GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEM FOR DETERMINING LOCATION OF RANGER STATION IN KHAO YAI NATIONAL PARK

Abstract

The objective of this study was to develop the process to determine the location of ranger stations in Khao Yai National Park. This park was chosen as a case study because it contains quite completed facilities and stable administration. One hundred and twenty five questionnaires containing opinion on biophysical and social criteria for locating ranger station were distributed to Superintendents of national park, park experts and Faculty members of the Faculty of Forestry, Kasetsart University who are teaching and conducting research relevant to park management and recreation. Seventy six completed questionnaires or 62.8 percent of the total questionnaires were received. The respondents identified 5 decisive factors which mainly concerned for locating the ranger stations. They are 1) transportation route 2) water source 3) settlement location 4) recreation site and 5) forest type. The Geographic Information System (GIS) database of five factors were developed covering the park area and its 5-km buffer. Ranking scores: 3-most suitable; 2-moderate suitable; and 1-less suitable were assigned to the attribute of each layer according to its suitability for ranger station. After that all 5 layers were superimposed and the accumulated scored were classified into 3 classes for determining location of ranger station: most suitable, moderate suitable and less suitable. The results of spatial analysis indicated that the most suitable area for locating ranger station in Khao Yai National Park covers 87,603.87 rai or 6.40 percent of the total park area. The moderate suitable class contains 1,090,072.90 rai or 79.64 percent while the less suitable class covers 191,129.48 rai or 13.96 percent of the park area. By overlaying the existing 25 ranger stations on the suitability classes, it is found that the number of ranger station in the most suitable class, moderate class and less suitable class are 9 stations, 12 stations and 4 stations, respectively. The research findings reveal that GIS technology is a practical tool to assist park officials to locate the ranger stations by considering bio-physical and social factors. This science-based process will also strengthen the management of national park in long run.