The Association for Protection of the Environment (APE) is a

non-governmental organization A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see American and British English spelling differences#-ise, -ize (-isation, -ization), spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from g ...

working on issues regarding the

conservation Conservation is the preservation or efficient use of resources, or the conservation of various quantities under physical laws. Conservation may also refer to: Environment and natural resources * Nature conservation, the protection and managem ...

, and

restoration Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state and may refer to: * Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage ** Audio restoration ** Film restoration ** Image restoration ** Textile restoration *Restoration ecology ...

of the

environment Environment most often refers to: __NOTOC__ * Natural environment, all living and non-living things occurring naturally * Biophysical environment, the physical and biological factors along with their chemical interactions that affect an organism or ...

, education about

permaculture Permaculture is an approach to land management and settlement design that adopts arrangements observed in flourishing natural ecosystems. It includes a set of design principles derived using whole-systems thinking. It applies these principle ...

and agroforestry among other things. The group says its mission is "to protect the existing forest and wildlife, particularly in Khao Nor Chuchi Lowland Forest and to increase biodiversity in the area". Among other issues, it is also concerned with endangered species,

deforestation Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then land conversion, converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban area, urban ...

and

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...

History

APE was started in 2010 by a Thai and British group of

workers and volunteers who come from biology, forestry, design and teaching backgrounds. APE was born of their shared urge to prevent deforestation of the few remaining areas of

primary forest An old-growth forestalso termed primary forest, virgin forest, late seral forest, primeval forest, or first-growth forestis a forest that has attained great age without significant disturbance, and thereby exhibits unique ecological featur ...

, restore land cleared areas and protect wildlife in

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

Project area

APE is working in Khao Nor Chu Chi tropical lowland forest situated in Khoa Pra-Bang Khram National Reserve Forest and Khao Pra-Brag Khram Wildlife Sanctuary. Krabi Province has the last remaining areas of topical lowland forest in

; these richly diverse areas are home to several endangered and threatened species such as

bearcat The bearcat, also known as the binturong, is a viverrine mammal from Southeast Asia. Bearcat or bearkat may also refer to: Entertainment * ''Bearcats!'', a 1971 American TV series * '' The Bearcat'', a 1922 film starring Hoot Gibson * "Do the Bea ...

rufous-collared kingfisher The rufous-collared kingfisher (''Actenoides concretus'') is a species of bird in the family Alcedinidae. It is found in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, and Thailand. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest an ...

and

Gurney's pitta Gurney's pitta (''Hydrornis gurneyi'') ( th, นกแต้วแร้วท้องดำ) is a medium-sized passerine bird. It breeds in the Malay Peninsula, with populations mainly in Myanmar. The common name and Latin binomial commemorat ...

Volunteer projects

Participants projects including teaching in schools, basic construction, planting trees, seed collections and community work.

Current conservation approach

Goals

* Protect the existing forest and wildlife through education and research projects. * Encourage planting of native tree and plant species to increase

biodiversity Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic ('' genetic variability''), species ('' species diversity''), and ecosystem ('' ecosystem diversity' ...

in the area. * Restore existing forest with help from groups like FORRU, OBC,

RSPB The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is a charitable organisation registered in England and Wales and in Scotland. It was founded in 1889. It works to promote conservation and protection of birds and the wider environment throu ...

and BCST.BirdLife International - conserving the world's birds
*Support and co-ordinate existing local conservation efforts. These goals will be achieved through education with school-aged children and locals, providing information and bridging the gap between research and community on issues relating to forest & wildlife habitat restoration, native plant and animal species, environmental protection, agroforestry and low impact farming methods, setting up sustainable incomes for local conservation projects and, if required, bringing together various organizations, local and global. APE works with a large number of different groups to achieve its goals, including other

Non-governmental organization A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see American and British English spelling differences#-ise, -ize (-isation, -ization), spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from g ...

, government agencies, business, farmers and local communities. It also seeks to educate people on how to live in a more environmentally friendly manner. APE runs workshops for locals by experts in

sustainable farming Sustainable agriculture is agriculture, farming in sustainability, sustainable ways meeting society's present food and textile needs, without compromising the ability for current or future generations to meet their needs. It can be based on an u ...

methods such as agroforestry or

Work with governments

APE currently works with the government Forest Protection Unit in Krabi, FORRU Plant Station Krabi and FORRU's

forest restoration Forest restoration is defined as “actions to re-instate ecological processes, which accelerate recovery of forest structure, ecological functioning and biodiversity levels towards those typical of climax forest” i.e. the end-stage of natural ...

program in Chiang Mai.

References

External links

APE on Facebook

APE homepage

The RSPB Royal Society for the Protection of Birds
{{Conservation and environmental foundations Environmental organizations based in Thailand Foundations based in Thailand Conservation and environmental foundations