State Conservation Policy and the Complexity of Local Control of Forest Land in Northern Thailand

Abstract

"This paper will employ the general concept of political ecology to critically analyze the recent state conservation policy and complexities of local control of forest land in the northern region of Thailand. The emphasis will not only be on the dynamics of the local systems but also local struggles and responses which will seriously take into account the local villagers' point of view as well as cultural notions of morality and rights as suggested by Peluso and Moore. What is underlying most of those struggles, in the case of northern Thailand, relates quite clearly to the competitions over the control of resources, particularly forest land, between the state and business interests on one hand and the local villagers on the other hand. Recently, such intense competitions often resulted in an ongoing conflict over the access to forest lands. The complexities behind the conflict can be illustrated through the focus on discourses over two critical issues of local control and management of forest, namely shifting cultivation and community forestry."