On 14 September 2024, at the Pak Nam Prasae Mangrove Forest Learning Center in Rayong Province, Asst. Prof. Dr. Karn Boonsiri, Dean of School of Communication Arts of Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Supaporn Sridi, and Asst. Prof. Hareuthai Panyarvuttrakul, led a group of doctoral students in Communication Innovation for Political and Local Administration, to participate in a mangrove planting and crab release activity. Joining them were Mr. Chairat Uattarakul, Mayor of Pak Nam Prasae Subdistrict, members of the Subdistrict Council, and local residents. A total of 27 individuals from the university participated in this collaborative effort to contribute to the conservation of the mangrove ecosystem.
The Pak Nam Prasae Mangrove Forest covers 6,000 rai and is the most fertile mangrove forest in the Eastern region of Thailand. Previously, this mangrove forest was devastated by shrimp farming encroachment and community expansion, turning it into a degraded forest. Eventually, government agencies collaborated with communities and private entities to restore the mangrove forest, replanting thousands of rai and developing it as a tourist destination to enable sustainable coexistence between the community and the forest.