ASSESSING THAILAND’S COMMUNITY CRAB BANKS THROUGH INTERNATIONAL CRITERIA FOR SUSTAINABLE MARINE CONSERVATION

Abstract

This qualitative study evaluates Thailand’s Blue Swimming Crab Bank Expansion Project against five international criteria for sustainable community-based conservation: measurable ecological impact, community participation, scientific credibility, knowledge transfer, and policy alignment. To overcome the persistent limitations of purely narrative assessments, the research systematically triangulates empirical evidence from official operational reports, rigorous peer-reviewed publications, and external international endorsements. The findings show that the project aligns with all five multidimensional criteria. Notably, the initiative transformed local fishers into active co-managers, established fifty-two dynamic learning centers, and demonstrably increased juvenile crab survival rates from one percent to between forty and sixty percent. Furthermore, this robust integration of community empowerment and scientifically verifiable ecosystem recovery contributed directly to upgrading Thailand’s Fishery Improvement Project status from level C to level A. Ultimately, the study argues that international-standard success in marine conservation emerges not from a single isolated factor, but from these five dimensions mutually reinforcing one another. By utilizing this rigorous criterion-based assessment, the framework provides funding agencies and policymakers with a highly replicable, evidence-based tool for designing sustainable natural resource management globally.