Transdisciplinary communication:

Chongchit Sripun Robert

And

G. Lamar Robert

EcoHealth Resource Centre

Chiang Mai University, Thailand

Impacts on heath and vulnerability of Highland ethnic communities in Thailand

EcoHealth Conference, Kunming China 2012

Highland Ethnic Communities

Upper North of Thailand

• Subsistence agriculture

• Shifting cultivation

Isolated Communities

Education Health

Limited Government Services

Commercial Activities

Access to lowland markets limited

Difficult Travel

Opium Production

• Minor cash crop • 1960s-1970s: Rising

world demand • • Refined into

heroin for export

• Begun in 1970s• National,

international, NGOs

• Coffee, red kidney beans, other cash crops

Opium Crop Replacement

Prohibited: • Shifting cultivation• Clearing forest for

new agricultural fields

• Relocating villages

Strict Land Use Regulation Enforcement

Increased Vulnerability of Hilltribe Communities

Let to reduced:• Soil fertility • Agricultural

productivity• Availability of

forest products Nutrition problems

• Chronic under nutrition• Vitamin and mineral deficiencies

Health Impacts

• Culture • Language

Group Communication

• Changes in patterns of tribal leadership, organization

• Reduced development effectiveness

Exploitation

Electricity• Access to radio

and television broadcasts• Accelerated

flow of information

One-way Communication

Telephones, Cell Phones, Internet• Increased

exchange of information with the outside world

Two-way Communication

• Improved crop/livestock production

• Transport produce to lowland markets

• Access to lowland products

All-Weather Roads

• Increasing Thai language ability

• Expanded worldview

• Better communication with the outside world

Schools

• Health centers• Improved health

and nutrition• Vaccinations • Reduced

zoonotic diseases

Health-related Services

Transdiciplinary Communication

Communication among different disciplines resulted in synergy

Chongchit Sripun RobertG. Lamar Robert

EcoHealth Resource CentreChiang Mai University, Thailand

http://ehrc.vet.cmu.ac.th/

Thank You