National Strategy (2018 - 2037).

This National Strategy (2018-2037) is a crosssectoral policy document. As the country’s first national long-term strategy developed pursuant to the Constitution, it shall be pursued to ensure that the country achieves its vision of becoming “a developed country with security, prosperity and sustainability in accordance with the Sufficiency Economy Philosophy”. The key goals of national development of the National Strategy are: “A Secure Nation, Contented People, Continued Economic Growth, An Equal Society, and Sustainable Natural Resources." There are six key indicators of the National Strategy, which are: 1. Well being of Thai people and society; 2. National competitiveness, economic growth, and income distribution; 3. Development of human capital; 4. Social equality and equity; 5. Sustainability of national biodiversity, environmental quality, and natural resources; 6. Government efficiency and better access to public services.
The Policy considers that food security is one of the key issues that need to be given importance. It also seeks to enable more inclusive and efficient agriculture and food systems. The Strategic Guidelines proposed in the Policy include: developing agricultural and food security in terms of quantity, quality, pricing, and access at both national and community levels by integrating agricultural management and increasing of agricultural productivity in order to achieve food security in the country and high value agricultural products; expanding integrated farming areas; designating agricultural zoning, providing a traceability system to reduce forest encroachment and deforestation; developing next generation of farmers; increasing employment in the agricultural sector to serve bio-economy; improving farmers to increase their per capita income; and promoting a sense of pride in farming; etc.
The Policy seeks to contribute to reducing the poverty and ineuity dilimma of Thailand. The National Strategy on Social Cohesion and Equity is proposed, aiming to develop cooperation between private sector, general public, and local communities for strategy implementation. The Goals include: (1). to create fairness and reduce inequality in all dimensions; (2). to distribute economic and social hubs and provide opportunities for every sector to take part in national development at all levels; (3). to enhance the capability of local communities in areas of development, self reliance and self management to build a quality society. The key strategic guidelines include: Distributing land ownership and resource access on an equitable basis; Increasing productivity and promoting skilled, quality, and creative Thai labour forces operating in safe working environments; Creating comprehensive social insurance schemes that are adequate for everyone regardless of gender and age; Conducting targeting social investment to provide assistance to poor and underprivileged people; Promoting equitable access to public health services and education, specifically for low-income and underprivileged people; Promoting gender equality and women’s roles in social development; Promoting development based on social and cultural capital in the context of the increasingly diverse society in ethnics, religions, and cultural ways of life without any discrimination by promoting awareness of human rights; empowering local communities’ capacity for development, self-reliance, and independent management; etc.
The Policy seeks to make agriculture, forestry and fisheries more productive and sustainable. The strategy on eco -friendly development and growth is proposed. The key objectives of such strategy are to provide comprehensive guidelines to solve the problem of deteriorating and depleting natural resources and environment that the country has been facing, including foresting, degradation of soil quality, and threats to biodiversity, mismanagement of water resources that may result in water shortage risk in the future. The Strategic Guidelines are proposed in the Policy. The key strategic guidelines include: (1).Maintaining and expanding eco-friendly green areas by stopping deforestation with the adoption of effective monitoring technology in high risk areas; promoting spatial management and integrating collaboration between related agencies in monitoring and preventing forest encroachment; promoting the restoration of deteriorating ecological natural forests, legally designated forest reserves, watershed forests and buffer zones; promoting the expansion of green spaces in urban areas and communities. (2). Conserving and rehabilitating biological diversity by reducing extinction rates of threatened species and native species, preserving natural habitats, especially for endangered wildlife animals and plants, and controlling alien species that may negatively impact the native ecology; preserving forests with high levels of biodiversity, endangered native and rare species of animals and plans. (3). Improving, rehabilitating, and developing the entire marine and coastal resource ecosystem by preserving tourism influencing coral reefs; sustaining greenhouse-gas- absorbing mangrove forests; preserving marine life influencing sea grasses; establishing different forms of effective marine protection zone, through participation from the private sector and communities in administration and management; developing protective mechanisms for marine animals vital to the ecosystem and tourism, for international standard conservation; developing effective control, monitoring and inspection systems to deal with environmental impacts; developing effective inspection, alert, monitoring and assessment systems to reduce negative impacts on the ecosystem, rare marine life, the food chain and seafood quality. (4). Developing and increasing eco-friendly marine activities by developing total port system to be environmentally friendly; promoting fishery resource assessments to guide sustainable management planning in specific areas that ensures a balanced availability of resources; controlling and banning harmful fishing equipment and stepping up actions against illegal domestic and foreign ships in national waters; accelerating aquaculture development, based on expected commercial uses of marine areas; supporting research to expand knowledge and innovation, to support a full cycle fishery and maintain the country’s leading status as a processor and exporter of high value marine products on an environmentally sustainable basis. (5). Developing urban, rural, agricultural, and industrial areas with a key focus on a sustainable growth by imposing regulations on land use permission according to its suitable potential and surrounding environment and initiating the make of the ecological landscape planning in cities, rural areas, agricultural, industrial sites, and conservative areas and ecological suitability; lessening pollution and environmental impacts.
In order to increase the resilience of livelihoods to disasters, the key strategi directions are proposed, including: (1) Promoting sustainable climate-friendly based society growth with the key emphases on the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and promotion of a low carbon society; improving disaster management systems and strengthening people’s capacity; (2) Adapting to prevent and reduce losses and damages caused by natural disasters and impacts of climate change by developing a database system, weather forecasts and warning systems to be more timely and accurate; increasing the effectiveness of protective measures in order to prepare for disaster resulted from climate change; improving the overall disaster management system, taking into account the prospect of long term changes caused by climate change; and enhancing people’s capacity to cope with and adjust to any harmful impact caused by climate change; (3) Focusing on investment in public and private sectors’ climate-friendly infrastructure development; etc.