Land use change and its effect on biodiversity in Chiang Rai Province of Thailand | |
| Author | Akber, Md. Ali |
| Call Number | AIT Thesis no.NR-12-15 |
| Subject(s) | Land use--Thailand--Chiang Rai Biodiversity--Thailand--Chiang Rai |
| Note | A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Natural Resources Management, School of Environment, Resources and Development |
| Publisher | Asian Institute of Technology |
| Series Statement | Thesis ; no. NR-12-15 |
| Abstract | The Chiang Rai province experienced a rapid land use change and consequent deforestation since 1970s. It became a major concern because of its wide range of effects on the environmental systems, especially on biodiversity. The government initiatives toward prevention of deforestation in this area mainly include management of protected area and reforestation. This research is intended to analyze the land use scenario according to different management approaches and their likely effect on the biodiversity of this area. The Dyna-CLUE model is used to predict land use distribution according to three management scenarios of 2029 to analyze the effectiveness of the land use policy in reduction of deforestation. The GLOBIO3 model is used to determine the effects of land use change on the biodiversity according to the scenarios developed by the Dyan-CLUE model thereby analyzing the consequences of different land use management scenario on biodiversity. This uses Mean Species Abundance (MSA) as a proxy indicator for biodiversity loss and it expresses the intactness of biodiversity. Thus, the integration of these two models projects land use change and its consequences on biodiversity of the study area by 2029. About 4% forest cover of total land area has been cleared between 2002 –2009 and maximum possibility of forest cover loss predicted by the model is approximately 11% by 2029. The MSA values decreased from 0.61 in 2009 to 0.48, 0.59 and 0.57respectively, for the three scenarios in 2029. Moreover, the area under high threat of biodiversity (MSA reduced by 0.5) in 2029 is predicted to range between 6% -18% of the total land area according to the scenarios. The study also suggests conservation measures according to the outcomes of the model. It is evident from the results that the conservation measures considering the location of biodiversity rich area, careful expansion of roads in intact forest and confining fragmentation is more effective rather than that aiming to conserve a fixed percentage of forest area. |
| Year | 2012 |
| Corresponding Series Added Entry | Asian Institute of Technology. Thesis ; no. NR-12-15 |
| Type | Thesis |
| School | School of Environment, Resources, and Development (SERD) |
| Department | Department of Development and Sustainability (DDS) |
| Academic Program/FoS | Natural Resources Management (NRM) |
| Chairperson(s) | Shrestha, Rajendra Prasad; |
| Examination Committee(s) | Jourdain, Damien;Shrestha, Sangam; |
| Scholarship Donor(s) | H.M. Queen, Thailand; |
| Degree | Thesis (M.Sc.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2012 |