Factors Affecting Participation of Local People in the Management of Ban Noon Hin Pheung Community Forest, Prachinburi Province

Abstract

            The objectives of the study were to determine the socio-economic conditions, general information, participation level and factors affecting participation in the management of Ban Noon Hin Pheung community forest. Data were collected using designed questionnaires and 189 respondents were interviewed. The data were analyzed in terms of the statistical values of percentage, minimum, maximum, mean, standard  deviation and testing the setting hypothesis by employing a t-test and F-test with the level of significance set at 0.05.

            The results indicated that 50.8% of the respondents were female with an average age of 55.1 years. The main educational level of respondents was at primary school (68.3%) and the average number of household members was 3.6. Agriculture was their main occupation as well as their subsidiary occupation. Their average annual household income and expenditure were 113,845.7 and 55,073.4 baht, respectively. Most respondents were not social group members and the average size of land holding was 8.6 rai. Most respondents (81.0%) had been born in the present area, and their resettled period was 50.3 years. Most of them received information about community forestry, believed in the community leader at a high level, had knowledge of the community at a high level and utilized community forest (70.9%).

            Participation in the management of community forest was at the moderate level. Factors affecting the participation in management of community forest were main occupation, household income, social group membership, receiving community forest information, believing in the community leader and community forest utilization. Hence, the related agencies should arrange relevant training courses to provide the knowledge and to encourage the targeted group to be conscious of forest resource conservation in order to raise their awareness of community forest values.

Keywords: participation, community forest