Karen Knowledge about the Sustainability of Forested Watershed and Agroforestry Ecosystems

Abstract

These studies on Karen knowledge about the sustainability of forested watershed and agroforestry ecosystems of northern, Thailand were carried out at Ban Mae Klang Luang, Ban Luang Subdistrict, Chom Thong District, Chiang Mai Province. The study focused on Karen knowledge associated with decision making criteria in managing their watershed and raising cattle and paddy in the forest areas. Knowledge investigated employed participatory rural appraisal method from interviewing key informants who were representative of people in the village. The elicited information was recorded and accessed using knowledge-based system techniques. An indigenous knowledge base was created in terms of diagram, hierarchies and text statements and stored in a durable, accessible and transparent form. The research demonstrated that the indigenous ecological knowledge collected from key informants was explanatory, predictive and of technical relevance. The knowledge will provideda more powerful resource for improving the sustainability of the highland watershed ecosystem and paddy, if it merge with scientific knowledge