Chong Ethnic Groups : Cultural Mechanisms and Dimensions of Biodiversity

Abstract

This research aimed to study the cultural integration mechanism of the Chong ethnic group in conserving biodiversity and their integration mechanism for living together with other ethnic groups. The study also investigated the deterioration of the role of the cultural integration mechanism of the Chong people as well as suggested the role of ethnicity in adapting to the trend of moving towards modern society in Khao KhitchChakut District, Chanthaburi Province. The study method was qualitative historical research and the research technique consisted of data collection from documents. The results show that the cultural integration mechanism of the Chong ethnic group was using of the environment capitals in the Khao Khitchakut forest area without destroying biodiversity. The environment capital was used to preserve the biological diversity.  As for the ethnic integration mechanism for living together with other ethnic groups, it was found that the Chong group of people, as the original local people in Khitchakut District, were able to coexist with the Chinese and Thai people who later immigrated to settle in the area.  The deterioration process of roles of the mechanism for integrating biodiversity in the Khitchakut Chong communities was caused by the replacement of the state ownership system in the mountainous forest areas. The suggestion regarding the role of the Chong ethnicity in adapting to modern society was to use the process of raising awareness to revive the Chong culture, including preserving the Chong language as a second language of the community, spreading the Chong culture, and revitalizing Chong's economic culture based on the mechanism driving the sufficiency economy.

Keywords : Chong Ethnic Groups ; Cultural Mechanisms ; Biodiversity.