I. progress report (December 28 , 2012):
Activities undertaken:
1.Launching technical capacity building of targeted population through meeting - confirming course of the project with communities and elaborating on tree inventorying with 40 members including youth group
2.Launching demonstration of conservation activities through resources inventory, promoting planting native species/integrated agriculture and monitoring:
- procuring 6,000 seedlings and distributing to project members as well as non-project members in surrounding locations
- surveying and recording one-year old trees
- demarcating 11 plots for biological and ecosystems value survey
3. Launching dissemination of project results:
- building 4 project sign boards and publicizing project activities on-line through
(facebook) and www.treebankthai@gmail.com
-compiling technical manual on tree planting and value assessment
- launching collective learning forum among community members and tree banks in Chumphorn Province

Results of activities:
1. Evinced increased understanding of all members through expressing willingness in questionnaire and face-to-face discussion to cooperate
2. Approximately 3,000 seedling being grown in project location
3. Registered 4,989 trees
4. Compiled data & information as follows:
- 5,036 one-year old trees for 53 members in 165-ha area with wood value of THB: 3,182197, 375 tons of carbon stock, 1,371 tons of CO2 absorbed, and 997 tons of Oxygen generated

Project Visibility and Communication by other organizations/individuals:
1. On 11 Sep 2012: the project was mentioned in a book called "Khor Khon" about tourism.
2. On 19 Sep 2012: the project was visited by staff members of Khao Sok National Park - discussion on Cooperation/ participation between communities and national parks.
3. On 9-11 Oct 2012: VTR production of the Green Globe Award which the project was bestowed.
4. On 11 Nov 2012: the project was visited by staff members from Tree Bank, Laemthong Branch , Nakhornsitmmarat Province
5. On 5 December 2012: the project was mentioned in the TOT (Tourist Organization of Thailand) magazine issue 5, 53th year, dated 5 December 2012 - Eco-tourism in Thailand (Manual for tourism).

Emerging problems/issues and approaches for solution:
1.Project activities falling on harvesting season. Approaches to address/Recommendation: More flexibility in following work plan to give opportunity to all members to participate in activities
2.Some members were not totally convinced about positive result of growing trees in cultivated land as well as about the legal issues on managing crop yields in national forest reserves. Approaches to address/Recommendation: Encouraging the unconvinced members to visit other plots to ensure positive result
3. Transferring responsibility to younger generation in the village was not very efficient, due to limited numbers of youths to really act. Approaches to address/Recommendation: Introducing youth members from other communities to participate
4.Some members still lacked enthusiasm to grow and maintain trees.Approaches to address /Recommendation: Promoting planting and maintaining trees , as well as expanding into neighboring area.

Summarized lesson learnt:
1. Nearby community networks had visited the project and showed keeness to participate in the project.
2. Youth groups had launched participatory activities to learn about local ecosystems (forest and agriculture) and seemingly were able to make a comparison in various localities.

Project Expense:
The project reported the expense of THB: 245,611 out of the first disbursement of THB:412,748.77.

II. Monitoring by SGP Country Team (May 3 , 2013):
Findings & Observation:
Baan (village) Khlongrua, the targeted location, was situated in a mountain-forest ecosystems of a protected area near Ranong Province. Included in the Patoh Watershed and Conservation Management Unit, the scenery looked fairly green , even though past unregulated human activities, such as mining, logging and mono-cropping had been prevalent during the past four decades. The village was not grid connected, but depended upon a micro-hydro plant.

As the village used to be the targeted location of an ex-SGP project under OP3, THA/06/21: Inventory and Revival of Native Plants - seeing its completion in 2008 - the visiting team was led, first, to witness its sustained results. Project leaders and members impressively identified lots of landraces and trees species thriving from this back SGP project, and explained how these species , acquired experiences and some facilities of the project, especially the project nursery , were to be used in activities of the new on-going project.

Under nearly two decades of cooperation and technical support from the Patoh Watershed and Conservation Management Unit ,the grantee was nationally well-known for its tree banking programme, with branches in other regions. As to the assessment process, it was related that both modern technical knowledge on forestry and local experiences of communities had been blended. In addition, the grantee stipulated that the project location was one of the richest biodiversity community forest of the four categories of community forest in the country.

Interacting with five project leaders and witnessing some results of project activities at site, the visiting team was quite convinced that the project had successfully planned a sustainable use of biodiversity. Bigger threes of the back project and fledgling ones of the on-going project were inventoried and received steps of assessment. This, somehow, confirmed SGP relevance regarding sustainable development stating ?Projects must also be active for a substantial amount of years, hence an overflow of such active projects into succeeding operational phases and constantly increasing number of projects to be supervised as an SGP Country Programme matures .?

This project had demonstrated a very successful results of co-management of protected areas. Such a management might not receive its favourable results without mutual understanding and persistence from all stakeholders at both national and local levels.

III. Completion report (19 August 2014):
Date of Participatory Evaluation(5 August 2014 ):

Number of Beneficiaries/ Participating personnel:
Women: 154
Men: 156
Children: 15

Number of persons trained/ attending seminars, joining study tours:
Women: 128
Men: 128
Children: 15

Expense:
Amount received from SGP (2 disbursements): THB: 730,104.41
Total amount spent out of SGP budget: THB: 784,563
Balance: THB : (- 54,458.59 )
Amount authorized for the final payment: US$: 2,589.39
Amount Received from others: THB: 188,400 (in cash)
THB: 223,800 (in kind)

Activities undertaken:
1.Launching technical capacity building of targeted population through meeting
2.Launching demonstration of conservation activities through resources inventory, promoting planting native species/integrated agriculture and monitoring
3. Launching dissemination of project results
4. Launching participatory evaluation

Results and indicators:
1. Increase awareness and capacity of targeted population witnessed by active participation in project activities
2. About 165 ha of agricultural landscape being enriched with at 95 species (4,989 trees) in Baan(village) Khlongrua and over 100 species in landscapes of 15 network members
3. Emergence of technical data & information for reference for replication and scaling up through published 10,000 instruction manuals , and www.treebankthai@gmail.com


Project Communication:
In addition to the previous communication, there had been the followings:

1. On 10 Mar 2013, filming crew of Health Plus Channel ?s Change The World Programme visited the project to document a story on organic coffee production, tree bank transaction, integrated farming, tourism and fresh water species conservation.
2. On 6-10 Jul 2013, filming crew of Channel 11?s Self-Sufficient Way Programme visited the project to document a story on organic coffee production, tree bank transaction, self-sufficiency economy, community energy, eco-tourism, and fresh water species conservation.
3. On 3-5 Oct 2013, filming crew of TPBS Channel?s Duties of Citizen Programme visited the project to document a story on tree bank transaction.
4. On 7 Apr 2014, faculties and master and doctorate programme candidates majoring on Plant Sciences of Prince of Songkhla University visited the project to share and learn from the project about community tourism, tree bank transaction and integrated farming.
5. On 9-10 May 2014, filming crew of CTH WISDOM Channel?s Tree Planters programme visited the project to document a story on tree bank transaction and back projects of GEF SGP supports, organic coffee.
6. On 7-8 Jun 2014, members of Tree Banks networks and youth groups from Nakhornsithammarat Province visited the project to share and learn from the project about tree planting patterns in cultivated land, assessment of tree value and integrated farming.

Problems and Issues:
1. Some members were not very keen in growing and looking after the trees
2. Some members were not convinced yet about promising results of growing trees in their lands, and about legal procedure of community activities in protected area.
3. Negative climatic variance resulted in looking after/maintenance of growing trees.
4. Harvest season somehow interrupted tree value assessment process

Some of these issues were addressed by
1. Promotion of incentives such as pay-back according to tree quantity
2. Additional learning and sharing on relevant issues

Experience and Lessons Learnt :
1. Numbers of additional trees growing in cultivated areas of members varied in ages and species.
2. Raising awareness and responsibility of youth groups required repeated activities.
3. Tree bank activities were apparently adopted and replicated in several locations across the country.


Plans and Activities for Sustainability:
The project planned to intensify tree bank transaction in areas of 15 network members.