Unusual partnerships: Lessons for landscapes and livelihoods from the Doe Mae Salong landscape, Thailand

This paper describes the interventions undertaken in the Doe Mao Salong watershed in an effort to restore the landscape and improve the livelihoods of local communities. Interventions included forming multi-stakeholder platforms to facilitate dialogue and to ensure participatory land-use planning; the creation of tree nurseries for forest rehabilitation; identifying products for sale in local markets; and a focus on action learning. Land-tenure arrangements proved key to these interventions. The report describes the impacts. One major take-away is that formal, legislated land tenure rights are not always a pre-condition for encouraging sustainable practices in the landscape. Informally recognizing access and land-use rights can go a long way towards encouraging sustainable practices.