heavy concentration of carbon dioxide and other gases in the atmosphere, or what scientists call the "greenhouse effect".

But if one thinks that Thailand -- and the world -- was much cooler when it was half-covered by rain forests, then there might still be hope that we could beat the summer heat.

How ? By planting trees, lots and lots of them !

Forest trees are efficient natural reservoirs. They absorb water in the rainy season and then gradually release it in the dry season, thus ensuring moisture in the atmosphere and a steady supply of water in our rivers to irrigate farms and to meet domestic demands.

Trees serve as buffers that prevent the rains from eroding the soil, thus also keeping silt from building up in canals, rivers and dams, and preventing floods. Siltation of waterways is often the cause of flooding in the rainy season.

Trees are excellent air purifiers : They absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen. The less trees to purify the air, the more carbon dioxide escaping into the atmosphere.

Then we should not forget that trees provide timber for all of man's construction needs, as well as fuel to cook his food.

These, and more, were foremost in Her Majesty the Queen's mind when she started a reafforestation program ten years ago.

Primary forest left to be seen in some places.

The Queen's successful Pah Rak Nam (Forest Loves Water) Project, which saw the planting of thousands of forest trees on marginal land in Sakon Nakhon Province, and poor, landless farmers being hired to look after the trees, has been the model of a rehabilitation program initiated by Her Royal Highness Princess Chulabhorn to help the victims of the floods that destroyed the livelihood of thousands of people in Nakhon Si Thammarat in 1988. The project allows the farmers to plant fruit trees for food and to augment their income while looking after the forest trees. In addition, each family is given a house in which to live, fowl and livestock to raise, and seeds and tools necessary to make a living.

Villagers were so inspired by the Queen's reafforestation effort that landowners in Sakon Nakhon and adjoining provinces joined the program and planted forest trees on their idle land without being hired to do so.

But that is not all. In Chiang Mai's San Kamphaeng District, Her Majesty initiated the rehabilitation of Mae Takrai Forest by having it developed as a recreational park for the public and meditation center and retreat for monks as well as laypeople. The conservation of Mae Takrai Forest for the promotion of religious practices has helped protect not only the forest but also wildlife species, as hunting of wild animals is forbidden in the area, which is now considered sacred.

Her Majesty did not stop there. Concerned about the destruction of forests and depletion of water sources in many parts of the country, she enlisted the help of the provincial governor and the regional office of the Royal Forest Department in reviving the forests surrounding the villages of Moang Luang and Moang Noi in Tambon Tha Pha, Mae Chaem District of Chiang Mai. The Queen's objectives ? To protect watersheds; to plant new trees and revive deforested areas; to develop the villages and improve the villagers' way of life; and to promote an efficient agricultural management among the villagers.

The program is aimed at improving the villagers' standard of living and quality of life, and at the same time making them aware of the importance of watersheds and the natural environment, thereby making conservation more effective and longer lasting.



Water sources such as this one are being threatened by drought.

To be implemented over a period of 19 years, from 1984 to 2002, the project, known as the "Sirikit Forest Garden Project," will see the protection and rehabilitation of 34,204.12 rai (13,340 acres) of rain forests, which represent 63.35 per cent of the total project area. The rest will be used for farming and for planting fruit trees and cash crops, so that the villagers can earn a living without destroying the forests.

Yet another project which her Majesty the Queen initiated to improve the standard of living of villagers and at the same time protect the forest can be found in Omkoi District of Chiang Mai. It all started when Her Majesty was on her way to visit the villagers in Tambon Mae Tuen and Tambon Mon Chong in Omkoi. Looking down from the helicopter, Her Majesty saw that the forest, although destroyed in some areas, was still rich and fertile.

Aware that this same forest was the habitat of rare wildlife species and home for poor villagers who eke out their living in the forest, the Queen decided to protect and preserve it through proper management.

Following the Queen's suggestion, a program was launched with three main objectives : to protect that part of the forest that was still rich and fertile from being destroyed; to reclaim and revive that part which had been destroyed by planting trees, both for forest protection and for practical use as fuel and timber; and to improve the livelihood of the villagers living in the forest.

The idea was to enable the villagers to continue to make a living in the forest, and at the same time care for it. The project, known as "Little Houses in the Big Forest," is therefore characterized by the concept of co-existence, with man caring for the forest and the forest supplying some of man's basic needs.

The Queen's "Little Houses in the Big Forest" was carried out with help from various government agencies, such as the Royal Forest Department, which provided the villagers with tree saplings; the Department of Agricultural Extension, which taught the villagers proper agricultural methods and cultivation of fruit trees and vegetables in their own backyard; the Department of Livestock Development, which taught the villagers to raise livestock and chickens; the Department of Fisheries, which gave advice on aquaculture and provided fish fries for the village community pond.

The there's also the Ministry of Public Health, which provided health education and health care for the villagers; the Local Administration Department, which gave support in digging well sand in building reservoirs for fish farming; and last, but not the least, the Queen's SUPPORT Foundation, which assisted in teaching villagers to weave.

All of Her Majesty the Queen's reafforestation projects have shown that man can exist without destroying the forests. But why leave all the work to Her Majesty ?

The Queen has shown the way how to do it; Now it's time for people in all parts of the country to help protect what's left of or forests and rehabilitate what has been destroyed, but allowing farmers and villagers to eke out a living without destroying the natural environment.

It's only by helping make Thailand green with trees that we an ensure our watersheds are alive again, to provide people throughout the country with much needed water in the dry season -- and moisture to ease the summer heat.