SOAS Research Online

Abstract

This thesis explores the diversification of local livelihood structure and the political economy of resource use in two maritime communities in Krabi, Southern Thailand. The thesis is divided into four parts as follows: Part I (i.e. Chapter 2) examines the political economy of resource use in the Andaman Sea region. The objective of Part I is to place the research sites in a larger political-economic framework and to delineate the main problems that are found in this region. Part II focuses on the research sites. After setting the geographical and historical contexts, the economic organisation of the communities are unravelled in chapter 3. Chapter 4 examines the village household and gender issues with case studies to illustrate the points made. Part III (i.e. Chapter 5) examines at length the sources and patterns of livelihood in the research sites. The various economic activities that villagers engage in are explored in detail and case studies are used to illustrate the arguments made. Part IV consists of chapters 6 and 7. The objective of these two chapters is to reflect on the dilemmas villagers face in confronting change and their responses. Chapter 6 outlines the collective meso-level responses of fishing communities against the conflicts over local resources examined in Part I. In addition, the role of external agencies, namely Thai nongovernmental organisations, in these collective meso-level responses of local fishing communities is considered. Chapter 7 considers the position of contemporary maritime villagers in the modern capitalist world-economy. Chapter 8 concludes the thesis by summarising the main points made and by reflecting on the relationship between livelihoods and the environment in Krabi.