Perhaps the most important step taken by His Majesty in the process was his decision to bring the monarchy into direct contact with the provincial population. Despite the efforts of previous rulers, this had not been really feasible in the past, largely due to difficulties of travel outside the central region. It was not until 1927, after opening of the northern railway line, that the people of Chiang Mai saw their monarch for the first time, and only a few towns along the southern coast had been honoured with a royal visit. Following the abdication of King Prajadhipok, there was a period of nearly 20 years when the King was a remote personage to the vast majority of Thais, a face in a photograph or a name on an official proclamation. Many of them went about their daily lives in almost total isolation, little affected by events in far-off Bangkok and, as a result, often feeling ignored by those in power.
     Generally regarded as a milestone in altering this situation is the trip made by King Bhumibol Adulyadej in 1955, when he became the first ruler to visit the northeastern provinces, traditionally the poorest and most neglected in the country, with poor roads and hamlets that became all but inaccessible in the rainy season. Together with Queen Sirikit, he spent 22 arduous days touring the region, observing at first hand the problems of the people and talking with the enthusiastic crowds who walked for miles from obscure villages just to catch a glimpse of their king. The warmth of their greeting was unmistakable; so, too, was the extent of their needs as revealed in the conversations His Majesty had with those he met.
     The method of personal encounter, particularly in rural areas, has become one of the major hallmarks of King Bhumibol Adulyadej's reign. Today he and members of his family spend almost seven months of the year in one or another of the royal residences which have been built outside of Bangkok: at Chiang Mai in the North, Sakon Nakhon in the Northeast, Hua Hin on the Gulf of Thailand, and Narathiwat in the South. From these, defying discomforts and inconveniences, His Majesty has managed to visit every one of Thailand's 76 provinces, going to even the most remote villages by helicoptor, jeep, train, boat, or, on occasion, by foot, to ascertain for himself local conditions. In the process he has become not only the most travelled monarch in Thai history but also the best informed about a wide range of rural difficulties, some of them peculiar to a certain locality and others common to an entire region. Moreover, he has become a father-like figure to millions of his subjects, who are no longer amazed to find him suddenly in their village squares, available for consultation about matters both trivial and serious.
     Typically, before such a visit the consults maps, aerial photographs and remote sensing to acquaint himself as thoroughly as possible with the topographical and social features of the general area. Once there he talks with resident monks and farmers, as well as government officials, soliciting first-hand information on community needs and aspirations. By comparison with the ceremonial atmosphere that surrounds royal appearances in Bangkok, these are remarkably informal sessions, with much of the initial are felt by villagers soon diminishing in actual contact with a ruler who clearly both listens and cares about their problems.
     Often assisted by other members of the Royal Family, the King takes careful notes and later initiates steps to provide assistance, always working through the appropriate government agencies but sometimes using his own funds in the early stages to help a project get off the ground. He later established the Chai Pattana Foundation to help provide initial or emergency financial support for subsequent development projects. He never simply issues a directive: the impetus comes from the local population, who must agree with the proposal and cooperate to see that it is successfully implemented.
     Over 1,000 small-scale "royally-suggested" projects have been started in this way, covering the whole spectrum of rural problems in Thailand, from the introduction of new crops to water conservation, from swamp drainage to the preservation of national forests. In all, the aim has been sustainable development, serving not only immediate needs but also those of future generations by conserving the present environment and seeking to restore areas that have already suffered from misuse. Some of these projects, notably those involving crop substitution, have proved so successful that the United Nations hopes to emulate them in other countries facing similar problems.
     One of the earliest and most innovative was His Majesty's Hilltribe Development Project in the North, now known as the Royal Project and encompassing lowland areas as well. The migratory tribal people who live in the mountainous region that forms Thailand's borders with Laos and Myanmar had been an increasing problem to the government, partly due to their slash-and burn technique of clearing land, thus leading to wide-spread destruction of the native forest, and partly to their traditional cultivation of opium poppy, base material for heroin production. The Royal Project sought to address these problems and also to improve the lives of the tribal groups, who actually derived a bare subsistence income from their role in the international drug trade.
     The programme has introduced a wide variety of crops-among them such temperate-zone plants as coffee, peaches, apricots, strawberries, lychees, apples, and chrysanthemum-which bring larger profits than opium and provided assistance in both methods of growing and marketing; in addition, it has brought educational and medical facilities to permanent settlements. The results can be seen clearly not only in tribal communities who have joined the project but also in the supermarkets of Bangkok and in the numerous new export products.
     International recognition of the Royal Project's effectiveness has come in many forms, including financial grants and export assistance by several foreign government. In 1988, it was awarded the Ramon Magsaysay Award, the Asian equivalent of the Nobel Prize, in the area of international understanding.
     In the Northeast, where drought is a perennial problem, reserviors and other water-storage facilities were built and alternative crops tested to increase the income of farmers. Swamp drainage has been a concern of royal initiated projects in southern Thailand, together with land reclamation and preservation of mangrove forests. In a number of experimental centres set up at His Majesty's initiative near the Gulf of Thailand, various agencies are demonstrating ways that surrounding villagers can improve crop yields in the sandy soil; important new sources of income like the breeding of fresh-water prawns in pound have also been introduced with notable results.
     In recent decades an alarming proportion of Thailand's native forest cover has been lost, through both indiscriminate logging operations and the need for more agricultural land by an expanding population. Among the harmful results are increased erosion and a decrease of watershed resources, as well as destruction of the natural habitat of many wildlife species. Several of His Majesty's projects are seeking to relieve this situation through reafforestation, improvement of existing farmlands, the planting of commercial fruit orchards, and programmes aimed at educating the public on the importance of preserving those forests that remain. Their Majesties have also spearheaded efforts to raise certain endangered species of wildlife in captivity and then release them in protected areas in the hope of saving them from extinction.
     A much-publicized undertaking to help Thai farmers, one made possible through His Majesty's support in its early stages, has been the Royal Rain-Making Project. Through years of experimentation, 14 different chemical formulae have been devised for varying conditions of weather, location, and topography; specially-equipped planes use these to seed clouds in areas suffering from lack of rain, with results so successful that several neighbouring countries have called on Thai experts to help them with similar problems.


With permission from : The National Identity Office, Office of the Prime Minister, Royal Thai government. (1995). Thailand in the 90s. Bangkok: Amarin Printing and Publishing Public Company Limited.