Public Participation Practice Within the Environmental and Health Impact Assessment System in Thailand

Abstract

The integration of public participation in Environmental and Health Impact Assessment (EHIA) is very significant in terms of its implication for sound decision-making and the sustainability of development activities. In this regard, the Thai EHIA system provides public participation in an implementation of mega development projects. This participation is carried out through a number of techniques, particularly a holding of public hearings. In public hearings within the Thai EHIA context, shareholders are brought together in a meeting to express their concerns and propose recommendations on a planned project in order to direct the decision-making process. Repeatedly, public hearing practice leads to violent conflict among stakeholders. This study is intended to state the significance of public participation in the Thai EHIA system and to evaluate the current practice of public hearing as participation practice in development of a coal-fired power station. The Krabi coal-fired power plant project was examined as the case study. The study discovered that the requests for public hearing as public participation practice in the EHIA system have been stimulated curiously by Thai laws and regulations. Thus, Thai citizens request meaningful participation in the decision-making processes concerning controversial issues. The suggestions for the development of a successful participatory process of project development must include the consideration by the government in having transparency in operations and listening to public opinion since the beginning of the process, in order to be informed of the real needs of people in affected area, and enhancing the capacity of the community academically.

The Performance of Environmental and Health Impact Assessment Implementation: A Case Study in Eastern Thailand

“…Regarding public participation, the average percentage score indicated that all initiatives were completed with just adequate performance; however, when looking at the cases examined, it is discovered that the EIACB1 transportation sector project had the lowest percentage of impact assessment reports' total score for public reliability, as well as a low score for delivering reports for public review. These findings are consistent with the findings of Chompunth C. [43], which suggest that no law gives the public the authority or role to make decisions and that the public does not have enough influence over decision-makers' decisions or access to a sufficient degree of participation in decisionmaking. Furthermore, the public consultation was conducted using ambiguous guidelines, such as the requirement that information be posted publicly on announcement boards at the local and federal levels of administration (without specifying which channels should be suitable and appropriate for the community) and the requirement to disclose information for sufficient periods of time (without specifying the minimum time period) [44].…”

Public Participation and Performance of Government Projects in Thailand

“…Thus, the study sought to examine the effect of public participation on the performance of government projects in Thailand. ,,,, 2.0 Literature Review Chompunth (2020) argued that public participation has become an essential aspect of ecological decision-making. Even though public participation has grown tremendously in Thailand because of increasing pressure from the general public, this technique often fails to solve ecological troubles and conflicts.…”