Assistant Professor Hee-Chan Song of Sasin School of Management, whose research focuses on the Buddhist approach to sustainability and the Buddhism-based sufficiency economy philosophy, spoke on the topic, “The War on Drugs: How Private, Public, and International Communities Resolve Sustainability Issues in Culturally Isolated Region?.” Professor Song’s research looks at the area of the Golden Triangle, the region where the borders of Thailand, Laos, and Myanmar (Burma) converge. When people think of opium, Columbia or South America comes to mind, but he said that the region of the Golden Triangle supplies more opium to the world than any other region. Professor Song talked about the different ethnicities in Thailand, mainly the minorities that are living in culturally isolated regions. “When I first come to Thailand, my image of Thailand is like Korea where there were only Koreans, but then I realize that it’s diverse in terms of ethnicities,” said Professor Song. He discovered many different minority groups like the Northeastern Isan people, the Khmers, and refugees from Myanmar and Laos. Taking an interest in this topic, Professor Song did fieldwork, including interviews, data and historical analysis of Northern Thailand using observation data to record the different ethnicities in Chiang Rai (the Karens and Lau) Chiangmai (the Hmong, Akha, and Shan) and in Mae Hong Son (Karen and Shan), and in the province of Nan: Mien and Lisu. One minority group Professor Song talked about was the Karen-Padaung (Long-Necked) people of Mae Hong Son that have the tradition of wearing long rings around their necks. The newer generation of the Karen no longer wants to wear the ring, but there are still elderly people who want to preserve their tradition. The question proposed at Sasin Research Seminar was how can indigenous people protect their own traditions while initiating changes? Going back on to the topic of the Golden Triangle, Professor Song said that during the drug eradication period from 1960-1980, sustainable development issues include drug trafficking and national security brought about by opium production. The intervention strategy was the eradication of opium poppies and the Thai-ification, the process of assimilation of minority and ethnic groups into the dominant culture of Thailand. Stakeholders involved in the process include government sectors, Thai government agencies, US drug control agencies, US bilateral international development agencies, and International communities, including UN- affiliated organizations. Assimilation was implemented by enforcing some rules like people living in Thai territories must speak Thai, and people who live in Thai territories must be Buddhist and loyal to the country. However, this caused further negative impacts which were the elimination of opium poppies and the marginalization of minorities. During the community resilience period of 1980-2000, there were issues such as national disasters and HIV/AIDS from illegal prostitution. The intervention strategy was crop replacement, getting farmers to grow other crops like strawberries instead of opium. However, this caused unintended negative outcome which is conflicts between minorities and Thai farmers over land disputes, competition for resources, and marginalization. This led to sustainable development during the 2000-2020 period, where tensions among minorities heightened. One of the factors that eased the tensions was the creation of the Royal Project Foundation led by His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej or King Rama IX, so Thai farmers can have an alternative income source. The project helped farmers brand their crops, commercialize handicrafts, and develop tourist spots, sprouting beautiful terraced rice fields like Mon Chaem and Mae Chaem. The impact of the project led to the diversification of income sources and increased income for both the minority people and the farmers. The major stakeholders involved in this period were the non-government sector, international NGOs, and private sectors including local firms and MNE subsidiaries. Overall, Professor Song provided some lessons learned on how a region can address sustainability issues in culturally isolated regions, citing valuable insights into how private, public, and international communities can intervene when there are negative outcomes as so to achieve sustainable development while preserving the cultural heritage of marginalized communities.