There have been monks in Thailand explicitly concerned about the environment for some time, such as Phra Ajarn Pongsak Techadhammo in Chiang Mai (Suchira 1992; Renard n.d.) and Buddhadasa Bhikkhu in Surat Thani, but their actions and teachings had limited scope.
In recent years, the Buddhist ecology movement has coalesced into a conscious and somewhat co-ordinated institution.
Its coherence and the increased co-operation and dialogue among monks from different regions of the country have drawn public attention to the movement and greater acceptance of its methods and the appropriateness of such actions by monks.
This new approach to religion and monks in Thai society and the creative application of the ecology monks' philosophy to make Buddhist rituals tools of social action may change the concepts and practice of Thai Buddhism.
One example is the work of Phrakhru Pitak Nanthakhun of Nan Province, the monk who co-ordinated the tree ordination examined here.