Pha Dok Siew: A Review of Cultural–Ecological Landscape Concepts and the Role of Karen Indigenous Knowledge in Contemporary Nature Trail Design

Abstract

This review article aims to examine the Pha Dok Siew Nature Trail in Doi Inthanon National Park, Chiang Mai Province, as a cultural–ecological landscape in which nature and culture are co-produced, rather than as a natural setting detached from human presence. The approximately 2.6-kilometre trail connects lower montane evergreen forest, streams and the Pha Dok Siew waterfall, terraced rice fields, and the Karen (Pgakenyaw) community of Ban Mae Klang Luang. Although the trail was formally designated as a nature trail in 2019 and further improved during 2022–2023, its development cannot be understood solely as the provision of tourism infrastructure. Instead, trail design must be considered in relation to watershed ecosystems, culturally embedded meanings of place, and community-based governance mechanisms. The article has three main objectives: (1) to review the concepts of cultural–ecological landscapes and biocultural landscapes, which emphasize that biological and cultural diversity evolve together through land-use practices, local knowledge systems, and social institutions, while also addressing critical debates surrounding conservation approaches that separate humans from nature and their implications for lived landscapes; (2) to synthesize the role of Karen Indigenous knowledge as Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) embedded in practices such as reading topography, avoiding tree roots, managing soil and water, and using local materials and vernacular construction techniques, with particular attention to the role of local guides as landscape interpreters through whom ecological and cultural meanings are communicated along the trail; and (3) to propose six design-oriented strategies for integrating local knowledge into contemporary trail design at Pha Dok Siew. These strategies aim to minimize disturbance to ecologically sensitive areas while sustaining the site’s distinctive ecological and cultural values over the long term.