Mangrove Restoration in Bang Kaeo sub-district, Samut Songkhram: A 2015 MFF and Marriott hotels project.

In 2015, Mangroves for the Future (MFF), IUCN and Marriott hotels in Bangkok worked together with the local community in Moo 10, Bang Kaeo sub-district, Samut Songkhram to restore mangrove forests. The community led by the village chief, Mr. Wisoot Noumsiri, adopted the traditional practice of using bamboo and planting mangrove forests to prevent coastal erosion. Educational institutions such as the Kasetsart University, and government sectors, such as the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources, were also involved in the project.

In recent years, MFF visited the mangroves of Moo 10, Bang Kaeo sub-district Samut Songkhram several times and designated it as a demonstration site for integrated coastal management lead by communities. The community learning centre in the mangrove forest of Moo 10, Bang Kaeo sub-district welcomed many visitors, including representatives from the World Agrofoestry Centre in Vietnam and the Asia-Pacific Regional Training of Instructors on Ecosystem-based Disaster Risk Reduction and Adaptation (Eco-DRR), both from within Thailand and abroad who came to learn about the community that fought the fight against coastal erosion. More recently, the community has received support from both government and non-government sectors to achieve more effective and sustainable coastal management. Some examples of projects that were implemented in the Bang Kaeo mangrove forest via MFF in 2015 are as follows:

• Strengthening the Resilience of Coastal Communities, Ecosystems, and Economies to Sea-Level Rise and Coastal Erosion,
• Income for Coastal Communities for Mangrove Protection,

For 2016, MFF, IUCN and Marriott hotels are planning to continue working on mangrove restoration and conservation in the Bang Kaeo mangrove forest. In addition, the Bang Kaeo community conservation group and a researcher from Kasetsart University have developed a concept note to apply for Small Grant Facility (SGF) and private sector from MFF and Marriott hotels to support the community sustainable conservation activities. Under the SGF and private sector funding arrangement MFF and Marriott hotels will provide a grant for the community based marine and coastal resources conservation project following the SGF criteria.