Although it has been suggested that Buddhism has been "co-opted to argue the case for a more environmentally friendly approach to development" (Rigg 1995: 12), the severity of the environmental crisis and its link with development in Thailand cannot be denied.
As will be explored below, the monks are responding to the consequences of environmental degradation on rural people and their quality of life.
The debates surrounding environmentalism are inherently political, involving control over and access to natural resources (especially land, forests, and water) and the causes of rapid deforestation and other environmental problems.
The focus here is on deforestation because of its relevance to the rural people with whom the monks work; deforestation, however, is only one element of a complex environmental situation in a rapidly changing national economy.