Migration and Land Use Change: A Case Study in Nang Rong, Buriram, Thailand

Wannarat Rattanawarang, Mahidol University

This case study focuses on migration and land use in rural Thailand. This work aims to study the change of household land in Nang Rong and to investigate the household factors as they relate to change in household land. The theory of Multiphasic Response including migration theories are used to explain population and social change. Socio-economic and political factors are also considered. The unit of analysis is a household. The analysis of longitudinal data and in-depth interviews are employed. The summary provided that population pressure leads to the change of household structure and inevitably affects land use change. Household factors show the probability of land size to be changed. Number of migrant in a household could predict change in land size. Agricultural work was reduced due to the out-migration and non-farm income. The study reveals that migration is found as the means to reduce pressure on land.