Impacts of Forest Area Utilization by Local Communities on Habitat Utilization by Wildlife: A Case Study in Kaeng Krachan National Park

Abstract

The objectives of this research were to study the utilization of natural forest by local communities, the habitat utilization by wildlife and to analyze the impacts of natural forest utilization by local communities on habitat utilization by wildlife. A questionnaire was used to collect data from local people, with 202 representatives from sampled households participating in the survey. Five species of large and medium size mammal, namely, guar (Bos gaurus), common barking deer (Muntiacus muntjak) sambar deer (Cervus unicolor) wild boar (Sus scrofa) and elephant (Elephas maximus) were selected as target species in the study. Six line transects were established to survey the wildlife, with a total length of 69 km. Descriptive statistics, the Mann-Whitney U test and correlation analysis were used to analyze the survey data. Results from the analysis of natural forest utilization by local communities found that 69.3% of local people consistently collected forest products, with 50.0% of respondents acknowledging that they were collecting within the national park. The average distance from the  village to the place of collection for the forest products was 2.23 km and the average time per day spent in the forest was 1.36 h. Forest product collection took place from March to December, with peak activity in October. The major forest products collected by local people were mushrooms (50.5%), phak waan pa (Melientha suavis; 39.1%) and bamboo shoots (33.2%). Most people realized that forest product collection disturbed wildlife, but they stated that it was necessary to sustain local livelihoods. The wildlife survey identified that the average number of wildlife tracks in the rainy season was higher than in the dry season with values of 136.58 and 102.93 tracks/km, respectively. The average number of wildlife tracks in the intensively utilized area was less than in natural areas that were only slightly used by local people, with 32.97 and 86.78 tracks/km, respectively. Based on the Mann-Whitney U test, the average number of tracks for each species was significantly different between the areas with high utilization and low utilization by local communities (U=231571.5, p=0.001, for guar; U=214804.50, p=0.000, for sambar deer; U=224404.00, p =0.000, for common barking deer; U=233929.5, p=0.000, for wild boar; and U=243894.0, p=0.008, for elephant). Correlation analysis found that the distance from the local village to the forest and the average number of wildlife tracks were significantly correlated for guar, sambar deer and common barking deer, with correlation coefficients of 0.221, 0.439, and 0.384, respectively. It was concluded that natural forest utilization by local communities may negatively impact the habitat utilization of wildlife in the Kaeng Krachan National Park.

Keywords:  impacts from forest area utilization, local communities, wildlife, Kaeng Krachan National Park