A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science, School of Environment, Resources and Development

Thesis (M.Sc.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2004

Thailand, particularly in the North, local villagers have been conflicted with private sectors and government agencies from their resources base first as a results of concessions for timber extraction and secondly as the government has increasingly recognized the need for habitat protection and established state protected area, largely national park and wildlife sanctuaries. The local villagers of Mae Tha sub-district have these problems same with the other communities in northern, therefore, they established the formal community forest management in 1992. The local villagers presented movement to safe community rights and to express local opposition to state policies. The study found the level and pattern of local participation in activities for community forest management that were implementation level and benefit sharing level. For the high level of participation such as decision-making level was focused in community leader. The respondents who are female often less awareness and responsibilities for CFM than male and the younger generation of local villagers have less participated for CFM in the present. The findings of the study found that encourage factors incentive local people to participated in activities for CFM was awareness, responsibility and function of them to conservation natural resources in their community. While, discourage factors to participated in activities for CFM was conflicts inside community such as benefit sharing of forest exploitation. The success of activities for CFM is dependent on information perception of local villagers and receives benefits level when they participate in that activity. At present, the local villagers satisfied with the existing activities for CFM in their community and believed it can improve their livelihood.