‘Sufficiency Economy’ will lead Thailand toward sustainable wealth and stability, says Varawut
Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Varawut Silpa-archa on Monday (August 8) presided over the academic conference of the Office of Natural Resources and Environmental Policy and Planning (ONEP).
This year, the annual conference was held under the topics of ‘47th Anniversary of ONEP in Promoting Sufficiency Economy for Sustainable Development’ and ‘30th Anniversary of Environment Fund’.
Varawut gave a special lecture on ‘Sufficiency Economy Philosophy and the Driving of Natural Resources and Environment Operations’, highlighting how the government has adopted the Sufficiency Economy Philosophy (SEP) in protecting Thailand’s natural resources and biodiversity.
He pointed out that although Thailand takes up only 1 per cent of the Earth’s area, we contribute to 10 per cent of the global biodiversity thanks to over 102 million rais of virgin forests or more than 31 per cent of the country’s area. “These forests are the sources of biodiversity and serve as carbon sinks that absorb greenhouse gases from the atmosphere,” he said. “The government has been using SEP in raising participation from related parties and setting a holistic management mechanism based on the principles of moderation, rationality, and preparedness to lead the country towards sustainable wealth and stability.”
Varawut added that the Ministry has also been adjusting the management strategy of Thailand’s natural resources and environment following the global development trends, as well as establishing a cooperation network with both domestic and international partners, to ensure that the socio-economic expansion can progress along with the balanced usage and fair sharing of natural resources and environment. This will ultimately lead to people having a better quality of life while leaving a better world to the next generation.
After the lecture, Varawut gave Environment Fund Awards, EIA Monitoring Awards 2021, and Best Municipality Awards 2021 under the Asean Working Group on Environmental Sustainable Cities (AWGESC) to the ministry’s partners in government and private sectors, community organisations, private development organisations and education institutes.
The conference at Miracle Grand Convention Hotel, Bangkok was joined by over 400 participants including minister’s secretary Thanespol Thanaboonyawat, ONEP secretary-general Phirun Saiyasitpanich, and ministry’s executives.
