| Author | Chanyut Sudtongkong |
| Note | A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the
degree of Doctor of Philosophy in
Aquaculture and Aquatic Resources Management |
| Publisher | Asian Institute of Technology |
| Abstract | The study on the roles of local community in managing mud crab resource was
conducted in Trang province, southern Thailand. The overall objective of this study was to
assess the potential of local community in mud crab resource management based on
mangrove community forest approaches. To achieve the objective, this research focused
on the characteristics of community, resources, institutions, stakeholders, and their
interaction that influenced mangrove community forest management practices and
conditions. Tools for the study included questionnaires, key informant interviews, group
dicussions and direct observations for collection of the information. The effectiveness of
community forest in terms of mangrove and mud crab management practices and
conditions were also evaluated by measuring mangrove conditions and mud crab
abundance. In order to verify the capacity of local community in protecting mangrove
forest, RS-GIS techniques were used to detect mangrove change in the study sites. In
addition, the perceptions of local community was analyzed to determine their impressions
to resources condition and management practices. Lastly, the ecological linkage between
mangrove and mud crab was determined using stable isotope signature.
This research has shown that degradation of mangrove resources motivated local
communities to establish mangrove community forest in their locality. Rules governing
use, management, protection, and sanctions were also created and enfored by the local
communities. Local leaders and local NGOs played role as key stakeholders in support of
community managemnt in the study sites. For the effectiveness of mangrove community
in managing mangrove and mud crab, the research pointed that better mangrove conditions
were recorded in the community forest. GIS analysis showed an unchanging trend of
mangrove area in community forests. The abundance of mud crab in one community forest
was higher than non community forest. Moreover, the local communities had high
perception of mud crab and mangrove conditions and management practices in community
forest compared to non community forest. In terms of mangrove-mud crab linkage, the
stable isotope exhibited the linkage between mangrove and mud crab along the following
route: mangrove leaves - surface sediment (leaf debris) - sesarmid crab and snails - mud
crab. In summary, the study showed that community mangrove forest management is an
alternative tool to sustain mangrove and mud crab resoucre in Thailand. |
| Year | 2010 |
| Type | Dissertation |
| School | School of Environment, Resources, and Development (SERD) |
| Department | Department of Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources (Former title: Department of Food Agriculture, and BioResources (DFAB)) |
| Academic Program/FoS | Agricultural and Aquatic Systems(AS) |
| Chairperson(s) | Webb, Edward L. ; |
| Examination Committee(s) | Shivakoti, Ganesh P.;Gallardo, Wenresti G. ; |
| Scholarship Donor(s) | Rajamangala University of Technology
Srivijaya-RTG FELLOWSHIP; |