A Spatial-Intertemporal Model for Tropical Forest Management Applied to Khao Yai National Park, Thailand

This paper discusses the application of a spatial-intertemporal model for tropical forest management to Khao Yai National Park in Thailand. This type of model, especially the spatial components, finds different optimal land allocations than do traditional models at empirically relevant levels of benefits. The spatial analysis here suggests that most of this park can be best used as a preserved area and also provides support for expanding the park into an adjacent unpopulated area. The analysis demonstrates that the park’s benefits to regional agriculture and villagers are large enough that preservation can proceed without international support, and that local people, as a group, have incentives to maintain most of the area as preserved land. Although the data cannot support a full case-study, these results underscore the need for empirical assessment of the spatial aspects of protected area management.