Thesis Submitted for the Degree of Doctor of Area Studies
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A Thesis Submitted for the Degree of Doctor of Area Studies Social Networks in Natural Resource Governance in a Multi-Ethnic Watershed of Northern Thailand 北部タイの多民族混住流域における 自然資源ガバナンスと社会ネットワーク Nathan Augustus BADENOCH March 2006 Doctor of Area Studies A Thesis Submitted for the Degree of Doctor of Area Studies Social Networks in Natural Resource Governance in a Multi-Ethnic Watershed of Northern Thailand 北部タイの多民族混住流域における 自然資源ガバナンスと社会ネットワーク Nathan Augustus BADENOCH Graduate School of Asian and African Area Studies Kyoto University March 2006 Table of Contents List of Tables List of Figures Note on Orthography Acknowledgements 1 Chapter One: 1 Introduction 1. Problem statement 2. Overarching research objectives and research questions 3. Background to research interest 4. Framework concepts 5. Methodology 6. Flow of the dissertation 2 Chapter Two: 18 The upland landscape: Ethnicity, livelihoods and local governance 1. Nested study sites: Mae Chaem and Mae Suk watershed 2. Karen, Hmong and the study of the Thai uplands 3. Landscape change and the rise of the watershed policy framework 4. Decentralization and local governance 5. Networks: Proliferation of civil society 6. Summary 3 Chapter Three: 59 Villages in the landscape: Hmong social networks and resource management 1. Founding of Ban Phui Nua: 'The last move' 2. Hmong kinship and the foundations of social interaction 3. Village governance: parallel systems of decision-making 4. Informal networks: Patterns of cooperation among households 5. Livelihoods: Competition and cooperation in resource management 6. Conclusions 4 Chapter Four: 112 Competition and cooperation in a micro-landscape 1. Huai Sai Khao valley: A microcosm of Hmong-Karen relations 2. Current land use practices in Huai Sai Khao 3. Water management: The constraints and opportunities of dry season cultivation 4. Social organization and the conflict-cooperation balance 5. Huai Sai Khao Committee: Institutional innovation and local resource governance 6. Discussion: Legitimacy and informal institutions 7. Conclusions 5 Chapter Five: 150 Natural resource tension and the formation of watershed networks 1. Institutional Mismatch: Official governance and ecosystems 2. Upper Mae Suk Watershed Network: Addressing Hmong-Karen conflict 3. Linking upstream and downstream villages: Mae Suk Watershed Management Network 4. Discussion: Practical constraints to network activity 4. Conclusion 6 Chapter Six: 177 Networks and water at the intersection of upland-lowland relations 1. Land use change and water use: The ambiguity of supply and demand 2. Muang faai and the Mae Suk Network 3. Trust, tension and institution building 4. Discussion: Finding an appropriate level 5. Conclusion 7 Chapter Seven: 202 Conclusions 1. Reflections on the problem of local resource governance 2. Reflections on research questions 3. Policy implications: Strengthening the local governance framework 4. Implications for research: A new landscape perspective on resource governance References 223 List of local terms 232 List of Tables Table 2-1: ‘Hilltribe’ population of northern Thailand 25 Table 2-2: Historical periods in Mae Chaem 28 Table 2-3: Land use change in Mae Suk Watershed 31 Table 2-4: Mae Suk watershed land use by ethnicity 36 Table 2-5: Land under protected status in Thailand 41 Table 2-6: Demographic data for tambon Ban Thap and Mae Suk, 1986 47 Table 2-7: Demographic data for Pang Hin Fon, 2005 47 Table 2-8: Illustrative chronology of network formation in Mae Chaem 56 Table 3-1: Birth clan of Ban Phui Nua wives 79 Table 3-2: Ban Phui Nua local marriages by clan 80 Table 3-3: Ban Phui Nua in-village marriages 81 Table 3-4: Founders of Hmong Phanit 83 Table 3-5: Summary of social network analysis 93 Table 3-6: Summary of network density 98 Table 3-7: Summary of 'getting along' network 100 Table 3-8: Land acquisition strategy of Looj Tsaab 103 Table 4-1: Water Users in Huai Sai Khao Valley 123 Table 4-2: Area under shallot cultivation, Huai Sai Khao 2004-2005 126 Table 4-3: Chronology of water extraction development 133 Table 4-4: Huai Sai Khao Committee legitimacy perceptions 145 Table 5-1: Administrative hierarchy in Mae Suk watershed 153 Table 5-2: Legitimacy perceptions for Hai Sai Khao Committee 173 Table 6-1: Mae Suk weirs, Basic Data, 2005 184 Table 6-2: Mae Suk comparative demographic and land use data 186 Table 6-3: Mae Suk watershed networks perceptions of Ping Basin initiative legitimacy 199 Table 7-1: Summary of multi-level resource governance 204 List of Figures Figure 2-1: Study site location 20 Figure 2-2: Common view of upland fields in Mae Suk watershed, Ban Phui Nua 2003 30 Figure 2-3: Mae Suk watershed land use, 1954 and 1976 32 Figure 2-4: Mae Suk watershed land use, 1984 and 1996 33 Figure 2-5: Mae suk watershed land use, 2001 35 Figure 2-6: Perspectives on environmental policy in Mae Chaem 40 Figure 2-7: Tambon Pang Hin Fon watersheds and village ethnicity 49 Figure 2-8: Pang Hin Fon tambon election campaign poster 52 Figure 3-1: Movement of Ban Phui Nua clans 61 Figure 3-2: Ban Phui Nua land use, 1954-1996 67 Figure 3-3: Ban Phui Nua and use data, 1954-1996 68 Figure 3-4: Ban Phui Nua land use, 2001 69 Figure 3-5: Ban Phui Nua field-forest landscape mosaic, 2004 70 Figure 3-6: Entering forest for ntoo xeeb ritual 72 Figure 3-7: Ban Phui Nua clan elders at ntoo xeeb 72 Figure 3-8: Origin of non-local Ban Phui Nua wives 77 Figure 3-9: Information exchange network diagram 94 Figure 3-10: Work assistance network diagram 96 Figure 3-11: Social visiting network diagram 97 Figure 3-12: 'Getting along' network 99 Figure 3-13: Ban Phui Nua domestic water supply 107 Figure 4-1: Land use mosaic 2002 Ban Phui Nua and San Pu Loei 116 Figure 4-2: Land conflict on the Hmong-Karen frontier 117 Figure 4-3: Shallot fields in Huai Sai Khao Valley 125 Figure 4-4: Sprinklers in Karen shallot fields during planting 128 Figure 4-5: Sprinklers in Hmong shallot fields after planting 128 Figure 4-6: Huai Sai Khao irrigation 129 Figure 4-7: Irrigation water source Huai Sai Khao 131 Figure 4-8: Karen tank T-2 132 Figure 4-9: Water shortage in Karen tank T-5 132 Figure 4-10: Karen kinship and resource relationships 136 Figure 4-11: Hmong kinship and resource relationships 136 Figure 4-12: Karen farmers prepare seed material for planting 140 Figure 4-13: Hmong farmers loading shallots for transport to market 140 Figure 4-14: Huai Sai Khao Committee 143 Figure 5-1: Nested systems of watershed governance 152 Figure 5-2: Mae Suk watershed and tambon boundaries 155 Figure 6-1: Mae Suk discharge at Ban Kong Kaan, 1984-2000 (m3/sec) 179 Figure 6-2: Mae Suk seasonal fluctuation at Ban Kong Kaan, 1984-2000 (m3/sec) 179 Figure 6-3: Mae Suk Watershed downstream land use, 2001 183 Figure 6-4: Mae Suk major weirs 185 Figure 6-5: Ping Basin initiative 196 Figure 7-1: Current governance linkages 217 Figure 7-2: Bridging governance gaps 218 Box 1: Note on social network analysis methodology 92 Note on Orthography Hmong terms in the text are given in the standardized Roman Popular Alphabet (RPA), which is widely used by Hmong around the world. Because the fieldwork was conducted in a Green Hmong community, words have been spelled to reflect that dialects pronunciation. Karen terms are given in the Romanized script, called Lix Romei, which is widely used among Catholics. This script was chosen here because of ease in typing and printing. In both systems, consonants at the end of words are tone markers, and are therefore not pronounced as final consonants. There is no standardized system for romanization of Thai. Acknowledgements Many people have lent their time, energy, and expertise to help me in the journey that this dissertation became. Both an academic and human journey, I would like to express my most sincere appreciation to these people for helping open so many new doors for me. First of all, to the people of Ban Phui Nua and San Pu Loei, thank you for welcoming me into your homes, villages and watershed. The assistance and friendship of Headman Npuas Yis Yaaj and Mauf Tef, and their families, were the pillars of my fieldwork experience. Txug kuv cov phooj ywg suav quas dlawg pem zog, ua tsaug ntau. Kuv sau ntawv taag lawm lauj! Taj blu dof mav le y'tiz s'gauz kauv gaz dai le Lei Hki av gauz. My advisory committee – Hayami Yoko, Kono Yasuyuki and Tanaka Koji – generously provided constant guidance and encouragement, and especially patience, throughout the process of researching and writing. Their influence on my thinking and work has been enormous. I have enjoyed learning from and with them, I particularly appreciate how Hayami-sensei and Kono-sensei challenged me to put my head and heart further and further into this research. Terry Rambo was instrumental in helping me develop my research ideas. I thank him for his ideas and encouragement. Kato Tsuyoshi provided me with new ideas and opportunities as well. Sato Jin provided highly constructive and stimulating comments to my draft. I would like to express my gratitude for the support I received as a Research Fellow of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS). During the appointment period, my research also benefited from the generous contribution of a Grant in Aid from JSPS. David Thomas has been a friend and mentor since I first arrived in Chiang Mai. I thank him for his support in my work and studies, and so much more.