Planning Capacity for Wildfire Management of Volunteers in Highland Agricultural Communities: A Case Study of Ban Mae Lan Kham, Samoeng Tai Subdistrict, Samoeng District, Chiang Mai Province DOI:

Abstract

The occurrence of PM2.5 pollution is closely associated with forest fires and the livelihood systems of agriculture-based highland communities. Community-based planning is therefore a key mechanism for enhancing the effectiveness of wildfire management in alignment with local contexts and actual conditions. This study aimed to examine the planning context of wildfire management in a highland agricultural community and to assess the planning capacity of community volunteers. Mae Lan Kham Village, Samoeng Tai Subdistrict, Samoeng District, Chiang Mai Province, was selected as the case study area. Data were collected through focus group discussions and questionnaire surveys administered to 14 wildfire control volunteers. Qualitative data were analyzed using thematic analysis, while quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, including mean and standard deviation.

          The results revealed that (1) the planning context for policy-linked wildfire management consists of four key components: the development of action plans linking operations across village, subdistrict, and district levels; the establishment of clear organizational structures and roles for committees and volunteers; the enforcement of community-accepted rules or agreements; and the continuous review of operational outcomes, while (2) planning for continuity of operations comprises three components: leadership succession planning, the development of younger generations as future leaders, and the establishment of long-term monitoring and reporting systems. The overall assessment indicates that volunteers demonstrate a high level of planning capacity (Mean=3.98), with stronger capacity in policy-linked planning than in continuity-oriented planning. These findings suggest that the proposed framework can serve as a practical guideline for strengthening community-based wildfire management planning by enhancing systematic linkages between state agencies and local communities, alongside reinforcing leadership succession mechanisms and monitoring systems to support effective and continuous operations.