COMMUNITY NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT BY APPLYING THE SUFFICIENCY ECONOMY PHILOSOPHY: A CASE STUDY OF THE AGRICULTURAL COMMUNITY OF BAN KUT TALAT PHATTHANA KOK REROM SUBDISTRICT, BAMNET NARONG DISTRICT, CHAIYAPHUM PROVINCE

Abstract

This research aimed to 1) study the natural resource management of the community by applying the Sufficiency Economy Philosophy; 2) find guidelines for natural resource management of the community by applying the Sufficiency Economy Philosophy. This was a mixed-methods research. The quantitative sample was determined by simple random sampling from the people of Ban Kut Talat Pattana, Khok Rerng Rom Sub-district, Bamnet Narong District, Chaiyaphum Province, totaling 360 people. Questionnaires and in-depth interviews were used as data collection tools. Statistics used included frequency, percentage, mean, and standard deviation. For qualitative research, informants were selected by purposive sampling from those with knowledge and experience in natural resource management of the community and the application of the Sufficiency Economy Philosophy, totaling 5 people. The in-depth interview had a consistency value of 0.96. Content analysis was performed by interpreting and creating conclusions. The research results found that 1) the natural resource management of the community by applying the Sufficiency Economy Philosophy was at a high level overall. When considering each aspect, it was found that the leadership aspect had the highest average, followed by the controlling aspect, the planning aspect, and the organizing aspect, respectively. 2) Guidelines for natural resource management of the community revealed that community leaders and government agencies, private sectors should organize public forums with villagers to jointly find the causes of problems, plan to solve problems that occur with the community's natural resources, and establish rules for the use of the community's natural resources by applying the Sufficiency Economy Philosophy based on neutrality, fairness, and coexistence in the community, and taking into account moderation, reasonableness, creating immunity, as well as using knowledge, prudence, and ethics in planning, decision-making, and action to reduce conflicts in the community.