Challenges in promoting coral reef management through community involvement: A case study of Kham Island in the Gulf of Thailand

This qualitative research identified challenges in promoting sustainable coral reef management through community participation. Focusing on Kham Island in Thepha District, Songkhla Province, southern Thailand, the study explored reef utilization to propose a participatory management strategy. Data were derived from twenty-four key local stakeholders, including fishermen, tourism operators, and government agencies. The research methods included unstructured and semi-structured interviews, participant and non-participant observations, and two focus group discussions with local fishermen. Tourism was the primary use of the reef, with impacts largely driven by human activities such as trampling, waste, and boat anchoring, while environmental changes such as coral bleaching also contributed to a comparatively lesser extent. The researchers verified the findings in the focus group discussions with the stakeholders to identify issues for a comprehensive and integrated coastal resource management plan. A synthesis of the results and SWOT analysis of the three main actor groups (fisherman group, Non-Hunting Area officials, and university academic team) revealed key challenges in implementing the management plan, highlighting community engagement needs and structural socio-political constraints of Thailand's environmental governance. A distinctive feature of the Thai context is hierarchical governance and frequent leadership changes that create additional institutional barriers. • Identifies institutional barriers to community-based coral reef management. • Shows how hierarchical governance limits local participation. • Applies qualitative interviews and SWOT analysis to reef governance. • Proposes a participatory framework tailored to local reef contexts.