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Local Participation in the Banpong Ecotourism Project, Sansai District, Chiang Mai, Thailand
Dissertation Abstract:
The study was done to generate from the local people their own characteristics and other variables associated to their nature of participation in the BETP activities, and also their perception of the contribution of the BETP activities to sustainability of development for the Banpong community.
Data were gathered from 52 participants and 52 non-participants of the BETP. The majority of the participants were males with an average age of 44 years and married, while non-participants were females with an average age of 41 years and equally divided between married and single. Majority of the respondents reached the primary educational level (Pratom 1-6). The average household size of the participants was four members, while the non-participants had only three members. The average gross annual family income of participants was THB171,801.53 while it was THB162,400.76 for the non-participants. Participants also had an average farm size of about one rai more than the non-participants, and all of them were owneroperators of their respective lands.
Participants had higher favorable attitude toward change agents, BETP activities and participation, and also exhibited higher satisfaction with the existing BETP activities.
More so, participants showed positive perception of ecotourism friendliness and of assistance from outside agencies than the non-participants. However, the non-participants had high aspirations for their community and reported inequitable sharing of benefits from natural resources than the participants.
The participants exhibited genuine participation in all the four phases of the BETP. In percentage, genuine participation was highest for sharing of benefits (94%) followed by implementation (91%), planning (81%), and monitoring and evaluation (M&E) (72%). Genuine participation in these activities exhibited the characteristics of cooperation, except in sharing of benefits where participation was more of empowerment than cooperation. Participants also perceived that the BETP contributed to high sustainability of development of the Banpong community if analyzed through the economic, human/social and environmental/ecological dimensions.
Fourteen independent variables were found associated with the nature of local participation in the BETP. Age, gross annual family income, farm size, and tenure status were related to nature of local participation in all four phases of the BETP, while length of residence affected the nature of local participation in sharing of benefits. In addition, educational status and attitude toward BETP activities were related with nature of participation in implementation, attitude towards change agents with nature of local participation in M&E and sharing of benefits; attitude toward participation was found related with the nature of local participation in implementation and M&E. Furthermore, satisfaction with the existing BETP activities was also found associated with nature of local participation in planning, implementation, and M&E phases. Lastly, cultural sensitivity was associated to nature of local participation in planning, implementation and sharing of benefits phases of the BETP.
The results also showed association between nature of local participation in M&E and their perception of the BETP activities’ contribution to sustainability of human/social dimension. In another respect, the nature of local participation in sharing of benefits was found to have a relationship with their perception of the BETP activities to contribute to sustainability of human/social and economic dimensions of development for the Banpong community.