People’s Attitude and Perception of Forest Laws Regarding Land Use Policy in Phu Pha Man National Park

Abstract

This research aimed to determine the levels of attitude and perception on forest laws regarding land use policy in Phu Pha Man National Park as well as to investigate the factors affecting attitudes and perceptions on forest laws of people who had land use rights in Phu Pha Man National Park. An interview form was used as an instrument for collecting data from the sample group consisted of 315 people who have land ownership in Phu Pha Man National Park under section 64, National Park Act B.E. 2562 (2019). The obtained data were analyzed by using descriptive statistics. The results showed that most of the respondents were male, aged 41-50 years old, finished the primary level education, and made their livelihoods as gardeners. Each household earned less than 10,000 baht per month, with land ownership of 5.1-10 rai. Their perception of forest laws information was at a moderate level. Their attitudes towards forest laws were at a high level whereas their perception of forest laws was at a moderate level. The study also revealed that age, education level, main occupation, monthly income, land ownership, and land use pattern were factors that affected different levels of people’s perception of forest laws. Moreover, it was found that people’s perception of forest laws information had a significant correlation (p<0.05) with a level of people’s perception of forest laws. These research findings will be applied as a guideline for Phu Pha Man National Park as well as relevant agencies in providing information about forest laws to people in order to reduce the problem of the encroachment into national park in the future.

Keywords: Attitude, Perception, Forest Laws, Land Use, Phu Pha Man National Park