Palong and Black Lahu ecological knowledge of the sustainability of forest watershed management and agroforestry ecosystems

For decades, land use practices of ethnic minority people in the uplands of northern Thailand have been blamed by many scientists and policy-makers as being unsustainable and causing degradation of natural forests and watershed functions. Recent flashfloods, landslides and droughts affecting the lowland areas have also been associated with upland agriculture. The objectives of this case study, carried out in Ban Nor Lae and Ban Khob Dong, Fang District, Chiang Mai Province, were to scrutinize these claims by exploring the knowledge of Palong and Black Lahu on sustainable forest watershed..