| Author | Wirongrong Duangjai |
| Call Number | AIT Diss. no.NR-15-02 |
| Subject(s) | Land use--Decision making--Thailand, Northern
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| Note | A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Natural Resources Management, School of Environment, Resources and Development |
| Publisher | Asian Institute of Technology |
| Series Statement | Dissertation ; no. NR-15-02 |
| Abstract | Land use change in Thailand is affected by various factors, including policies and their implementation. Important underlying forces are institutional arrangements which influence policies and which can impact on community livelihoods. Since land use conservation became the main focus of policy makers, land use changes have tended to occur in natural protected areas where lands have been used strictly by the laws. Doi Mae Salong (DMS) in northern Thailand is a case in point. DMS has been a forest reserve area of Thailand since the National Reserved Forest Act was declared and enforced in 1964. Forest area has decreased since then, although land use conservation policies have been in place. This research aims to understand how land uses have changed from past to present in accordance with institutional factors and how such changes have impacted on the livelihoods of local communities of ethnic minorities and international refugees. The objectives of the study are: to examine the impacts of land management policies on the decision-making of local people; to understand rules and regulations in land management at central and local level; to understand how stakeholders at operational level interact with each other concerning land use decisions; to study how land use decisions of local people influence their livelihoods; to explore the linkages of land conservation policy and its implementation, and the impacts of farmers‘ decision-making on land use. Two frameworks were applied: the framework of Institutional Analysis and Development (IAD) and the framework of Sustainable Livelihood (SL). IAD was used to explore the linkages of decision making of local people and policies at higher levels while SL was used to examine assets supporting people‘s livelihoods. Data were collected by using the following tools: Rapid Rural Appraisal (RRA) with key informant interviews; semi-structured interviews; and historical matrix. Combined with stakeholder and household survey data, and group discussions, the underlying factors of land use changes were analyzed. Land use patterns in DMS gradually changed in accordance with space and time scales. Prior to 1960, forest lands were intensively used by ethnic minority groups for traditional agricultural practices. During 1961 to 1996, most of the traditional agricultural lands were converted by ethnic minority farmers to commercial crop cultivation plots, expanding into fallow lands and eventually into forest lands. After 1997, agricultural land was used mainly for multiple alternative purposes. Residual forests have been conserved as community forests for community land management. The change of land use management towards land conservation purposes has impacted the livelihood capital of local communities. Social capital is an important key to establishing participation in land use management. In combination with multi-stakeholder local institutional development, the implementation of land conservation policies was positively responded to by the upland users. |
| Year | 2015 |
| Corresponding Series Added Entry | Asian Institute of Technology. Dissertation ; no. NR-15-02 |
| Type | Dissertation |
| School | School of Environment, Resources, and Development (SERD) |
| Department | Department of Development and Sustainability (DDS) |
| Academic Program/FoS | Natural Resources Management (NRM) |
| Chairperson(s) | Shrestha, Rajendra Prasad; |
| Examination Committee(s) | Seeland, Klaus;Schmidt-Vogt, Dietric;Soparth Pongquan; |
| Scholarship Donor(s) | Royal Thai Government;Asian Institute of Technology Fellowship; |
| Degree | Thesis (Ph.D.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2015 |