brey, 1996; Flaherty and Karnjanakesorn, 1995). Little has been written about land use options following shrimp culture. The research presented in this paper describes some social factors that impact how ponds are reclaimed or converted by examining the current state of abandonment and conversion in several areas of Thailand.
The social environment of shrimp farming is different in Latin America, Africa, Asia, and the United States. This study was expressly concerned with issues in central Thailand. The Thailand context is unique in several ways. Unlike Latin America, where shrimp operations managed by large corporations displaced small landholders, the development of ThailandŐs shrimp industry has relied on proliferation of small producers. Thailand is more heavily dependent on high input, high impact, intensive shrimp culture than other Asian producers (Vandergeest et al., 1999). These factors combine to cause an ongoing problem of land abandonment in many areas of Thailand. Environmental degradation and simultaneous economic collapse cause migration, land transfer, reallocation of resources, and other changes that can profoundly affect social conditions.
The first objective of the study was to quantify and examine the extent of pond abandonment in three areas of Thailand, including descriptions of the types of conversions that took place. Secondly, local concerns about pond abandonment and conversion were assessed in order to describe which alternatives to shrimp culture were most desirable at the village level. Finally, perceptions of abandonment and conversion were assessed to determine how they impacted the likelihood for adoption and diffusion of alternative uses for failed shrimp ponds.
Methods and Materials
This study was the result of field research using interviews with shrimp farmers, government officials, industry staff, village leaders, and other stakeholders in three shrimp culture areas of central Thailand. In August and September 2002, semi-structured interviews were conducted in Chanthaburi, Chachoengsao, and Samut Sakhon provinces. In addition to questionnaires, field observations were made at the time of the interviews. Interviews were conducted with conversant national government officials and national and international researchers. After field data collection, additional information on demographic and cultural characteristics was gathered from government agencies and publications.
Shrimp farming has been undertaken in 25 of 76 Thai administrative units (changwats). For this research, it was necessary to find areas where there had been a large shrimp industry that was faltering or failed and to be able to iden
tify farmers and farmland that had been in shrimp production. Selected sites were to be representative of different demographic profiles and aquaculture experience. Chachoengsao, Chanthaburi, and Samut Sakhon had the second, third and fifth largest number of shrimp culture establishments in the country in 2000 (NSO, 2001). The development of shrimp culture universal was different in nature at the three sites. Chachoengsao had experienced a large degree of inland shrimp culture that presented a unique set of impacts due to importation of salt water to freshwater areas. Although shrimp is grown in coastal areas of Samut Sakhon and Chanthaburi, the former was one of the first areas to experience catastrophic crop failure and abandonment and presented a longer-term picture of evolution of the industry. Together, the sites represented a diversity of shrimp culture experience.
Chachoengsao is a province in eastern Thailand with 14 km of coastal access. The province is 82 km from Bangkok, encompasses approximately 5,351 km2, and in 2000 had a population of 632,533. The resulting density was 118 people per km2 and grew at a rate of 1.36% between 1990 and 2000 (NSO, 2001). In 2000, 91.5% of coastal land was used for agricultural purposes, dominated by rice culture (85.8%), orchard garden (3.9%), and coastal aquaculture (2%). Of coastal aquaculture establishments, shrimp accounted for 96%, with a total of 6,655 sites in 2000 (NSO, 2001).
Chanthaburi is on the eastern side of the Gulf of Thailand, encompassing 6,338 km2. It is approximately 245 km from Bangkok and has 68 km of coastline that once supported extensive mangrove areas. The population in 2000 was 474,221 with a density of 75 people per km2. Of the 259,508 rai (1 rai = 1,600 m2) dedicated to agriculture in the coastal zone, 8.8% was rice paddy, 3.5% orchard, 2.9% coconut grove, 15.5% rubber palm plantation, and 12.72% coastal aquaculture. There were 3,239 shrimp farms in 2000, comprising 87.7% of the total aquaculture establishments (NSO, 2001).
Samut Sakhon is situated in the northern most part of the Gulf of Thailand, approximately 30 km from Bangkok. It is 840 km2 in area and has 41 km of coastline. Salt pans and shrimp farms once dominated the area, but recently, there has been a re-markable increase in industrial development. The population in 2000 was 457,078 with a density of 524 people per km2.
A majority of coastal land (55.9%) was used for agriculture; specifically rice paddies (13.5%), orchard garden (15.3%), coconut garden (15.4%), and coastal aquaculture (16.1%). In 2000, 1,371 shrimp farms remained, comprising 90% of coastal aquaculture in the area (NSO, 2001). Although a large number of farms were physically present, an extremely small number of them were still active.