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OP-ED on the Impact of Tourism and Economic Development on Urak Lawoi

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OP-ED on the Impact of Tourism and Economic Development on Urak Lawoi

Tourism is one of the largest industrial sectors and an instrumental element in shaping the world. It has become a normal behavior and an unofficial civil right in western society to escape from the monstrous routines that happen every day. Among the Thai people, tourism is viewed as an essential economic driver (Reap et al., 2020). Thailand’s growth as an important military avenue commenced with the presence of the United States military troupes. As a result, the local population had to change their way of life to satisfy the needs and demands of tourism (Granbom, 2005). I opine that an extensive level of investment in tourist development may force the government to relocate or draw resources from enterprises, other projects, and social welfare institutions. As such, in Thai tourism, the most important facet is economic growth and development instead of distributive and social justice which I believe are affecting the lifestyle, culture and the way of life of the Urak Lawoi population.

Anthropologists in recent years have been reluctant to acknowledge how tourism has become an essential social fact and to ensure that they are at the top of the agenda. As a result, my main focus of this essay is to explore how the rapid tourist and economic development has affected the Urak Lawoi indigenous way of life and culture. I believe that the increase in tourist development has affected the nomadic lifestyle of the indigenous people living in Thailand, especially the Urak Lawoi and Moken (Granbom, 2017). An increase in marine resources in their local area makes it possible to evaporate their substantial way of life. My assertion on this issue is also supported by Granbom, (2005) which argues that based on the UNESCO findings, there is an urgent demand to obey and respect the rights of the local population obtained from their spiritual traditions, cultures, and philosophies. The rights allocated for Chao Lay indigenous people regarding land ownership are ambiguous. The Thai law regulations fail to acknowledge them as Thai Citizens, and therefore they are not permitted to practice land ownership. In doing so, this leverages the risk of corrupt exploitation by other individuals (Granbom, 2017). For instance, one of the common conflict situations I have experienced in KO Lanta revolved around the legality of land ownership. It is most unusual for individuals to argue that they had the right to the similar property, which causes legal controversy.

It is less surprising from some communities in anthropology literature and scholarly work to be explained as disappearing, whereas others integrated with tourism may give individuals an ideology that their cultural heritage is reinforced by tourism. I am attempting to show the devastating implications and damage that rapid development may cause to an indigenous population and how this may affect their self-esteem when they lose their territory. The primary argument revolves around Urak Lawoi (Chen, & Kitingern, 2020). However, I found it difficult to integrate the opinions concerning tourist development caused by outsiders, authorities, and other local ethnic populations. Whenever I visited Ko Lanta district headquarters, it was challenging to locate the material on Urak Lawoi. Moreover, there was recognizable silence when I requested the rights and privileges which is a clear evidence of the current situation affecting the community.

In the contemporary era, marine conservation and economic development efforts are relocating the indigenous Urak Lawoi people from the land. For instance, Chen, & Kitingern (2020) mentions that Chaem is one of the prominent nomadic seafaring tribes in Thailand. They are commonly acknowledged as Chao Lay, Moken, and Moklene individuals who have been nomading around the Andaman Sea without necessarily having ties to nationality or country. The primary challenge is that an individual is seen as illegally inhabiting the land or the sea, especially when associated with the indigenous population (Granbom, 2005). In most kinds of literature that I have read, it is important to note that the Urak Lawoi people have relied heavily on the sea as their primary food source (Granbom, 2017). However, some of the legal acts and government regulations have forced them from accessing some of the areas they initially had access to. Although Urak Lawoi people engaged in subsistence fishing, I believe that environmental degradation may cause devastating implications to the indigenous population.

Throughout this op-ed, I have shown what has happened to Urak Lawoi when they are denied their land and forced to depart from their norms, values, and traditional economic subsistence. Until recently, Urak Lawoi has always maintained their lifestyle, language, and culture different from the other Thai people. Over the last few years, I have witnessed a rapid increase in tourist activities with the development of extensive resorts that have brought an end to the nomadic lifestyle that the Urak Lawoi people enjoy. Some of them have been eliminated away from the productive regions and the seashores. I believe that the powerful international forces connected to the global market economy cause an unfavorable situation to the Urak Lawoi and the environment. There have been various cases where an unidentified group has attacked the indigenous people.

References

Chen, J. L., & Kitingern, K. (2020). A Case Study of Factors Affecting the Performance of the Hotel Industry of Chiang Mai in Thailand and the Impact of Covid-19: Taking De Chai Hotel Group as an Example. Advances in Management and Applied Economics, 10(6), 1-4.

Granbom, A. C. (2005). Urak Lawoi: A Field Study of an Indigenous People in Thailand and their Problems with Rapid Tourism Development. Sociologiska institutionen, Lund universitet.

Granbom, L. A. C. (2017). The Second Wave: The Urak Lawoi After the Tsunami in Thailand. Lund University.

Reap, M., Pornwattanavate, S., Thame, C., & Van der Putten, M. (2020). The social determinants of health of the Urak Lawoi’of southern Thailand. BMC public health, 20(1), 1-14.