Open Development Thailand

Essential Information on Covid-19 in Thailand

Under a Ministry of Public Health’s announcement, all hospitals, public and private, must do their best to treat COVID-19 patients (all who live within the Thai territory, irrespective of nationality) without delay until they are out of immediate danger or transferred to other hospitals based on their coverage.

Visit the data dashboard

COVID-19 Impact on Thai Labor Market

Unemployment is a looming concern. According to NSO’s data, the unemployment rate has increased to 2 percent in Q2 of 2020. This is more than three times Thailand’s jobless rate for the last decade, which hovered around 0.6%. The Office of the National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC) estimated that 8.4 million jobs would be at risk from the COVID-19 outbreak in Q2 and Q3 of 2020, in addition to the six million farmers already impacted by drought. Thailand’s key sectors have been especially hit.

Keep reading…

Image: Motorbike taxi in Thailand by ibeeckmans | CC Search under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.

Dashboard: COVID-19 and Thai Labor Market

Some major findings from Labor Force Survey data of Thailand National Statistics Office (NSO) showed that the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has impacted on jobs.

During the Q1 and Q2 of 2020, the virus impact was accelerating around the world. With the country put under lockdown from mid-March till June 2020, the COVID-19 impact on workers showed a significant change in the Q2.

View the full dashboard >>

Data Literacy Training

Thailand’s civil society representatives completed East-West Management Institute’s (EWMI) data literacy training program from February to June 2020. This training in Thailand was tailored for participants from the forestry sector to advocate for improved forest governance. They included representatives from Baan Non Toom Thaworn Community Forest, Self-organized Land Reform Network, Citizen Forest Network, Chiang Mai Community Organisation Council, Raks Thai Foundation, RECOFTC Thailand, and Western Community Radio Network.

All participants were sponsored by the Voices for Mekong Forests (V4MF) project, a five-year initiative funded by the EU. Read the full story.

Participants were very supportive of each other during the training. (This photo was taken during the first phase in February 2020.)

Pandemics / COVID-19

Thailand was the first country outside of China to have confirmed a patient with the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) infection on 13 January 2020. On March 1, 2020, Thailand’s Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) designated COVID-19 as a dangerous communicable disease under the Communicable Diseases Act B.E. 2558 (2015). An emergency in all areas of the Kingdom of Thailand was declared by the Thai Prime Minister on March 20, 2020, pursuant to the Emergency Decree on Public Administration in emergency situations. The emergency period was originally to last until April 30, 2020, until further announcement of relax measures.

Forest Policy and Admistration

Thailand’s forests are governed under a system of laws and policies that has evolved over the past few decades to place a greater emphasis on conservation and sustainable management. Though challenges of implementation, participation, and community usage rights persist, governance can be considered a positive factor in Thai forest health.

Forests and Forestry

In 2018, forest products accounted for roughly 118 billion Thai Baht (3.9 billion USD) in exports—or about 1.2% of all exported goods and services. That figure does not include either the value of domestic consumption of forest products or the ecosystem services forests provide.

Forest covers in the Mekong region 2000-2015

Mae La Noi villagers rose up against fluoride mining concessions, supporting capitalists, but destroying environment and livelihoods

21 November 2022

Villagers and Mae La Noi local leaders continue the movement against the fluoride mining concession due to concerns over impacts on health, environment, community livelihoods, and the Mae La River, which is the main river for many communities in the area. In order to suspend ...

'Koh Lan residents' prepare to create 'island rules' and make an agreement on 'environment-tourism-living'

21 November 2022

“Koh Lan community members prepare a draft of “Koh Lan Charter” as a rule for living – tourism. It will be a resolution for resources sharing in Koh Lan for the first time, laying out 4 main concerns: reduce wastewater into the sea; use of ...

537 million people suffer from diabetes worldwide, or an average of 1 death every 5 seconds

14 November 2022

Department of Disease Control reports the situation of diabetes around the world. There are 537 million patients, contributing to 6.7 million deaths, or 1 death every 5 seconds, while Thailand has found 300,000 new cases per year.Keep reading ...

Maritime areas in Chumphon’s Pathio district declared environmental protection zones

27 October 2022

The Thai cabinet endorsed an edict by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment today (Tuesday), declaring specific areas in Pak Khlong, Chum Kho, Bang Son and Saphli sub-districts in Pathio district of the southern province of Chumphon to be environmental protection zones, in which ...

New ASEAN strategy urgently required for Myanmar crisis, say experts

25 October 2022

The upcoming ASEAN foreign ministers’ emergency meeting is expected to result in drastic recommendations and an effective strategy to implement the five-point consensus to resolve the ongoing crisis in strife-torn Myanmar, experts say. The ministers are scheduled to meet on October 27 at the ASEAN ...

Thailand: Officials Indicted for Karen Activist’s Murder

17 August 2022

Thai authorities should fully and fairly prosecute all those responsible for the murder of a prominent ethnic Karen environmental activist in 2014, Human Rights Watch said today.On August 15, 2022, the Attorney General’s Office formally notified the Justice Ministry’s Department of Special Investigation (DSI) of its ...

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APSA 2022: Reimagining Development Futures in the Anthropocene and Climate Crisis

27 October 2022

Date: Oct. 28-29, 2022, 09:00 – 17:00 ICTVenue: Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, ThailandType: Hybrid A two-day academic and civic dialogue event brings together multiple disciplinary academics and researchers, international and national civil society and non-governmental organizations, practitioners and local community groups to discuss multidimensional development amid global ...

Commoning water(s): resources, services and ecological justice in Asia

23 October 2022

Inclusive and just water security is widely recognized as principal challenge in the era of the Anthropocene. Water insecurity affects the livelihoods of both rural and urban populations in Southeast Asia, and the wider the Global South.This public event brings together academics and practitioners working ...

Media Workshop and Story Grants to Report on Mekong Water Governance from a Gender and Social Inclusion Lens

12 August 2022

Internews’ Earth Journalism Network (EJN) is pleased to invite journalists from Mekong countries to join a media workshop on water governance. Selected journalists will receive reporting grants to produce in-depth stories that will call attention to Mekong water governance from a gender and social inclusion perspective.Fifteen ...

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Open Development Thailand publishes a dashboard on “Essential Information on COVID-19 in Thailand."

16 December 2020

Open Development Thailand (ODT) recently published a dashboard on “Essential Information on COVID-19 in Thailand,” which collects useful information on the nationwide measures, capacity of health services and medical workforces, hotline contact, educational videos, and infection cases over time. Access to the page>> ...

Open Development Thailand publishes new pages on COVID-19 Impact on Thai Labor Market and its Dashboard

12 October 2020

Open Development Thailand (ODT) recently published a new topic page on “COVID-19 Impact on Thai Labour Market,” which shows that the lockdown measure and other COVID-19 measures significantly affected jobs and workers in Q2/2020. The data dashboard will provide you insights to understand vulnerable informal ...

Open Development Thailand publishes a new topic page on "COVID-19 in Thailand"

21 May 2020

Open Development Thailand (ODT) recently published a new topic page on “COVID-19 in Thailand,” which shows the impacts from and measures of the COVID-19 pandemic in Thailand. Like other countries, the COVID-19 has economic, social and environmental impacts. You will learn the key measures implemented ...

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