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Methods
Two mountain villages comprising of local Thai, Karen and Lisu ethnic groups
were selected for case studies by the following criteria:.
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Location at altitudes within the critical "middle zone" (1)
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Representation of typical landuse systems and problems of the region ·
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Different natural forest cover ·
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A full project cycle over ten years
The study was confronted with the problem of identifying forest
related interests of villagers living in protected areas. In a situation
where communities face unsecure land rights, fear of possible resettlement
and still lasting tensions with Government agencies, it could not be expected
that real interests and problems would be articulated frankly. The field
study therefore attempted to identify such interests not only by sociological
methods but also by analysing patterns and dynamics of forest use with
a systematic forest and land use inventory. This also provided independently
gained data that could be counterchecked with evaluation reports and attitudes
of Government agencies as to the extent of natural forest degradation and
the role of different ethnic groups. Accordingly the following methods
were applied:
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Rapid rural appraisal techniques
to determine traditional village use areas (2)
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Forest and land use inventories
to analyse patterns of forest use, forest area dynamics and types of
forest degradation in traditional village use areas.
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Questionnaire surveys of village households
to gain data on household structures, community organisation, traditional
landrights, village land use systems, perception of environmental problems
and levels of participation.
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Semi-structured interviews with key-persons
to identify roles, attitudes and interests of Government, Non-Government
and donor agencies.
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