2025/12/02 by Jean Michaud, Jean-Claude Neveu, Achariya Choowonglert · 1 voice
Social Sciences · Environmental Science · #Southeast Asian Sociopolitical Studies #Water Governance and Infrastructure #Conservation, Biodiversity, and Resource Management
paper · doi:10.1080/01419870.2025.2591106
openalex created_date 2025/12/02 · openalex publication_date 2025/12/02 · openalex updated_date 2026/06/30
This qualitative study explores how roads affected remote villages in northern Thailand. The research focuses on one Lahu and one Hmong upland villages and one Tai community in the lowlands. Despite poor road access and strict land conservation policies, villagers have found ways to succeed through cash cropping, such as oranges and cut flowers, and turn a profit. However, efforts have often been limited by land ownership restrictions and policies that prevent opening new fields. Interestingly, demographic trends show a stable or even growing population in the Lahu and Hmong communities – compared to the decline seen in other rural areas of northern Thailand. These non-Tai communities display a commitment to maintaining their identities, languages, and religious practices. Are these communities resisting integration into the Thai nation? The study highlights a complex relationship between development, cultural preservation, and identity, challenging simplistic notions of progress and assimilation.