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Making Mangrove an Eco-Museum Workshop concludes in Chachoengsao

From 19-28 March 2007 SEAMEO-SPAFA held a regional workshop on “Making Mangrove an Eco-Museum” in Chachoengsao, Thailand. With the objectives of promoting the establishment of eco-museums in mangrove swamps; increasing interest and understanding among museum personnel; and supporting research and sustainable management; rational utilization and rehabilitation of mangrove environments; this activity was designated as a CollAsia 2010 Associate Activity as it had the participation of museum personnel from Southeast Asia. The workshop was joined by 25 participants including museum professionals, environment and marine science experts, architects, artists, educators, as well as teachers and students from the school. Southeast Asian countries represented included Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam.
	The workshop was held at the Bangpakong Mangrove Eco-Museum which is at the Bangpakong Bovorn Witthayayon secondary school in Chachoengsao Province. The school is unique because it has both the mangrove as well as the museum. Covering eleven hectares of land and mangroves, SEAMEO -SPAFA has been extending regular technical and academic assistance to the school on the development of programmes relating to culture and nature; and initiated the community involvement project to create the eco-museum. Workshop modules were as follows:
Module 1: Meanings of Eco-Museum Module 2: The Role of the Eco-Museum in Education and Assessment of Bangpakong Module 3: Planning Tools and Community-driven Initiatives Module 4: Education, Community, and Management
	The workshop included case study presentations from Malaysia, Philippines, and Vietnam. The topic of water culture and the community was presented by Cambodia and Singapore. Other activities within the workshop included discussions, role plays, and an examination of selected planning tools with hands-on practice in using them. Several activities used were adapted from SPAFA’s “Guidelines for Managing the Integration of Culture into Development Programmes” which is available for electronic download from this site in PDF format. (Click on the Culture and Development link on the home page).
Other resources from the workshop will be made available soon. The workshop had been declared open by H.E. Prof. Dr. Wichit Srisa-An, Minister of Education, Thailand following the delivery of his keynote paper. The attendance of His Excellency was a great honour for SPAFA and clearly demonstrates the importance he attaches to the workshop programme. Click here for the full paper… Dr. Pisit Charoewongsa, Director of SPAFA, led several tours of the mangrove swamp as well as a visit to a nearby ‘eco-hotel’. To read his paper, Click here…