Forest Guardians, Forest Destroyers

The Politics of Environmental Knowledge in Northern Thailand

Nonfiction, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Anthropology, Sociology
Cover of the book Forest Guardians, Forest Destroyers by Andrew Walker, Tim Forsyth, University of Washington Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Andrew Walker, Tim Forsyth ISBN: 9780295800257
Publisher: University of Washington Press Publication: July 1, 2011
Imprint: University of Washington Press Language: English
Author: Andrew Walker, Tim Forsyth
ISBN: 9780295800257
Publisher: University of Washington Press
Publication: July 1, 2011
Imprint: University of Washington Press
Language: English

In this far-reaching examination of environmental problems and politics in northern Thailand, Tim Forsyth and Andrew Walker analyze deforestation, water supply, soil erosion, use of agrochemicals, and biodiversity in order to challenge popularly held notions of environmental crisis. They argue that such crises have been used to support political objectives of state expansion and control in the uplands. They have also been used to justify the alternative directions advocated by an array of NGOs.

In official and alternative discourses of economic development, the peoples living in Thailand's hill country are typically cast as either guardians or destroyers of forest resources, often depending on their ethnicity. Political and historical factors have created a simplistic, misleading, and often scientifically inaccurate environmental narrative: Hmong farmers, for example, are thought to exhibit environmentally destructive practices, whereas the Karen are seen as linked to and protective of their ancestral home. Forsyth and Walker reveal a much more complex relationship of hill farmers to the land, to other ethnic groups, and to the state. They conclude that current explanations fail to address the real causes of environmental problems and unnecessarily restrict the livelihoods of local people.

The authors' critical assessment of simplistic environmental narratives, as well as their suggestions for finding solutions, will be valuable in international policy discussions about environmental issues in rapidly developing countries. Moreover, their redefinition of northern Thailand's environmental problems, and their analysis of how political influences have reinforced inappropriate policies, demonstrate new ways of analyzing how environmental science and knowledge are important arenas for political control.

This book makes valuable contributions to Thai studies and more generally to the fields of environmental science, ecology, geography, anthropology, and political science, as well as to policy making and resource management in the developing world.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

In this far-reaching examination of environmental problems and politics in northern Thailand, Tim Forsyth and Andrew Walker analyze deforestation, water supply, soil erosion, use of agrochemicals, and biodiversity in order to challenge popularly held notions of environmental crisis. They argue that such crises have been used to support political objectives of state expansion and control in the uplands. They have also been used to justify the alternative directions advocated by an array of NGOs.

In official and alternative discourses of economic development, the peoples living in Thailand's hill country are typically cast as either guardians or destroyers of forest resources, often depending on their ethnicity. Political and historical factors have created a simplistic, misleading, and often scientifically inaccurate environmental narrative: Hmong farmers, for example, are thought to exhibit environmentally destructive practices, whereas the Karen are seen as linked to and protective of their ancestral home. Forsyth and Walker reveal a much more complex relationship of hill farmers to the land, to other ethnic groups, and to the state. They conclude that current explanations fail to address the real causes of environmental problems and unnecessarily restrict the livelihoods of local people.

The authors' critical assessment of simplistic environmental narratives, as well as their suggestions for finding solutions, will be valuable in international policy discussions about environmental issues in rapidly developing countries. Moreover, their redefinition of northern Thailand's environmental problems, and their analysis of how political influences have reinforced inappropriate policies, demonstrate new ways of analyzing how environmental science and knowledge are important arenas for political control.

This book makes valuable contributions to Thai studies and more generally to the fields of environmental science, ecology, geography, anthropology, and political science, as well as to policy making and resource management in the developing world.

More books from University of Washington Press

Cover of the book Where Land and Water Meet by Andrew Walker, Tim Forsyth
Cover of the book South Korea's Education Exodus by Andrew Walker, Tim Forsyth
Cover of the book The Economic Contract Law of China by Andrew Walker, Tim Forsyth
Cover of the book The Tanoak Tree by Andrew Walker, Tim Forsyth
Cover of the book Selected Letters of A. M. A. Blanchet by Andrew Walker, Tim Forsyth
Cover of the book Purple Flat Top by Andrew Walker, Tim Forsyth
Cover of the book Conjuring Property by Andrew Walker, Tim Forsyth
Cover of the book Reassessing the Park Chung Hee Era, 1961-1979 by Andrew Walker, Tim Forsyth
Cover of the book Sky Train by Andrew Walker, Tim Forsyth
Cover of the book The Han by Andrew Walker, Tim Forsyth
Cover of the book Popular Preaching and Religious Authority in the Medieval Islamic Near East by Andrew Walker, Tim Forsyth
Cover of the book Peasant Protest and Social Change in Colonial Korea by Andrew Walker, Tim Forsyth
Cover of the book A Principled Stand by Andrew Walker, Tim Forsyth
Cover of the book The Tooth That Nibbles at the Soul by Andrew Walker, Tim Forsyth
Cover of the book Ingmar Bergman's The Silence by Andrew Walker, Tim Forsyth
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy