East Of Thailand Research Articles

An ‘Ethnic’ Reading of ‘Thai’ History in the Twilight of the Century-Old Official ‘Thai’ National Model

Recent political events in Thailand have shed light on a long neglected and dangerous corner of ‘Thai’ history. An oceanic shift in Thai politics, only beginning to be tracked, now threatens the ‘Thai race nationalist model’, the foundations of which date back to the early twentieth century. Made near complete under military dictatorship after 1958, and perfected after the bloody crackdown of 1976, this model has enjoyed apparent rejuvenation since the 2006 coup, now with the monarchy at its centre. This paper focuses on the question of Lao ethnicity and the North East of Thailand, or Isan. It shows how a combination of linguistics, a pseudo-science of race and ethnicity and historical revisionism have created the appearance of an ethnically and culturally homogenized ‘Thailand’. The paper argues that an ethnic history from the periphery has run parallel to the history of the Thai centre, and its broad contours become ever sharper. ‘Thailand’, as a nationalist construct, now faces competing ‘ethnic’ narratives.

SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT OF GOLDEN BANANA (KLUAI KHAI) FOR EXPORT AT CHANTABURI PROVINCE, THAILAND

Golden banana, locally known as Kluai Khai, is produced in Chantaburi province, a major growing area east of Thailand, for export mainly to China. Production and postharvest management practices in supply chain were investigated from October 2009-May 2010 through structured interview of farmers and collectors in five districts of the province; Makham, Pong-Nam-Ron, Tha-Mai, Khao-Kitchagut and Klung. It was found that Kluai Khai was grown as intercrop in fruit orchards. Plant density was approximately 937-1,562 plants per hectare, depending on the spacing of the main fruit crop. Average yield was 1 ton per rai (1 rai=0.16 ha). Two to three suckers were usually allowed to grow per mother plant. Fruit bunches were not treated with chemical before bagging, and were harvested when fruit angularity was 3/4 light full. Harvested fruit bunches were sold to the collectors. The produce were sorted into two grades, standard grade and under-standard grade or off-grade. About 60-70% of the total production met the standard grade while the rest were off-grade due to insect pest and disease damage and/or undersized fruits. Fruits that met the standard were subjected to postharvest operations conducted by the collectors. Fruit hands were graded into three sizes; AAA, AA and A, before packing into cardboard boxes. The boxes were then loaded onto a refrigerated truck with temperature of 13-14oC. These operations usually took 8-12 hours. For off-grade fruits, they were sold locally and to wholesale markets in Bangkok and other provinces. Price of off-grade fruits was 8-10 times lower than that of standard grade fruits.

The Adaptation of Fishing Instruments by a Farmers’ Community in the Thung Kula Area, in North Eastern Thailand

Problem statement: In a historical study of the ancient communities in the area of Thung Kula, it was revealed that there are important resources including rice, fish, salt and iron. Salt is used in making fermented fish (known locally as Pla Daek), a culinary culture which has been prevalent in the ethnic groups of Laos and Khmer. The availability of rice and fish in Thung Kula has continued to this day. Thung Kula farmers have extended their fishing sources from the government-owned places to their own fields or ponds. Approach: They use fishing instruments that had been developed out of folk wisdom in combination with the new technology in order to increase the fishing yields adequate for their own consumption and for commerce. The present research aimed to study the adaptation of fishing instruments of the farmers at Ban Ta Yuak, Thung Luang sub-district, Suwannaphum district, Roi-Et province. The studied area was Thung Kula in the North East of Thailand. The research method was qualitative. Data were collected from relevant documents and from field studies with 25 informants. Structured and unstructured interviews were conducted with local tradesmen, consumers, fishing-instrument shop owners. Results: The results were presented descriptively below. The adaptation of fishing instruments of Ban Ta Yuak farmers began with the increased population, the changing ecological systems as a result of the government’s construction of reservoirs, canals, public ponds and the market-oriented economy which had attracted the local fishing markets across the Thung Kula area. Ban Ta Yuak farmers have then adapted their fishing instruments to fit the available kinds of fish and the ecological systems of the local water sources. With assistance from the government, the farmers have their own fishing ponds. It was found that prior to the application of the national economic and social plan of 1962 these farmers created simple fishing instruments such as Sai (a bamboo fish trap), Sawing (a hand net), Hae (a cast net), Sum (a coop-like cover-trap) out of locally available materials like bamboos, vines, jute or cotton threads. In 1963, the Ban Ta Yuak farmers started using fishing instruments that combined natural materials with technological devices available in the markets. Presently, there are 9 kinds of them: A fish-trapping hole (replacing Hai or a earthen jar) made with a plastic bucket or pip (a tin container) the opening of which was covered with a nylon knitted net, sum (a coop-like cover-trap) made in a large size from bamboo strips and nylon strings with a wide opening and a frame of steel wires (instead of bamboo strips) covered with nylon nets, Yor (a dip net), Sawing (a hand net) with a metal hoop and nylon meshes (instead of jute or cotton ones), Hae (a cast net), Uan (a seine), Mong or a small seine-like fishing net traditionally made with knitted cotton threads, but presently made with synthetic fibers, fishing spears whose handles were made with Plaslon or PVC pipes, Lorb (a fish trap) and Sai (a fish trap), presently made with bamboo and nylon strings. Other fishing equipment included Khong (a fish container), Krasang (a floating fish basket), Takra (a fish basket) which were made wholly from synthetic fibers instead of bamboo or from a bamboo framework covered with knitted nylons. Conclusion/Recommendations: Adaptation of fishing instruments (by integrating synthetic materials) is appropriate and useful in that it saved the time in searching for usable natural materials and the community’s natural resources were preserved. Moreover, smaller fish were allowed to live and reproduce since the fishing instruments were designed for larger fish to be sold in local markets. It enabled the farmers to earn extra income by catching and selling fish.

Isolation of Acridone Alkaloids and N-[(4-Monoterpenyloxy)phenylethyl]-Substituted Sulfur-Containing Propanamide Derivatives from Glycosmis parva and Their Anti-herpes Simplex Virus Activity

Six acridone alkaloids including a new glycosparvarine (1), three limonoids, and four N-[(4-monoterpenyloxy)phenylethyl]-substituted sulfur-containing propanamide derivatives including two new species, (+)-S-deoxydihydroglyparvin (10) and (+)-S-deoxytetrahydroglyparvin (11), were isolated from the branches and the leaves of Glycosmis parva CRAIB collected in the east of Thailand. Antiviral activity evaluation of isolates against herpes simplex virus (HSV) type 1 and 2 disclosed that two acridone alkaloids, glycosparvarine (1) and glycofolinine (4), showed moderate inhibitory activities with 50% effective concentration (EC50) of 348 microM and 151 microM, respectively; as well, (+)-S-deoxydihydroglyparvin (10) exhibited anti-HSV activity at the lower concentration.

Deformation of Thailand as Detected by GPS Measurements due to the December 26th, 2004 Mega-Thrust Earthquake

The Mw 9.3 mega-thrust earthquake on December 26th, 2004 off the coast of North Sumatra, Indonesia has resulted in large co- and post-seismic motions throughout SE Asia. As a result, the geodetic network of Thailand has been deformed. The THAICA network has been regularly observed with GPS since 1994. Therefore the continuous tectonic motions in Thailand, which is located on the Sundaland block are well known. The last GPS campaign prior to the mega-thrust earthquake took place in October 2004 as part of the EU-ASEAN funded SEAMERGES project. Shortly after the earthquake, the GPS campaigns were repeated in January 2005 and February 2005 to determine the displacements. The GPS data in Thailand were processed, using the Precise Point Positioning strategy of the GIPSY software package. Data from the International GPS Service (IGS) were included, to obtain the positions and velocities of the Thai GPS sites in the International Terrestrial Reference Frame (ITRF) solution of 2000. Since the coordinate time series of the Thai geodetic network spanning up to a decade are available, the absolute steady-state velocities prior to the earthquake are known with uncertainties below 1 mm/yr. Results obtained from the latest campaign indicated that the earthquake has resulted in the horizontal displacements, ranging from 33 cm in the south, 9 cm in the centre, to about 3 cm in the north and east of Thailand. In addition, it was found that the post-seismic motion due to the earthquake has increased further the displacement at the PHUK station.

Water quality of a reservoir as affected by agriculture in the east of Thailand: a preliminary study

A preliminary study on the water quality of a reservoir, affected by agriculture, in the east of Thailand was conducted during 1996-1997. Monitoring water quality of a reservoir is important because the sloping lands surrounding the reservoirs are mainly utilized for cultivating cash crops (pineapple, cassava, etc). A lot of fertilizers and agrochemicals were applied to soil and crops which can polluted the water. The results from the preliminary studied will be applied for the monitoring of the water quality in other reservoirs in the 16 pilot areas.

Agricultural diffuse pollution in Thailand

Over the past two decades there have been a number of changes in Thailand, changes in the environment and quality of life for its people, changes in its communities and in the foundations of its economy. Before 1970, Thailand was a rural society in which local communities depended on the natural resources which surrounded them, and the national economy relied on the export of native crops. The sustainable use of resources was a fundamental aspect of rural life, people understood the interrelationships between the different components of their local environment and their activities which were defined by the need to protect their surrounding resources. Agriculture is the major profession and source of income for the rural poor. Land degradation and soil depletion result in low crop yields and pollution of the environment; soil erosion and landslides are found in Thailand. Nutrient uptake by crops and loss by leaching is much greater than the nutrients applied. Hence soils become less productive and it results in more land requirement for food production. Forest land declines rapidly in hilly watershed areas. Thailand is located in a tropical region and European countries are located in a temperate region. The climate is completely different, the temperature during summer in some European countries is probably almost the same as winter in Thailand. Not only is the climate in the two regions different, but land use and soil type are different also. These parameters have to be considered when studying the impact of agricultural diffuse pollution on the environment. Research studies on agricultural diffuse pollution in water resources in Thailand show that nutrient loads and pesticide residues still do not exceed the standard level. However, there was a trend showing the increase of N-NO3 in water resources, in short-term monitoring of nutrients in the east of Thailand between 1988-1990 and 1993-1995. The result showed the increase of N-NO3 from 1.60 ppm to 2.54 ppm in the same watershed and landuse areas. If the use of fertilizers and pesticides in agriculture is increased without due consideration, Thailand will face the same problem as European countries.

Agricultural diffuse pollution in Thailand

Over the past two decades there have been a number of changes in Thailand, changes in the environment and quality of life for its people, changes in its communities and in the foundations of its economy. Before 1970, Thailand was a rural society in which local communities depended on the natural resources which surrounded them, and the national economy relied on the export of native crops. The sustainable use of resources was a fundamental aspect of rural life, people understood the interrelationships between the different components of their local environment and their activities which were defined by the need to protect their surrounding resources.Agriculture is the major profession and source of income for the rural poor. Land degradation and soil depletion result in low crop yields and pollution of the environment; soil erosion and landslides are found in Thailand. Nutrient uptake by crops and loss by leaching is much greater than the nutrients applied. Hence soils become less productive and it results in more land requirement for food production. Forest land declines rapidly in hilly watershed areas.Thailand is located in a tropical region and European countries are located in a temperate region. The climate is completely different. the temperature during summer in some European countries is probably almost the same as winter in Thailand. Not only is the climate in the two regions different, but land use and soil type are different also. These parameters have to be considered when studying the impact of agricultural diffuse pollution on the environment.Research studies on agricultural diffuse pollution in water resources in Thailand show that nutrient loads and pesticide residues still do not exceed the standard level. However, there was a trend showing the increase of N-N03 in water resources, in short-term monitoring of nutrients in the east of Thailand between 1988–1990 and 1993–1995. The result showed the increase of N-N03 from 1.60 ppm to 2.54 ppm in the same watershed and landuse areas. If the use of fertilizers and pesticides in agriculture is increased without due consideration. Thailand will face the same problem as European countries.

Land and Water Conservation Center Project in the East of Thailand

Land and Water Conservation Center Project in the East of Thailand