Community Potentials and Predictive Factors of River Utilization of People in Li Watershed, Lumphun Province

Abstract

This research was aimed to analyze community potentials and predicting factors of Li river utilization of people. The samples were 323 households in the Li watershed area, Lamphun province along with 18 stakeholders. Data were collected by questionnaires, unstructured interviews and stakeholder’s seminar and workshop. Data were analyzed by using descriptive statistics, linear regression analysis and analytic induction. The results showed that the potentials of community to exploit the Li river nowadays was lower compared to the past due to the deterioration of the river. Although most of people are still farming and most areas are agricultural zones, however, in an overview people exploit the river at the low level ( = 1.73). The number of household members and distance from building to the Li river were significantly correlated with the river utilization at the 0.05 level. In addition, stakeholders propose to empower the communities to conserve and restore their water resources and forest management through related cultural ecology.