Impacts from Forest Area Utilization of Local Communities to Habitat Utilization of Wildlife: A Case Study of Kaeng Krachan National Park

Abstract

The objectives of this research were to analyze natural area utilization of local communities and to analyze impacts from natural area utilization of local communities to habitat utilization of wildlife in Kaeng Krachan National Park. Questionnaire was used to collect data from 202 representatives. Five species including Guar, Common Barking Deer, Sambar Deer, Wild Boar and Elephant were selected as target species in the study. Six lines transect with 69 kilometers were set up for wildlife survey. Mann-Whitney U Test and Correlation Analysis were used to analyze the survey data. The research found that local people collected forest products (69.3%) and collected within the national park’s boundaries (50.0%). Mushrooms were the most forest products that people collected (50.5%). The average distance from local villages was 2.23 km. and spent average time per day was 1.36 hours. October was the most frequent month people did forest product collecting. Most people realized that forest product collection disturbed wildlife but they stated that it was necessary for local livelihood. As for the result from wildlife survey, the analysis found that the average number of tracks in intensive used area (X¯=32.98) was smaller than the number in slightly used area (X¯=86.78). Correlation Analysis found that distance was significantly correlated in Guar, Samber Deer, and Common Barking Deer with Correlation Coefficients of 0.221, 0.439, and 0.384, respectively. The study results led to the conclusion that natural area utilization of local communities negatively impacted to habitat utilization of wildlife in Kaeng Krachan National Park.