Handbooks and Environmental Knowledge in Thailand

The environment in Thailand is a battleground for alternative forms of knowledge. An unexplored source of such knowledge is to be found in handbooks, which teach people how to interact with the world, including the environment. Our project examines the role of these handbooks in generating, transmitting and recording environmental knowledge. Using anthropological and historical approaches, we will gain valuable insights into how Thai people relate to the environment with the potential to unsettle the conventional distinctions between 'elite' and 'local' knowledge. The project will have important implications for the study of environmental knowledge in Thailand and in other parts of the world.