Local Wisdom in the Environmental Management of a Community: Analysis of Local Knowledge in Tha Pong Village, Thailand

Weerakul Chaiphar,Aree Naipinit,Thongphon Promsaka Na Sakolnakorn

doi:10.5539/jsd.v6n8p16

Abstract

The objective of this research is to study knowledge management regarding sustainable environmental management and the protection of natural resources. In this study, the researchers used a qualitative method with fieldwork observation, in-depth interviews of twenty key informants, and a focus group comprised of thirty-three people to discuss and participate in sustainable environmental management and natural resource protection. The data were analyzed using content and descriptive analyses. We found that the knowledge management of the community was divided into two types: 1) knowledge management of an internal community, such as knowledge exchanged between a community’s members; and 2) knowledge management of an external community, such as knowledge exchanged between communities. Likewise, in the development of a community practice, a community’s members participated in creating groups for specific activities, such as a group for saving money and a group for handicraft production.

Highlights

Over the past several decades, the problem of environmental sustainability has stemmed from humans destroying natural resources
The researchers used a qualitative method with fieldwork observation, in-depth interviews of twenty key informants, and a focus group comprised of thirty-three people to discuss and participate in sustainable environmental management and natural resource protection
To investigate the method of managing knowledge used by the community of practice, which results in sustainable environmental management, the practice methods were divided into two categories: the process of managing knowledge within the community and the process of managing knowledge obtained from outside the community

Summary

Introduction

Over the past several decades, the problem of environmental sustainability has stemmed from humans destroying natural resources. Thailand faces many problems regarding the environment and the destruction of natural resources; even the national park is disappearing, and the forest areas are decreasing (Promsaka Na Sakolnakorn & Naipinit, 2011). Natural resources are being depleted because people in communities destroy forests for agricultural products (Chaiphar, Kroeksakul, & Promsaka Na Sakolnakorn, 2012). A local community is a kind of civil society that plays an important role in conserving, reviving, and managing the use of natural resources and the surrounding environment within the community. The environmental quality management plan for 2007-2011 stipulated a specific strategy: that social and community participation, as well as the creation of local wisdom by the civil society, should be encouraged to manage the natural resources and the environment. According to Lave and Wenger (1991), a CoP is a group of people who share and exchange common interests, have developed regarding a particular area of interest or common goals, and want to share and exchange knowledge and working experiences amongst themselves

Methods

Results

Conclusion