Local Participation in the Banpong Ecotourism Project Sansain District, Chiangmai, Thailand

Issue Date

2000

Abstract

This paper analyzes the nature of local participation in the Banpong ecotourism project (BETP) in Banpong community, Sansai district, Chiangmai, nort of Thailand, using Deshler and Sock`s (1985) frame work and also the local people`s perception of the contribution of the BETP activities to sustainability of development for the Banpong community. The respondents for the study were 52 BETP participants and 52 non-participants who are also local people. The results indicated that participants exhibited genuine participation in all the four phases of the BETP. In percentage, genuine participation was highest for sharing of benefits (94%) followed by implementation (91%), planning (81%), and M&E (72%). Genuine participation in these activities exhabits the characteristics of cooperation, except in sharing of benefits were the participation was more of empowerment than cooperation. Participants also perceived that the BETP activities contribute to high sustainability of developnment of the Banpong community if analyzed on the economic, human/social and environmental/ecological dimentions. The results also showed an association between nature of local participation in M&E and the perceived contribution of the BETP activities to sustainability at the human/social dimension as well as between the nature of local participation in sharing of benefits and the percieved contribution of the BETP activies to sustainability at the human/social and economic dimention of development.

Source or Periodical Title

Journal of Environmental Science and Management

Volume

3

Issue

1-2

Page

34-52

Document Type

Article

Frequency

annually

Physical Description

tables

Language

English

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