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People's Participation and Benefits from the Management of the Dongmeuang Conservation Area in Champhone District, Savannakhet Province, Lao PDR
Thesis Abstract:
The research was conducted in DCA, Champhone District, Savannakhet Province, Lao PDR to examine people's participation in and benefits obtained from the management of the Dongmeuang Conservation Area. In particular, the current situation of DCA was described in terms of social, cultural, and economic aspects; people's participation in the management of DCA was determined; benefits from the management of DCA were analyzed; socio economic factors that affect participation and benefits were evaluated.
Primary data collected by using Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) tools like focus group discussions (FGD), key informant interviews (KII) and interviews. Ninety-four respondents of Dongmeuang and Thamuang were interviewed. Secondary data were obtained from the head of public organizations, villages, and some published and unpublished papers. Results of determining people's participation in the management of the DCA shows that there is true participation throughout the project in the management of DCA. Almost all of the respondents in Dongmeuang and Thamuang village participated in planning, implementation, M&E and benefits sharing. Planning participation is an important process. The lack of participation in these activities will affect the sustainable forest management. Implementation participation are very important process in the forest management, without the implementation from the local people, there is no sustainable forest for the future. M&E is a complicated process and needed specific skills and knowledge to do these activities. All of the respondent in these two villages have benefited from the management from DCA as: social benefits, cultural benefits, ecological benefits, and economic benefits sharing.
Results of the evaluation on socio-economic factors that affect people's participation in the management of DCA shows that there are eight factors that affect the participation of people: 1) gender, 2) age, 3) education level, 4) occupations, 5) additional job, and 6) income, 7) expenditure, 8) household size. Only four factors have a positive and significant relationship with the level of people's participation. In DCA, gender is one of the socio-economic factors that has a positive and significant relationship (5% significance level) with participation in M&E, age has a positive and significant relationship (10% significance level) with participation in implementation activities, income has a positive and significant relationship (10% significance level) with participation in implementation activities, and household size has a positive and significant relationship (10% significance level) with participation in benefit sharing.
Results of analyzing the benefits obtained from the management of DCA show that social benefit is one of the benefits which respondents are interested in DCA. It can improve quality of livelihood of household in the area; and conserve their resources for next generation. Economic benefits from the management of DCA can provide material and generate income to households. Ecological benefits can help improve quality of the environment in the area and provide the basic need to the local people. Cultural benefit is one of the benefits which respondents in these two village have enjoyed from DCA. All of the respondents in this village have benefits from the management of DCA.
Results of evaluation on the socio-economic factors that affect the benefits from the DCA shows that there are eight factors that affect the benefits of people: 1) gender, 2) age, 3) education level, 4) occupation, 5) additional job, and 6) income, 7) expenditure, 8) household size. There are only four factors that have a positive and significant relationship with benefits from the management of DCA. Education level is one of the socio-economic factors that has a positive and significant relationship (5% significance level) with cultural benefits, occupations has a positive and significant relationship (5% significance level) with economic benefits, income has a positive and significant relationship (10% significance level) with social benefits, and household size has a positive and significant relationship with cultural benefits at 1% significance level, with social benefit at 10% significance level, and with ecological benefits at 10% significance level.