Livelihood Transition and Adaptive Bamboo Forest Management: A Case Study in Salakpra Wildlife Sanctuary, Thailand

The connection between livelihood transition and adaptive bamboo forest management was investigated in a village adjoining Salakpra Wildlife Sanctuary, Kanchaburi Province, where three species of bamboo-Dendrocalamus membranaceus, Bambusa bambos, and Thyrsostachys siamensis-were collected by villagers. From January to December 2014, 141,539 full culms (180,873 logs) of bamboo were harvested, generating a total income of 1,856,616 baht. Of the respondents surveyed, 46.4% had already stopped bamboo cutting, and 39.6% were retiring between 31 and 45 years of age. The main reasons for their retirement were changing to a new occupation (52.7%) and old age (31.9%). Today, only 14.8% of
respondents are still bamboo cutters, and their declining numbers mean that the bamboo forest in Salakpra Wildlife Sanctuary continues to degrade due to the area of bamboo forest and access to it being limited. In 2005, the local community established activities for forest conservation after they built a weir in Salakpra Wildlife Sanctuary. Specifically, new customary regulations and village-level bamboo forest demarcation was introduced to sustain production and services, particularly bamboo culms. The situation in Salakpra Wildlife Sanctuary and Thungna Village indicated that partial forest transition is occurring in at least, a village in Thailand.