Spatial Organization of Environmental Knowledge: Conservation Conflicts in the Inhabited Forest of Northern Thailand

Robin Roth, York University

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5751/ES-01186-090305

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Abstract

Managing forests for their satisfactory provision of multiple goods and services to both the global and local commons requires effective cross-scale cooperation between local management institutions and state management institutions. Integrating the distinct sets of knowledge produced and used at the two scales of management has proven very challenging. This paper shows how a better understanding of the spatial expression of knowledge operating at distinct scales can help lead to a more fruitful integration of local knowledge and practice with state knowledge and practice. Using a case study from northern Thailand, this paper examines the links between the production of knowledge and the production of space within resource management institutions. It then identifies moments of convergence, compatibility, and conflict between local and state management institutions to inform more effective cross-scale linkages in environmental management.

Key words

Mae Tho National Park, Royal Forestry Department, Thailand, co-management, environmental knowledge, forest conservation, national parks, park-people conflict, traditional knowledge

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