From 21-25 November 2016, about 50 people, involved in struggles to defend the territories, forests and livelihoods of forest-dependent communities, came together in Thailand for a field visit to the Northeast of the country, followed by a 3-day meeting in Bangkok. Besides a delegation from Thailand, other participants came from Myanmar, Cambodia, Vietnam, the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia and India. The aims of the gathering, which focused on the central question of ´What´s happening to our forests? ´, included promoting exchange and dialogue on old and new threats and challenges faced by communities in the different countries. Despite the diversity of languages and cultures of the participants, they became aware that they have many values and concerns in common, for example the importance of the forest for their livelihoods, as well as the threats and challenges they face in defending their territories and forests from land grabbing and deforestation.
The report and links to presentations from the meeting are available here (English only).
