CONCLUSION

The environment is usually understood as the natural conditions of land, air, and water in which people, animals and plants live. Then, all kinds of biological life are added, and finally, the cultural environment crowns the concept. However, since the era of industrialization in the West spread from the XIXth century onward, the Western mind-set has a tendency to draw a sharp line between culture and nature. In contrast, Thai folk culture does not appear to know the sharp distinction between natural and cultural environment or at least, not yet(29). The majority of the Thai population is still living in the countryside, and the overwhelming number of those who are counted among city inhabitants are those who live in Bangkok. The rest of the country is very different. The fundamental question which the whole Thai society faces is whether this folk culture-in-nature way of living deserves the protection of law, and if so what legal instruments and procedures can be employed to achieve this goal.

The main conclusion of this article is that the Thai legal framework of public participation is not yet clearly established. Since fundamental changes which occur in Thailand as a result of population growth, urbanization, deforestation and consumerism are causing, or are about to cause deep social conflicts, there is an urgent need to find a working model of public participation which can assist in resolving environmental problems. It may be that the Western model of public hearings is not able to solve the problems which Thailand faces, and possibly Thailand needs to find other mechanisms of public participation. Thai folk moral principles can provide an alternative to the highly detailed and adversarial process of public participation in the West. Thai folk wisdom stands for the shift from an adversarial system of antagonistic rights and duties, to a system of cooperation of the State, local communities, educational and religious institutions, NGOs and private individuals as the only effective option to unite everyone in the cause of protecting the environment.

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(29) See: Culture and Environment in Thailand. – Bangkok: A Symposium of the Siam Society, 1989.