Local Residents’ Opinions towards Community Participation in the Management of the Wild Elephant Problem in Khao Soidao Wildlife Sanctuary, Soidao District, Chanthaburi Province
This research aimed to study local residents’ opinions about and participation in various solutions to the wild elephant problem in Khao Soidao Wildlife Sanctuary, Soidao District, Chanthaburi province. The mixed method approach of the quantitative and the qualitative methods was used in this study. 397 registered voters in the district participated in the quantitative portion of the research. In-depth interviews and participatory observation were used for the qualitative portion.
The findings showed the overall opinions of local residents toward the solutions to the wild elephant problems were at the uncertain level. The solutions which the residents agreed with were: building watchtowers, chasing elephants while making loud noises with bamboo, and using scarecrows. The solutions which the residents were uncertain about were: burning Siam weed oil, making load noises with burning bamboo, and burning a mixture of chewing tobacco and kerosene. Residents’ opinions towards participation in the solutions were at the level of agreement overall and when ranked from highest to lowest, they agreed with the following aspects: expressing opinions, making decisions, participating in the working process, and participating in the evaluation process.
