Indicators of Sustainable Land Resource Use in Highland Agricultural Systems

Abstract

Many farmers in the highland agricultural systems have their farm land in high slopes which can cause negative environmental impact. This study has as its objective to assess the sustainability of resource use in the highland agricultural systems using farmers' responses. Answers from farmers were used to construct simple indicators of conservation measures and environmental risk. Farmers' practices were scored and indexed without weighting. Study areas were within four of the Royal Highland Development Projects, namely Ang Khang, Mae Hae, Nong Hoi in Chiang Mai and Prabat Huaytom in Lamphun. 256 farm households were surveyed being stratified by farm sizes and membership of the Royal Projects. It was found that values of these indicators varied by site. In Nong Hoi, environmental risk indicator was found the highest i.e. 0.61. In Mae Hae, Ang Khang and Prabat Huaytom, this value was 0.55, 0.41 and 0.28 respectively. Nevertheless, these farmers were responding  to the  environmental risk they faced by adopting conservation measures. In Nong Hoi, where environmental risk was found to be greatest, the value of conservation measures was also highest at 0.57. Farmers in this site adopted soil and water  conservation measures such as terraces, drainage ditches, contour bunds, planting across slope and fallowing. There were also reportedly good uses of mulching and crop residues in their plots. Indicators of conservation measures in Mae Hae, Ang Khang were valued at 0.52 and 0.40 respectively. As for Prabat Huaytom where environmental risk were found the lowest, the conservation indicator was also the lowest at 0.23.  When this kind of approach and measurement is also made in other highland areas, one can compare results across sites. Areas where attention is needed for sustainable natural resource use can be identified. Besides, more studies should be conducted to value indicators reflecting biophysical aspects of environmental changes.