People’s Participation in Mangrove Forest Conservation and Restoration for Biodiversity Development: a Case Study of Bang Chan Community

Abstract

The purposes of this research were to investigate people’s participation in mangrove forest conservation and restoration for biodiversity development and to compare the participation            of people in mangrove forest conservation and restoration by classifying general information            of the research sample groups who were 360 people. The research instrument was a set                 of questionnaires have questions 1. participation in decision making, 2. participation in work operation, 3. participation in benefit sharing based on work operation and4. participation in evaluation.          The percentage, mean, and standard deviation were used as the research analysis. The t-test and analysis of variance were used for the hypothesis testing. Scheffe’s Method was employed to test  the differences between pairs if found with the pre-set significance of .05 level

              The findings showed that people had the low level of participation in mangrove forest conservation and restoration for biodiversity development. When each item was analyzed, it showed that the first item of people’s participation in benefit sharing based on work operation was ranked in the high level, the second item of people’s participation in decision making was shown in the low level, the third item of people’s participation in evaluation was rated in the low level, and the fourth item of people’s participation in work operation was in the low level. The comparison  of the participation of people in mangrove forest conservation and restoration results showed that people with different genders, ages, occupations, incomes, duration of staying in the community, and attendance for the training sessions had the different level of participation in mangrove forest conservation and restoration. People with different education levels, status, as well as knowledge and understanding of mangrove forests did not show the different level of participation in mangrove forest conservation and restoration, showing the statistical significance of .05 level.