1. Introduction
In developing and transition countries, land policies and regulations
are often decided in a top–down approach in which decisions
are made by central government authorities only. This is also true in
Thailand. Policies that have been enacted on forest use and land use
are mainly aimed at addressing the problem of deforestation. However,
despite these efforts, forest cover has continuously declined
in Thailand, from 53.3% in 1961 to 49.6 % in 1985 to 31.57% in 2013
(Lakanavichian, 2001; RFD, 2013).
Deforestation has mainly affected the northern region of the
country. Though this region has more forests than other regions of
Thailand, forest cover has declined from 51.73% in 1982 to 42.09%
in 2006 (RFD, 2006). The forest decline was mainly blamed on
swidden cultivation, though swidden cultivation has been banned