The joint management of protected areas worked very well, as manifested by its 25 years of success in Thung Yai Naresuan Wildlife Sanctuary, Wut Boonlert, head of the Karen Network for Culture and Environment, told a forum at Kanchanaburi’s Tambon Liwo Cultural Centre.

About 1,000 people there were able to live in the forest with less conflict, Wut said.

The forum was arranged in a bid to find a solution to preserving the special cultural area.

The joint management committee should include National Park officers, local people, anthropologists or academics with a forestry expertise, and private sector bodies like non-government organisations, Wut said.

It would act as a middleman to communicate or find a solution that satisfied both sides, he said.

The Karen could have space to voice their ideas and way of living, and forest officers could advise on laws that the Karen need to comply with.

Some 1,000 Karen, who traditionally use the shifting cultivation style, were given about 6,000 rai (960 hectares) for their homes and farms in the forest.

Wut said the joint committee working in the Thung Yai Naresuan Wildlife Sanctuary was successful in building cooperation between the Karen and park officers.

He said for shifting cultivation each family would need about five rai per shift to grow rice; after five years families would rotate to the next five rai. And after the fifth move they would return to the restored first five rai.

He said each family would need about 25 rai to earn a living. There were about 25 families in Huay Ka Su sub-village, so they needed about 625 rai in total.

The joint committee would play a role in selecting the appropriate areas.

Wut said the difference between Kaeng Krachan and Thung Yai Naresuan was that there were six villages in Thung Yai Naresuan Wildlife Sanctuary and only two in Kaeng Krachan National Park, which might not be enough to make their voices heard.

And Kaeng Krachan was more like a tourist spot than a wildlife sanctuary, so lots of people would go there. But some people might misunderstand the shifting culture and unintentionally post defamatory comments online, creating a lot of trouble, he added.

Tongliyeng Payakhom, a Karen from Kongmongta village, said that in 1974 when his village was declared a wildlife sanctuary, residents faced hardship because they were banned from hunting and collecting wild plants.

“During that time, anger spread around my village. Any forestry authority was welcomed by getting hit and stoned,” he said. “However, after many confrontations, the joint committee was established and made them live peacefully again.”

The Kaeng Krachan Forest Complex, which includes national park, Lam Pa Chi River Wildlife Sanctuary and Kui Buri National Park, has been under consideration for World Heritage listing since February 1. The Kaeng Krachan |conflict over land use has been ongoing for many decades.