Few people expressed willingness to work as maintenance staff because they felt that the NP did not pay enough and also that it was demeaning work. Referring to Mu Koh Surin, one participant told us: “The NP pays them 100 baht per day to cook, clean and run boat service. It is not enough.” In addition, some participants saw click here the maintenance positions as undignified: “Maybe in 20 to 30 years, I will be collecting garbage like the Moken on Surin. Assets form the basis of livelihoods. Livelihood assets were felt to be influenced by the NMPs in two ways. First, the policies, institutions and processes of the NMPs directly influenced access to assets. Second, livelihood outcomes could further

support or undermine future access to assets. For example, the wealth earned from Icotinib tourism development could promote further local development and gains or be centralized with a wealthy external elite. Due to length restrictions, it is beyond the purview of the current paper to provide

specific narratives or examples but an overview of perceptions of how livelihood resources are impacted by the NMP is provided in Table 4. In summation, while NMPs are perceived to undermine access to resources necessary for traditional livelihoods, it appears that DNP and NMP managers do not consider adequately the means (assets) that are required to ensure that locals benefit from alternative livelihoods. For example, according to community respondents DNP management and policies fail to consider local values and development needs, support local capacity building, or promote local businesses. Qualitative and quantitative perceptions of participants differed on the perceived conservation outcomes of the

NMPs, particularly regarding the marine environment. It was agreed across all sites that terrestrial STK38 conservation was part of the mandate of the DNP. However, qualitative perceptions of the effectiveness of terrestrial conservation differed amongst areas. Interviewees in villages in Mu Koh Ranong and Ao Phang Nga NMPs all thought that the national park would result in protection of forested areas on the islands. Conversely, the majority of interview participants near the proposed Koh Rah-Koh Phrathong NMP believed that the national park would not protect the forested area effectively. This belief was alleged to be true for two reasons: there would be encroachment by outside businessmen for plantations and there would be illegal logging and hunting by the protected area superintendents and managers. Interviews revealed widespread confusion about whether the DNP mandate included the protection or management of the marine environment. Many interviewees expressed sentiments such as “The islands are under DNP, but there is no control over the sea” or “If there were new rules, we would know”.