Factors influencing household participation in community forest management: evidence from Udon Thani Province, Thailand.

Rural communities in Thailand have long managed and used forest resources for their livelihoods. Using survey data collected from 400 households across two villages in northeastern Thailand, this study identifies the factors influencing household members' participation in local community forest management (CFM) programs. Results of the logit regression models revealed that occupation, the number of years of residence in the community, household income and expense, the receipt of CFM information and training, CFM knowledge, decision process in CFM program, and the perceived social and institutional benefits of CFM positively influenced participation in the CF programs. Furthermore, self-efficiency was found to negatively influence participation. Overall, the findings indicate that local people who are less confidence or do not view participation goals as important but when they have been trained, have knowledge about the value of community forest. They are more likely to participate in CFM programs. These results improve our understanding of household participation in community forest management and highlight the need for context-specific approaches to community engagement in forest management programs for optimal policy solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Sustainable Forestry is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)