Driver
A condition or activity associated with change. Association alone does not prove sole cause.
Living systems
Ridge, forest, field, road and water are connected
Environmental change in the CHT emerges through relationships among rainfall, slopes, land use, tenure, infrastructure, markets, water and governance. No community or livelihood is treated as a single cause.
Coupled-system map
Follow relationships, not blame
Tenure and access
shapes incentives and stewardship
↔shapes incentives and stewardship
Fallow and ground cover
interact with slope, soil and rainfall
↔interact with slope, soil and rainfall
Road cuts and drainage
alter runoff and exposure
↔alter runoff and exposure
Sediment and water
affect habitat, access and infrastructure
↔affect habitat, access and infrastructure
Fisheries, tourism and livelihoods
create benefits and pressures
create benefits and pressures
Text equivalent: Each factor can affect several others. Direction and strength vary by site, season, governance and evidence period. The diagram is conceptual, not a predictive model.
Pressure
A mechanism such as vegetation removal, drainage blockage, extraction or visitor load that requires local evidence.
State
A measured condition such as cover, turbidity or habitat. Definitions and dates must match.
Impact
A consequence for people or ecosystems. Distribution and duration matter.
Response
A law, safeguard, restoration, maintenance or community practice. Activity is not automatically an outcome.
Editorial image · generated, not documentary evidenceThree evidence paths
Choose the question before the indicator
Definitions first
Forests and biodiversity
Legal forest, plantation, canopy, habitat, fallow, and Village Common Forests are distinct categories. Unlike classifications and survey periods cannot be merged.
Quantity is not income
Kaptai and water systems
Read catch, species composition, value, income, closures, levels, springs and water quality as separate measurements.
Benefits and burdens
Development pressures
Road cuts, drainage, extraction, tourism, and maintenance interact, but one field finding cannot represent the whole CHT.