Integrated Landscape Management, Ecotourism and Community Perception: Siri Charoenwat Forest Plantation, Chon Buri Province, Thailand

Abstract

         A study was conducted in Siri Charoenwat Forest Plantation (SCFP), Chon Buri Province, Thailand, from November 2010 to September 2011 to evaluate the management of SCFP in the context of integrated landscape management and sustainable tourism. A combination of field observation, questionnaire survey, face-to-face interview and literature review was employed. The research participants comprised SCFP staff members including the site supervisor (n=10), representatives from local government units (n=10), knowledgeable members of the local community (n=10), and visitors/tourists (n=70). The responses from the participants were rated using the Lickert Scale method and descriptive statistics. An integrated approach to landscape management of SCFP is complex because it involves the management not only of the physical and natural environment but also economic and social aspects including the interactions of all features and assets. Most respondents were well aware of the reforestation project at SCFP but claimed that they are not involved in planning and management and do not derive direct or material benefit from its establishment. The management concurs with the suggestions of the majority of the respondents regarding the need to introduce physical (e.g. tourism interpretation, infrastructure) and logistical (e.g. policy, capacity building of staff) improvements to SCFP for it to be a model of an integrated, managed landscape. The study concludes that SCFP has yet to initiate better and effective operational/management and policy measures through compliance with the tenets of ecotourism and the principles of sustainable development including integrated landscape management. Inability to address these issues could compromise the fundamental goals of SCFP in pursuing forest conservation and rehabilitation as well as in promoting ecotourism. Some recommendations on how best to manage SCFP are provided.