15.3.5 Collaboration for shared land ecosystems
In 2025, Srinakharinwirot University (SWU) collaborated with local communities to maintain a shared land ecosystem: about 21,000 rai (around 3,360 hectares) of farmland around four reservoirs in Khon Kaen Province, which the communities farm and irrigate together. Through the NRCT-funded ChiWaree project, the University and the communities jointly identified the problem, chose the solution, provided land, built drip-irrigation demonstration plots and wrote a farmer handbook. The local community now maintains the demonstration plots every day while the University monitors the results, and community enterprises will carry this stewardship forward after the project ends. In Bangkok, SWU also collaborated with park staff, a volunteer group and members of the local community on 15 June 2025 to maintain the shared land ecosystem of Chatuchak Park, a public green space used by city residents, by loosening soil and fertilising trees and making EM balls for the park’s ponds.
1. Partners and the Shared Ecosystem
In 2025, through the project "ChiWaree: Smart Water Management Innovation for Tackling Flood and Drought through Community Engagement in Irrigation Reservoirs of the Chi River Basin, Khon Kaen Province", funded by the National Research Council of Thailand (NRCT), Srinakharinwirot University collaborated with the local community through the joint water management committees of four reservoirs in Khon Kaen Province:
Huai Toei Reservoir, Mueang Khon Kaen District
Huai Sai Reservoir, Ban Phai District
Lalerng Wai Reservoir, Phon District
Huai Yang Reservoir, Mancha Khiri District
The committees are made up of farmers who use the reservoir water and other residents of the surrounding communities. Two local community enterprises also took part: the Ban Sok Chan Community Enterprise and the San Nam Khong Hom Thong Banana Community Enterprise Group.
The shared land ecosystem that the University and the local community jointly maintain is the farmland around the four reservoirs, about 21,000 rai (around 3,360 hectares) in total, which the communities cultivate and irrigate in common from the reservoirs. This shared agro-ecosystem includes the soil, soil moisture and reservoir water on which local farming depends, which the communities and the University jointly maintain. The partners also protect soil health together by using bio-based products such as Trichoderma and Bacillus subtilis in place of chemical pesticides.
2. The Challenge
Before the project began, the farmland around the reservoirs was hit by drought almost every year. From January to April, many farmers could not grow crops, and the land was left idle. Tackling this problem was a collaboration from the start, with the University and the local community jointly taking on clear roles.
3. Collaboration in Practice
What the communities contributed | What the University contributed |
|---|
Identified the problem and shared local knowledge through discussions and community forums, including the "Water Future, Community Future" workshops held at all four reservoirs on 8, 9, 11 and 12 December 2025 with 280 participants. | Organised and facilitated the discussions and the "Water Future, Community Future" workshops, and jointly analysed with the communities the social, technological, economic, environmental and political factors affecting land and water use. |
Chose drip-irrigated Hom Thong bananas as the way to use land in the dry season. | Designed and installed the drip-irrigation systems at both demonstration plots, providing the scientific and engineering expertise for the approach the communities chose. |
Provided land for demonstration plots: the village headman of Tha Phra Subdistrict, Mueang Khon Kaen District, offered his own land, and the Ban Sok Chan Community Enterprise provided space at the Ban Phai Learning Centre for Agricultural Production Efficiency. | Prepared the soil at both demonstration plots, lining the planting holes with manure mixed with rice husks to restore soil structure and organic matter. |
Community enterprise representatives co-wrote the handbook on growing Hom Thong bananas with drip irrigation, so that it reflects how local farmers actually work. | Co-wrote the handbook with the community enterprises, contributing technical content on drip irrigation, soil preparation and bio-based pest and disease control. |
Maintain the demonstration plots every day, looking after the banana plants, the drip-irrigation system and the soil as part of the shared land ecosystem. | Monitors the results of the demonstration plots and follows up with the communities to solve problems as they arise e.g. plant growth, water use and soil moisture – please confirm what is monitored. |
Figure 1. Community–university demonstration plot of Hom Thong bananas under drip irrigation.
Figure 2. The jointly managed plot now serves as a learning site for local farmers.
4. Results and Long-Term Stewardship
Land back in use with less water. Farmland around the reservoirs that used to lie idle in the dry season can now be farmed again. Drip irrigation saves around 25–60 litres of water per plant per day, compared with the 50–90 litres per plant per day used before, and keeps the soil in the plots evenly moist.
Farmers scaling up on their own land. After seeing the results at the demonstration plots, by the end of 2025, farmers in all four districts had formed [number] farmer groups ([number] farmers) to set up drip-irrigated Hom Thong banana plots on their own land.
Daily care now, and stewardship after the project. Since the demonstration plots were set up in 2025, the local community has maintained them every day while the University monitors the results. When the project ends, the community enterprises will take over support for the farmer groups and report any problems to the Khon Kaen Provincial Agricultural Office, so that the communities can continue to maintain their shared land ecosystem in the long term.
5. Caring for a Shared Urban Green Space: Chatuchak Park, Bangkok (15 June 2025)
On Sunday, 15 June 2025, SWU collaborated with the local community to maintain a shared land ecosystem at Chatuchak Park, Bangkok, one of the city’s largest public parks, whose trees, lawns and ponds are shared by thousands of residents every day. The activity was organised by the University’s Asok Model project, its integrated social mission for holistic well-being run by the Social Service Office, as part of its "Environmental Well-being" activities.
The work was done jointly by three partners: the University (Asok Model staff and SWU students), the Krit Chit Asa volunteer group, and the park’s own staff. Members of the public also joined as volunteers, including families with young children and secondary school students.
6. What the Partners Did Together
Caring for the park’s trees. Volunteers loosened the soil around the trees and added fertiliser to improve soil health and help the trees grow, under the guidance of park staff and volunteer leaders.
Making EM balls for the park’s water. Participants mixed effective microorganisms (EM) with bran and soil and shaped them into EM balls. Park staff will dry the balls for about 15 days and then use them in the park’s ponds to treat wastewater, reduce bad odours, improve water quality and support aquatic life.
Sharing roles. Park staff provided the site, materials and know-how on caring for the park, the volunteer group led the hands-on work, and SWU organised the activity and brought students and community volunteers together, so that each partner contributed to maintaining the green space.
7. Results for the Shared Ecosystem
Healthier trees and soil. The trees that volunteers tended received fertiliser and better soil conditions in a park that the whole local community shares.
Cleaner water in the park. The EM balls handed over to park staff continue the care after the event, as staff use them to improve the quality of the park’s ponds.
Shared responsibility. Working side by side with park staff and a volunteer group showed students and residents how they can help maintain the urban green spaces they use every day.
Figure 3. SWU students, volunteers, park staff and members of the public after the activity at Chatuchak Park, 15 June 2025.
Figure 4. A volunteer leader explains how to care for the park’s trees.
Figure 5. Children from the community loosen the soil and add fertiliser around a tree.
Figure 6. Secondary school students fertilise a large tree in the park.
Figure 7. Participants mix the ingredients for EM balls.
Figure 8. Finished EM balls, to be dried and used by park staff in the park’s ponds.