1Department of Tropical Agricultural Resource Management, Faculty of Natural Resources, Prince of Songkla University, Hat Yai, Songkhla, 90110, Thailand
2Department of Agricultural Innovation and Management Division, Faculty of Natural Resources, Prince of Songkla University, Hat Yai, Songkhla, 90110, Thailand
*Corresponding Author: Chadarat Boonchan, Department of Tropical Agricultural Resource Management, Faculty of Natural Resources, Prince of Songkla University, Hat Yai, Songkhla, 90110, Thailand. Email: chadarat.boonchan@gmail.com
Coastal resource management in island communities faces challenges balancing tourism development with ecosystem conservation. This study examined resource management dynamics and ecotourism potential in koh lipe Island, Southern Thailand, inhabited by indigenous urak lawoi people.
Mixed methods included Rapid Rural Appraisal with 15 key informants, in-depth interviews with 10 households and questionnaire surveys with 205 households. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, pearson's correlation coefficient and multiple linear regression analysis.
Resource utilization assessment revealed 49.60% overall utilization, with coastal areas (96.59%) and coral reefs (90.24%) most heavily used. Popular activities included snorkeling (73.11%), scuba diving (51.40%) and social activities (61.40%), though facilities remained limited (10.97%). Three key management factors emerged: human factors (42.90%, opinion level 3.78), community factors (39.00%, opinion level 3.56) and organizational factors (36.10%, opinion level 3.70). Correlation analysis identified significant relationships between snorkeling, scuba diving, vacation rental, fishing and nightlife with resource utilization. Multiple regression analysis explained 43.1% of variance (R2 adjusted=0.364).
Community-based ecotourism, Marine ecosystem conservation, Participatory management, Rural livelihoods, Sustainable resource management
