Baan Thung Yao, Thailand

The case study of Baan Thung Yao in Thailand demonstrates how community-led forest management, characterized by strong local institutions and gender-equal decision-making, can successfully resist state-led 'fortress conservation' and protect both ecological systems and human dignity.

• State-led "fortress conservation" is based on settler-colonial ideologies that view humans as threats to nature, often leading to the enclosure of resources, evictions, and the marginalization of Indigenous Peoples' sovereignty and empirical knowledge.
• The Baan Thung Yao community manages 400 hectares of forest land through a self-determined system that prioritizes gender equality, with women actively influencing natural resource regulations and managing community finances via savings groups, a community bank, and a village fund.
• In the 1980s, the Baan Thung Yao community successfully resisted the Thai state's attempt to establish a forest park; women led the opposition after identifying that state compensation was insufficient to replace the loss of customary rights and livelihoods, leading the Royal Forestry Department to cancel the plan in 1989.
• Despite the Thai government's introduction of a Community-Based Forest Act, the Baan Thung Yao community continues to resist official registration and prefers self-management because they believe the state's regulations are too homogenous and impractical.
• While Baan Thung Yao employs strict rules for resource extraction similar to fortress conservation, it differs fundamentally because its rules are established through a local democratic process based on community aspirations and knowledge.

APA

Stockholm Environment Institute (2022). Baan Thung Yao, Thailand. https://www.sei.org/perspectives/baan-thung-yao-thailand/

Chicago

Stockholm Environment Institute. Baan Thung Yao, Thailand. 2022. https://www.sei.org/perspectives/baan-thung-yao-thailand/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Stockholm Environment Institute |title=Baan Thung Yao, Thailand |date=27 January 2022 |url=https://www.sei.org/perspectives/baan-thung-yao-thailand/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{stockholmenvironmentinstitute2022baan, author = {{Stockholm Environment Institute}}, title = {{Baan Thung Yao, Thailand}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2022}, month = jan, url = {https://www.sei.org/perspectives/baan-thung-yao-thailand/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }