Hub Southeast Asia

Many countries in Southeast Asia face significant challenges in protecting the environment and the rights of local communities. That is why the core activities of Hub Southeast Asia, led by Dr. Horst Weyerhäuser, revolve around establishing connections between research institutes, scholars from diverse backgrounds, the private sector, local communities and colleagues from the local and national government. Together with their stakeholders, they want to collaboratively develop pathways and solutions that empower the population and the governments to protect and enhance biodiversity while improving livelihoods in the region. Their focus of work is Sayaboury, Laos, and on expanding their research efforts into neighboring countries. Complementary activities have also been initiated in Nan, an adjacent area in northern Thailand.

Main achievements in 2023

1. Office and key partnership established

In 2023, the Hub signed a hosting agreement with the Centre for People and Forests in Southeast Asia (RECOFTC). This partnership is exciting because the visions and missions of this organization align very well with Wyss Academy’s. The new partner also has a presence in all countries in the region and currently provides office space for our team in Bangkok, Thailand. Situated at the premises of Kasetsart University, the Hub team can also tap into the resources of this regional center of excellence in Agriculture and Forestry Research. Staff recruitment successfully started in 2023 with three colleagues now based in Bangkok, and the team plans to increase the office to five full-time staff by the end of 2024. To facilitate the development of the Lao solutionscape, temporary office space has been acquired in Vientiane. A formal agreement with the National University of Laos also started to be prepared, to ensure exchange and local capacity building, as well as to provide a future home for the Wyss Academy’s activities in Laos.

2. Partnership for elephant and habitat conservation in Laos

Hub Southeast Asia has launched a partnership with the Elephant Conservation Center (ECC) in Sayaboury, Laos. Located in Nam Thien, one of the 200 provincial protected areas increasingly under threat, the ECC provides a home to 10% of Laos’ captive elephant population. It serves as the basis for rewilding and supporting the gene pool of the dwindling wild elephant population. Through this partnership, various innovative species and habitat conservation approaches with co-benefits for communities are being tested and implemented. This includes combining traditional and scientific knowledge in a mahout-to-ranger program and piloting a new research-based business model for conservation focused on eco-tourism.

3. Agrobiodiversity and business: knowledge sharing and new partnership

To document and share local and scientific knowledge about non-timber forest products (NTFP), the Pha Khao Lao online platform was further developed. It now includes information on the biology, distribution, and possible use of over 1400 species. This ensures the preservation and sharing of critical knowledge, providing a foundation for the development of NTFP value chains. Together with the Centre for Development and Environment (CDE), Hub Southeast Asia has also established a new partnership with the organization Swisscontact and identified key promising NTFP production chains for further activities in 2024.

4. Shared understanding of the Nam Thien Solutionscape in Laos  

Through a series of engagement events with a wide range of local and national stakeholders, a shared understanding of the issues and problems in Nam Thien and protected areas in general was developed, to be used as a basis for our ongoing visioning processes. The respective data and information are being publicly shared in various formats and channels to reach different audiences. This includes the ESS App, which targets researchers, and the Nam Tien Solutionscape StoryMap, designed for a broader public audience, both of which were developed in collaboration with the CDE Laos. Nam Thien is the site of Hub Southeast Asia’s partnership with the Elephant Conservation Center (ECC – see above, under 2.)

5. Trees4All pilot in Nan Province, Thailand

The landscape in Nan province in northern Thailand shows degradation due to unsustainable farming practices in the past three decades. Partnering with RECOFTC and with the Trees4All initiative, Hub Southeast Asia has developed an innovative finance mobilization mechanism for planning and managing multipurpose trees in Nan. By the end of 2023, more than 100 farmers had joined, and roughly 10,000 trees had been planted. The community-led tree nursery established in 2022 provides seedlings, and an online portal makes it possible to monitor the trees planted.  These activities in Thailand are of great relevance for our Solutionscape in Laos, which is located just across the border. Lessons learned from Thailand’s much earlier exposure to the negative impacts of a boom-and-bust cash crop cycle allow for a more sustainable approach that balances livelihood and income improvements with sustainable stewardship of an important landscape and water reservoir.