Our successive Chakri Kings have over the centuries placed great importance on learning from the outside world in ensuring the survival and the modernization of our country. Today the acquisition of knowledge, not just in the sciences and the technologies but also of other nations' experiences in development and reforms, continues to play a central role in capacity building and in charting the course of our own national development. Sufficiency Economy seeks to strengthen the symbiosis and harmony between man and his natural environment. His Majesty' s lifelong work in agriculture and conservation, built up over the years with a great number of the Royally-initiated projects. For too long, the growth-oriented strategy has led to the rapid depletion of environmental assets priced cheaply at below their replacement cost.
Conservation is but an integral part of sustainable development.
His Majesty has truly been teaching us by example, be they His projects to restore watershed areas through reforestation, or to reverse desertification or to harness the sometimes destructive forces of nature such as flooding, benefiting at the same time from power generation and irrigation. It is true that at times people were badly demoralized on being turned into paupers overnight. Each, out of necessity, went his own way, caring little, if at all, for his fellow men. Moral fiber, gradually reinforced, contributed to the collective national resilience, and seemed to be the single most important factor that kept us afloat and pulled us through the crisis. And that strength has been nurtured and developed by His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the King of Thailand, who is the soul of his nation.