Interventions to control forest loss in a swidden cultivation landscape in Nan Province, Thailand
(2024) Regional Environmental Change : natural and social aspects — Vol. 24, n° 3, p. 15 (2024)
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- Authors
Agarwal, Shivani 
- Abstract
- In tropical forest regions, swidden cultivation landscapes are experiencing land use transitions due to factors such as the introduction of cash crops, land tenure conflicts, and land use zoning for conservation. In northern Thailand, Nan Province, the introduction of maize as a cash crop in a landscape previously dominated by swidden cultivation has caused rapid forest loss. In the past decade, several land use interventions by government and non-government organizations were aimed at reducing forest loss and sustaining livelihoods of local communities. We analyzed how much of the recent forest loss was caused by new forest conversion versus a transition from swidden to permanent cultivation, and how effective are the recent land use interventions at conserving forests. We used classified Landsat images from 2000 to 2019 to understand land cover transitions and a matching technique based on the synthetic control method to evaluate the impact of project interventions on forest loss. We found that 20% of the land cover has undergone changes of which 41% were due to loss of forest, and 31% to swidden cultivation. Out of 55 villages with a land use intervention, only 3 have reduced forest loss as compared to their synthetic controls. Most of the villages with an intervention have similar rates of forest loss than their synthetic controls. Therefore, current land use projects have not yet contributed towards reduction in forest loss. Interviews with project leaders reveal that long-term funding, cooperation with local communities, and training and support of farmers to market new crops are key for successful interventions.
- Affiliations
Citations
Agarwal, S., & Lambin, E. (2024). Interventions to control forest loss in a swidden cultivation landscape in Nan Province, Thailand. Regional Environmental Change : natural and social aspects, 24(3), 15. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10113-024-02286-5 (Original work published 2024)