Colonial Margins and Global Hotspots

Forest resource management in Thailand bears the mark of its’ historical position on the margins of colonial power and its’ present position in a biodiversity hotspot. During the colonial era, British forestry in Burma and India had a fundamental influence on the knowledge and techniques used in Thai forest management. More recently, international conservation agendas and organizations have influenced the ways in which the Thai government regulates the forest within its boundaries. The treatment of forests as a national and international resource, defined in interaction with colonial neighbors and global partners, has resulted in legal constructs, spatially simplistic conservation mechanisms and a conception of nature ill-suited to managing forests as a local resource. This paper uses a case study from a region where the government is establishing a national park to investigate the manifestation of Thailand’s historical legacy in local parkpeople conflicts. It finds that the continued use of laws, tools and concepts derived in relation to colonial and global influences undermines the forestry department’s ability to address the contemporary challenge of managing forests as a local, as well as a national/global commons.