Environmental Policy in Thailand: Values, Attitudes, and Behavior among the Slum Dwellers of Bangkok

Abstract

Contemporary governments have an important role in promoting economic development and at the same time improving the quality of life experienced by its people, but in many nations of the Pacific Rim governments can be hampered by the pace of the rapid urbanization, as well as poor understanding of the connection between values, attitudes, and behavior regarding public policy initiatives. In this paper the authors, through an analysis of the relationship between traditional Thai cultural values, attitudes, and behavior regarding environmental issues, health and environmental practices, and policy, explore whether environmental policies in Thailand effectively reflect the needs of low-income urban communities. A survey of 515 slum dwellers in Bangkok reveals that behavior which improves the quality of life is related to a number of important attitudes as well as cultural values. Cultural values based on the Thai notion of individualism, for example, are an obstacle to community-based environmental behavior, An understanding of cultural values and their linkages to attitudes and behavior is thus critical to the design of more effective policies.