Leverage on real drivers of change? Institutional context of resource governance. Northern Thailand

Assessment of the major drivers of land use change in Mae Wang is based on analysis of survey, focus group and interview data, supplemented by broader data from current and historical secondary sources. Linkage of these drivers with actual patterns of land use change across our general study area was further explored through analysis of a time series of land cover based on remote sensing data at the level of the whole sub-district.

Government policies concerned with economic development and natural resource control and management have been especially important, as well as periods of increasing population pressure. Substantial areas have been converted into agricultural land and settlements. In upland and highland areas, traditional land uses with components that include shifting cultivation practices and are primarily associated with ethnic minorities have largely been forced to change to more permanent forms of land use due to state restrictions on land use expansion and prohibitions imposed under forest laws. Agricultural practices have changed from primarily subsistence to more market-oriented and intensified forms of cropping.