Green Access Discussion Paper

DP-2015-005

Principle 10 in Thailand: Development and Challenges

Suntariya Muanpawong
2015/3/3

4-4-14 suntariya

International Workshop on "Participation Principle Indicators
under the Environmental Law: Towards Establishing
International Collaboration in Pursuit of Environmental Justice"
at 9th-10th March 2015
Organizers: GREEN ACCESS PROJECT II “Review of Legal Indicators for theParticipation Principle in Environmental Matters - Promotion of an International Cooperation
towards Strengthening the Environmental Democracy” (JSPS Grant-in-Aid), OSAKAUNIVERSITY, PROJECT TIGER “Policy decision-making and public participation onenergy, chemicals and water management: an international comparative study” (Global
Initiative Program), and MITSUI & CO., LTD., ENVIRONMENT FUND – Project“Proposing an Asian Version of the Aarhus Convention – Constitution of anInternational Cooperation for Implementing the Environmental Justice”

GREEN ACCESS PROJECT II
Osaka University

Principle 10 in Thailand: Development and Challenges
Judge Suntariya Muanpawong, Dr.Jur.1

Introduction
This paper is written for the International Workshop on "Participation Principle
Indicators under the Environmental Law : Towards Establishing an International Cooperationin Pursuit of the Environmental Justice" in March 2015 in Osaka. It will present thedevelopment and challenges of the implementation of the Principle 10 of the Rio Declarationin Thai environmental law. This Principle are composed of the right to information, right toparticipate in decision-making and right to sue. The writer will discuss about the relevantlaws and regulations, the court judgments, the participation culture and practice and thereform process in Thailand. She will focus on the recommendations to increase moreguarantee of these important access rights.
1. Laws and Regulations
1.1 Development and Challenges
The right to information, right to participate and right to sue are the core values of theenvironmental democracy. They have been protected from constitutions, acts and regulationsin Thailand. These rights were gradually developed, after the Thai society had learnt that the
representative democracy alone was not enough. Thai people need the participatory anddeliberative democracy too. In the past, there were environmental conflicts in various aspects.
The governments have done projects causing the depletion of the environment and human
injury. The investors had a good connection to the government, while the people had no rightto voice their opinions. Therefore, the people asked strongly for their rights of participation.2
The protections started with some positive laws. The Town Planning Act of 1975 hadsome provisions on public hearing, though in reality the hearings were always insufficient.
The Enhancement and Conservation of the National Environmental Quality Act of 1992,
which is the general environmental protection law, sets up the National Environmental Boardand imposes an environmental impact assessment process. Regrettably, there are no clear
provisions on people participation process. The Administrative Procedure Act of 1996
stipulates the right to information and right to be heard, if anyone would be affected from theadministrative act. Having followed the model of the German Administrative Act(Verwaltungserfahrengesetz), the Thai legislators disagreed to have the special chapter on
public hearing process in large-scale and high-risk projects (Planfeststellungsverfahren).
1

LLB, Thammasat University, LLM (Public Law), Thammasat University, Magister Legum (Summa Cum
Laude) and Dr. Jur, (Magna Cum Laude), Muenster University, Germany, Chief Judge of the Research JusticeDivision and Secretary of the Environmental Law Division, The Supreme Court of Thailand. More information
about Thai participation laws before 2003, please see the writer's doctorate dissertation on "Buergerbeteiligung
im Anhoerungsverfahren bei umweltrelevanten Grossvorhaben: Ein Vergleich des thailaendischen mit dem
deutschen Umweltrecht, Peter Lang Verlag, 2003.
Ashok Swain and Ang Ming Chee, Political Structure and ‘Dam’ Conflicts: Comparing Cases in Southeast
Asia, http://lup.lub.lu.se/luur/download?func=downloadFile&recordOId=4353962&fileOId=4360370.
2

After many years in use, no one tried to revise the law and added the new values. According
to the Official information Act of 1997, the people must individually ask for the informationcase after case. The natural resource conservation laws, such as the Forestry Act of 1941, theNational Parks Act of 1961, the National Reserved Forest Act of 1964 and the Wild Animal
Conservation and Protection Act of 1992 as well as the pollution control laws, such as theIndustrial Estate Act of 1979, the Public Health Act of 1992 and the Factory Act of 1992 do
not contain any provisions about the public participation in the environmental governance. In
the meanwhile, the Office of the Prime Minister Regulations on Public Hearings of 2005 was
stipulated. It came into force as a consequence of the people protests. The objective was toopen a platform to solve all social conflicts, including the environmental matters.
Unfortunately, there were no exact details about of the procedural rights. Though thisprovided people involvement in many forms, it has no legal binding like a law. The
participation proceeding was not compulsory and depended absolutely on the discretion of
the officers.3
Finally, the most important protections came indeed from the constitutional laws. The
Constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand of 1974 showed the first concerned on environment,
while the Constitution of 1997 had firstly provided an explicit rights to participation inenvironmental decision-making. The Constitution of 2007 imposed later more details about
the constitutional rights to participate, such as the right to access information of stateagencies (Article 56), public hearing rights in environmental management (Article 57) andpublic participation rights of people and local community in the conservation, preservationand the sustainable use of natural resources and biodiversity. The right to be heard and theright to sue are provided (Article 67).4 According to these two constitutions, the rights ofparticipation were well protected, though there might be some problems in the interpretation.
After the Military Coup D' Etat in 2014, the Constitution of 2007 was abolished. The
Interim Constitution of 2014 has a slight protection of basic rights. Article 4. states that
subject to the provisions of this Constitution, all human dignity, rights, liberties and equalityof the people protected by the constitutional convention under a democratic regime ofgovernment with the King as the Head of State, and by international obligations bound by
Thailand, shall be protected and upheld by this Constitution. Apart from these, there are noother fundamental rights protection.5 During the military government, there is no freedom of
expression and assembly. Though the National Reform Council is trying to ensure theenvironmental right in the new constitution, the future is uncertain.6
1.2 Recommendations
1.2.1 Reform the Constitutions, Laws and Rules
3

Suntariya Muanpawong, Buergerbeteiligung im Anhoerungsverfahren bei umweltrelevanten Grossvorhaben:
Ein Vergleich des thailaendischen mit dem deutschen Umweltrecht, Peter Lang Verlag, 2003.
4
National Report of Thailand, http://www.aihja.org/images/users/114/files/Congress_of_Cartagena__Report_of_Thailand_2013-THAILAND-EN.pdf.
5
https://www.facebook.com/notes/somkiat-onwimon/the-constitution-of-the-kingdom-of-thailand-interim-be2557-2014-unofficial-tran/915606088453349.
6
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_Thai_coup_d%27%C3%A9tat.

It is clear that the people participation can make more legitimate, transparent andaccountable decisions. This will bring better environmental governance. However, many
hindrances in the laws were founded. They include lack of clarity regarding scope, definition,
duration and the use of officials’ judgment.7 Though the new constitution will be the key
indicator of the development of the process rights, the clearer protections in relevant laws andregulations are needed as well. In many countries, such as in Germany, there might be no
direct constitutional protections of participation rights, but there are more than 20
environmental protection laws ensuring these rights. In Thailand, there is no single law on
this matter. The National Environmental Quality Act could be amended to add a detailed
provision on people’s participation. 8 Otherwise the specific law on environmental
information and participation should be introduced. In the new law, the government should
provide adequate and appropriate opportunity for public participation in decisions that may
affect the environment. The participation of all interested and affected parties should be fully
guaranteed. The rights and role of the communities and the NGOs should be more clearlyprotected. 9 All kinds of participation process such as people dialogue, environmental
mediation, negotiation, arbitration or citizen juries should be created. 10 The participation
could be in the environmental in rule-making process. especially in the town planning law.11
In America, there is a Negotiated Rulemaking Act.12
The new constitution, laws and regulations themselves should be clear stipulated, sothat all partners can apply automatically and the courts do not need to interpret all the time. In
the new provisions, the early public participation should combine directly to the strategic
environmental assessment and the environmental and health assessment processes. The
stakeholders should be wider defined, covering all affected and to be affected people. The
people from every group should have an adequate opportunity to express their views. Someunclear provisions in the past should be more clarified; Which kinds of the projects, thepeople participation should be compulsory? Which kind of information, the people will havethe rights to access? How far the cases about procedural failures can be brought before thecourt? The recent and current governments have shown their interests in initiating various
kinds of large-scale projects, such as mining industry, dams construction, power plants, cable
car in national parks, new land use plans and rapid train transportation. The new constitutions,laws and regulations should be ready for the future development.
1.2.2 Increase the Legal Biding of the International Laws and Guidelines
Various protections of access rights in Thai legal system came originally from theinternal problems. These rights were gradually developed, after the Thai society had learnt
that the representative democracy alone was not enough. Thai people need the participatoryand deliberative democracy too. Until now, there has been no influence from the internationallaws over the past development. Though the Principle 10 of the Rio Declaration and the7

See more in http://www.mtp.rmutt.ac.th.
Thai Environmental Institute, Environmental Governance in Asia: Independence Assessments of National
Implementation of Rio Declaration’s Principle 10, https://bch.cbd.int/protocol/outreach/accessinitativeasia.pdf.
9Suntariya Muanpawong, Buergerbeteiligung im Anhoerungsverfahren bei umweltrelevanten Grossvorhaben:
Ein Vergleich des thailaendischen mit dem deutschen Umweltrecht, Peter Lang Verlag, 2003.
10
Thai Environmental Institute, Environmental Governance in Asia: Independence Assessments of National
Implementation of Rio Declaration’s Principle 10, https://bch.cbd.int/protocol/outreach/accessinitativeasia.pdf.
11
See more in http://www.mtp.rmutt.ac.th.
12
http://www.epa.gov/adr/regnegact.pdf.
8

Guidelines for the Development of National Legislation on Access to Information, Public
Participation and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters (Bali Guidelines) are the world
important instruments,13 they are not well known enough in the Thai community. The Arhus
Convention might be a good standard for European countries, but it is not recognized fromthe ASEAN countries neither. Although these international instruments had no direct
influence over the past development, they can be a good aspiration for the future. The Rio
Declaration lacks the force to have national legislation. Compared to other international
agreements, such as conventions on human rights, women rights and child rights, theinternational environmental laws have no strong binding with the internal laws. Some SouthAmerican Countries signed the Declaration on the application of Principle 10 of the Rio
Declaration on Environment and Development. This was a way to "Move from Principles to
Rights".14 These should be done worldwide. The Principle 10 should be soon upgraded to be
an international convention with full binding.
2. The Court Judgments
2.1 Development and Challenges
In the past, Thailand had only the Courts of Justice. There were some court rulings ofabout the participation rights. Mostly the plaintiff claimed for the right to environmental
information under the Enhancement and Conservation of the National Environmental Quality
Act. One famous case was filed against the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration for the
information about the special mass transit system. In another important case, the plaintiff
filed the Prime Minister for the environmental right under the Constitution of 1991. The mainconcern of these cases was the locus standi of the plaintiffs.15
Later the Constitution of 1997, the Constitution of 2007 and the Act on Establishmentof Administrative Court and Administrative Court Procedure ensure the right to sue moreclearly. The access to justice is possible and wider reached. Though some of these rights areconstitutional rights, the Constitutional Court has no jurisdiction over a direct petition. The
Administrative Court has competence over administrative cases instead. Section 9 of the Act
on Establishment of Administrative Court and Administrative Court Procedure regulates that
the Administrative Court has the competence to try and adjudicate or give orders over thecase involving a dispute in relation to an unlawful act by an administrative agency or a State
official the case involving a dispute in relation to an administrative agency or a State official
neglecting official duties required by the law to be performed or performing such duties withunreasonable delay, the case involving a dispute in relation to a wrongful act or otherliabilities of an administrative agency or a State official, the case involving a dispute inrelation to an administrative contract, the case prescribed by law to be submitted to the court
by an administrative agency or State official for mandating a person to do a particular act or13

http://www.unep.org/civilsociety/Portals/24105/documents/Guidelines/GUIDELINES_TO_ACCESS_TO_ENV_INFO_2.pdf.
14David Banisar, Sejal Parmar, Lalanath de Silva, and Carole Excell, Moving from Principles to Rights: Rio
2012 and Access to Information, Public Participation, and Justice in Sustainable Development Law & Policy
Volume 12 Issue 3 Rio+20 Article 3- http://digitalcommons.wcl.american.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1532&context=sdlp.
15Vipon Kititasnasorchai and Panat Tasneeyanond, Thai Environment Law, Singapore Journal of International& Comparative Law, 1 (2000) 4 pp 1 – 35, http://law.nus.edu.sg/sybil/downloads/articles/SJICL-2000-1/SJICL2000-1.pdf.

refraining from and the case involving a matter prescribed by law under the jurisdiction of the
Administrative Court.
The Administrative Courts established a specialized environmental law division. They
have a special environmental procedure according to the Recommendation of the President of
the Supreme Administrative Court on the Administrative Court Proceedings concerning
Environmental Issue of 2011. The cases can be brought by the individual or civilorganizations, when the government lacked of implementation or compliance to theconstitution and laws. The Administrative Courts can review substantive and procedural
legality of the administrative decision. 16 The recent cases were the filing to request the
Pollution Control Department to restore a river under environmental law, filing an
administrative agency for negligence in supervising radioactive substances, causing theradioactive leak and filing Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand for the negligence inreleasing the polluted air without air pollution treatment under the emission control standards,
causing physical and mental injury to other persons.17 The Supreme Administrative Court is achampion in giving effect to the principles of liberalized standing, direct applicability andenforceability of constitutional rights and prevention and applying technical rules flexibly,
where it would afford substantive justice.18
However, not so many cases about the procedural rights have been brought before thecourt, since the people are not capable to sue. The environmental jurisprudence on theprocedural right is rarely established. In the past, there were some cases filing on the right toinformation regarding the Bird flu disease or other matters.19 One of the landmark cases of
the Administrative Courts on the participation rights protection was the Map Ta Phut Case.
The Map Ta Phut Industrial Estate was situated in Rayong Province in the eastern part ofThailand. This new center of industries of the country was a part of the larger plan fordevelopment of the Eastern Seaboard. In the estate, foreign investors from Japan, Americanand Europe developed the oil and gas and petrochemical industry, chemical factories andmetal industry. After the Phase I Project had a good success, the government tried to launch
the Phase II project. The Minister of Industry gave permissions in the new zone, without
conducting the environmental and health impact assessment. There were many doubts about
the air, soil and water pollutions and waste management from the first phase and the potential
pollution carrying capacity of the new phase. The injured people protested many times.20
Finally, the plaintiff claimed that 8 government agencies granted permission to 76 industrial
projects without complying with Constitution, which required an additional health impact
assessment and more involvement of local communities and the independent organization.
The Central Administrative Court ordered the government agencies to immediately suspend
the projects. The Supreme Administrative Court confirmed later that the health impact
assessment and the public hearing must be done. Some foreign investors had built thefactories and started the operation already. They must delay their business, during the late

16

Chaweewan Saibua, Public Policy Formation And Implementation: The Case of Map Ta Phut Industrial
Development, www.econ.chula.ac.th/public/publication/occasional/CER-OccasionalPapers2010.pdf.
17
National Report of Thailand, http://www.aihja.org/images/users/114/files/Congress_of_Cartagena__Report_of_Thailand_2013-THAILAND-EN.pdf.
18
Kala Mulqueeny, Sherielysse Bonifacio and Jacqueline Esperilla, Asian Judges, Green Courts and Access toEnvironmental Justice: An Asian Judges Network on the Environment, Journal of Court Innovation, 3:1,
http://law.pace.edu/sites/default/files/IJIEA/jciMulqueeny_JCI%203-17_cropped.pdf.
19
Thai Environmental Institute, Environmental Governance in Asia: Independence Assessments of National
Implementation of Rio Declaration’s Principle 10, https://bch.cbd.int/protocol/outreach/accessinitativeasia.pdf.
20
Chaweewan Saibua, Public Policy Formation And Implementation: The Case of Map Ta Phut Industrial
Development, www.econ.chula.ac.th/public/publication/occasional/CER-OccasionalPapers2010.pdf.

impact assessment and participation process. The uncertain laws and implementation affected
the country economy seriously.21
2.2 Recommendations
2.2.1 Develop More Access to Justice
The constitutions and laws should ensure that the people will have easy access to thecourt, if their procedural rights are violated. The right to sue should be widely interpreted.
The Specialized Environment Division of the Administrative Courts have been alreadyestablished, therefore the special legal aid should be better developed. In practice, theenvironmental cases require specialist legal knowledge and technical expertise. These
services should be provided sufficiently.
2.2.2 Develop Capacity Building Programs for Judges
The empowerment of the people is necessary and the capacity building programs forjudges and court personnel are essential. The judiciary should have knowledge andunderstanding of the participation laws, especially the constitutional provisions.22 Judges areimportant to implement the law. They play an important role in environmental enforcement
and compliance. They can protect environmental rights from the constitution and introduce
international environmental law into national law. 23 The knowledge of judges about theprocedural justice is very important. In the past, the administrative law focused mostly on thesubstantive or merit review. In the future, the review of the process will be possibly more
important. The substantive justice cannot be delivered, unless the procedural justice isprotected. The laws must be clear, how far the judicial review over procedural rights can be
done. The judges must understand the spirit of the law and bring all aspects into theirconsideration. They must know the effect and consequence of their decisions over the social,environmental and economic matters.
3. Participation Culture and the Real Practice
3.1 Development and Challenges
It is clear that people participation in decision-making process can bring moreenvironmental justice, transparence and acceptance. This will avoid human injury and thenatural harm. However, the participation culture depends on the development of each society.
Thailand has been bureaucracy- centered for a long time. This means the officers hadmonopoly in the decision-making. The command and control policy and the top-down
management prevailed. The representative democracy was understood that the elected people
21

What
is
the
impact
of
the
Map
Ta
Phut
case
on
the
economy?,http://www.scb.co.th/eic/doc/en/insight/SCB%20Insight-Nov%202009-EN.pdf.
22
Thai Environmental Institute, Environmental Governance in Asia: Independence Assessments of National
Implementation of Rio Declaration’s Principle 10, https://bch.cbd.int/protocol/outreach/accessinitativeasia.pdf.
23
Kala Mulqueeny, Sherielysse Bonifacio and Jacqueline Esperilla, Asian Judges, Green Courts and Access toEnvironmental Justice: An Asian Judges Network on the Environment, Journal of Court Innovation, 3:1,
http://law.pace.edu/sites/default/files/IJIEA/jciMulqueeny_JCI%203-17_cropped.pdf, Ganniga Sutthiprasid,
Evolution of Thai Environmental Law, http://www.admincourt.go.th/00_web/environment/newsletter02.htm.

were allowed to do everything in the name of the people. Gradually, the people learnt about
the direct, participatory and deliberative democracy and proposed that their voices should belistened. Decisions must come from deliberation. In the beginning of this struggle in 1986,
the Thailand Tantalum Industry Project in Phuket was burnt. Many protestors protested
heavily on the street. Some were arrested and prosecuted. The situation "You build, weburn!" occurred everywhere after that. The participation came firstly with violence andviolation of law.24
The attitude and mindset of all stakeholders is the key indicator for failure or success.
While the people want the absolute direct democracy, the government wants the absolute
power. Not only officers are reluctant, but the investors are also afraid that people
participation would make the projects stopped or delayed. The SLAPP cases or the killing of
the environmental leaders were seen as the response of the people movements. Even the
public, some of them still have doubt that the people are not yet ready and immature or haveno enough knowledge. Some did not trust the NGOs, since the environmental organizations
might have conflict of interest. Anyway, the Thai society increasingly get used to the direct
and participatory participation, after the people had learnt to rally across the country during
the recent political conflicts.
After the military government came back into power again in 2014, the people
participation has been controlled more strictly. The ruling leaders believe in technocrats,
rather than the ordinary people. Many gigantic projects have been already permitted after
consultation with some technocrats. No public hearing process will be conducted. 25 This
mindset of the military leaders seems to be the important obstruction for the environmental
democracy.
Apart from the wrong attitude, the problem in Thailand is the lack of real practice.
The participation principles are good, but there is no enough quality in the implementation.
The laws and regulations have no details about the process. The people do not know thescope of the rights they have. In many countries, the right to know means the right to haveaccess to all related documents in an understandable format in the proper time and place. The
people involvement process can exceed one year or five years, if necessary. In Germany,
there is a principle on "Waffengleichheit" in the hearing process, this means the equal rights
of all parties must be protected. In Thailand, the important information about the project has
not been given to the people. Not all interested stakeholders were invited to the meeting. The
officers did not have knowledge and skill to conduct the meeting. Many hearing processes
were conducted by the industrial companies and the dependent facilitators. The people

24

Sophie Thnapura, Phuket ablaze: Thailand's Wackersdorf in EIR Volume 13, Number 28, July 18, 1986,
http://www.larouchepub.com/eiw/public/1986/eirv13n28-19860718/eirv13n28-19860718_057southeast_asia.pdf, pp. 422-438 in Peet, R. and Watts, M. (eds) (2004) Liberation Ecologies: environment,
development and social movements (Second Edition), London and New York: Routledge. Industrial Pollution
and social movements in Thailand Tim Forsyth, http://personal.lse.ac.uk/forsytht/forsyth_libec.pdf.
25
Khoo Boo Teik, Teresa S. Encarnacion Tadem, and Shiraishi Takashi, Technocracy and Economic DecisionMaking in Southeast Asia: An Overview, South East Asian Study, Vol.3, No.2, http://englishkyotoseas.org/2014/08/vol-3-no-2-the-editors.

understood that they have only half-day talk, while the officers and investors had longer timein the discussion.26
3.2 Recommendations
3.2.1 Change the Culture and Philosophy
Changing only laws and regulations cannot bring success. The culture must bechanged too. The wrong attitude from all parts about the participation must be corrected. The
capacity building programs can increase more agreement with the access rights. Besides,
changing culture means changing the philosophy. The environmental democracy is the newvalues for the society. This is not the matters of technique, but the ideology. The campaign ofthe environmental democracy should focus on these new ethics; new form of state withtransparency, anti-corruption, the green rule of law and the green democracy. If theparticipation rights are well guaranteed, these core values cannot be reached in reality.
3.2.2 Develop More Skills in Practice
The failures in the past should be a lesson-learned experience for the future. The
practice can be compared with the real processes from other countries. The information andhearing process should be conducted from the impartial organ in appropriate timing andlocation. The input from the people consultation should be considered from the authority andshould bring impact and influence over the decisions, otherwise the people participation will
be a formality without content. The laws and regulations must fill the gap in detail. The
empirical researches and statistics collections are necessary to improve all relevant works.
These include the evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses of the real participation process
and the observation whether the laws and practice are ineffective in achieving their goals.
The good participation should build trust, reduce conflict and guarantee the cost andeffectiveness of the decision. The effective or authentic public participation is needed.27
Many countries have created new tools to participate. The electronic access andpublic participation through technology are nowadays easier and more practical. The accessto toxic release inventory data, the use of geographic information systems for community
decision-making and the use of e-mail or other social medias to communicate with decisionmakers or among the public should be wider applied.28
The National Environment Board and the Department of Environmental Quality
Promotion, which have general duty to promote the environmental protection, should takethese responsibilities. They need to empower and strengthen the citizens, civil societies andthe communities. All people should have the right to develop their understanding, skills andcapacity necessary for achieving equitable and effective participation. The empowerment
should focus on the rights of the vulnerable and disadvantaged persons, such as the poor andthe ethnic minorities. In the past the there were some activities from private organizations
26

Suntariya Muanpawong, Buergerbeteiligung im Anhoerungsverfahren bei umweltrelevanten Grossvorhaben:
Ein Vergleich des thailaendischen mit dem deutschen Umweltrecht, Peter Lang Verlag, 2003.
27
Cheryl Simrell King et al., The Question of Participation: Toward Authentic Public Participation in Public
Administration, 58 Pub. Admin. Rev. 317, 317 (1998).
28
Suntariya Muanpawong, Buergerbeteiligung im Anhoerungsverfahren bei umweltrelevanten Grossvorhaben:
Ein Vergleich des thailaendischen mit dem deutschen Umweltrecht, Peter Lang Verlag, 2003.

such as the Thailand Environment Institute (TEI). The TEI and the Access Initiative
developed a program for building capacity of civil society and mass media on environmental
governance and Principle 10 (Rio Declaration in Southeast Asia and the Greater Mekong
Sub-region).29 The TEI tried to work also with major stakeholders of the Map Ta Phut Project.
This organization suggested that the people’s access to information and decision-making
process according to the Principle 10 of the Rio Declaration should be promoted. The rightsof the underprivileged such as the poor, the elderly, aliens and local fishers must be
respected.30 This kind of activities should be expanded more. The work with mass media is
important to confirm this new culture and knowledge.31
4. The Strategic Reform Process
4.1 Development and Challenges
The lack of public participation in environmental matters has been one of the crucial
social problems in Thai society for a long time. The people demonstrated aggressively every
time, when the new high-risk projects were launched. There were no appropriate platforms todiscuss peacefully. Though many groups talked about the reform, the real reform has never
happened. The good constitutions containing the procedurals rights were already abolished.
The bills on people participation in environmental governance have never been pushed into
reality. There were no reform strategies.
4.2 Recommendations
4.2.1 Set Up the New Reform Body
The National Environment Board, the Office of Environmental Policy and Planning,the Law Reform Commission or any other state agency can initiate a reform. However, allrelevant organizations thought only of their own agendas, changed little organizational
structures and increased more personnel and income. They had no political will to increase
the participation rights in environmental matters. Setting up a new reform body should be acreative way. The National Environmental Justice Board should be set up as a newmechanism to cope with all environmental injustice problems. This new board should include
the justice people, scholars in environmental law and administrative law and the technicalexperts. Representatives from the civil societies, NGOs and communities should be members
in a good proportion. The protection of the access rights in the new constitution should beclearly proposed from the board. The specific laws on people participation in environmental
matters should be rapidly introduced. The regulations for detailed implementation should be
prepared. This new body can have possibly wide area of works including the codification ofenvironmental laws and the establishment of the environmental mediation center and theenvironmental court. It might have long schemes to empower and strengthen all parties.
29

http://www.tei.or.th/w_gg/Rio-Declaration.html, http://www.tei.or.th/tai/, http://www.accessinitiative.org,
https://bch.cbd.int/protocol/outreach/accessinitativeasia.pdf.
30
See more in http://www.mtp.rmutt.ac.th.
31
Thai Environmental Institute, Environmental Governance in Asia: Independence Assessments of National
Implementation of Rio Declaration’s Principle 10, https://bch.cbd.int/protocol/outreach/accessinitativeasia.pdf.

4.2.2 Develop the Proactive Role of the International Actors
Previously, the international organizations have had good success in helping Thailand
to develop the environmental justice system. The US-AID and the ADB have played vitalrole to push the specialized environmental court divisions.32 The UNEP, the UNCSD, theUNDP, the OECD or any other international actors can also work hard in this filed. In
principle, the Thai government is obliged to implement and monitor the multilateralenvironmental agreements, but in practice the implementation and the monitoring are
extremely weak. The active regional workshop on the implementation of Principle 10 of the
Rio Declaration and the application of the Bali Guidelines for the development of national
legislation on access to information, public participation, and access to justice inenvironmental matters in Latin America or in the Caribbean countries held by the UNEP
should be held in other regions too.33 The International NGOs, such as the Greenpeace, theGerman Heinrich Boell Foundation or any other organizations can also work across theregions in order that every continent can exchange experiences, especially the technicalassistance and capacity building programs.
4.2.3 Develop the Education on Environmental Administrative Law
In addition to the laws and works of the practitioners, the education on environmental
law should be progressively developed. Formerly, Thai jurists have no active role inestablishing the significant environmental legal principles. Thai society has not invested in
producing the environmental lawyers. We need environmental lawyers, who understand theprocedural justice. They must be consequently the good constitutional and administrative
lawyers too. The legal comparison should be intensively conducted and the best practices
from other countries could be selected as our role models.
Conclusion
This brief paper showed a rough historical perspectives and development of theparticipation rights in Thailand. The laws and regulations, the court judgments, theparticipation culture and practice and the reform process just started in the beginning phase.
We need to work harder among the Thai state and all interested groups. Besides, we must
learn more from other countries' experiences. The Principle 10 of the Rio Declaration and therelated guidelines should be the valuable guiding charters for the globe. The strong
commitment and interactive collaboration between the Thai and global communities todevelop the access rights of the people will bring peace and prosperity for all.
------------------------------------------

32

George (Rock) Pring & Catherine (Kitty) Pring, Greening the Justice, http://www.law.du.edu/documents/ectstudy/greening-justice-book.pdf, Kala Mulqueeny, Sherielysse Bonifacio and Jacqueline Esperilla, Asian Judges,
Green Courts and Access to Environmental Justice: An Asian Judges Network on the Environment, Journal of
Court Innovation, 3:1, http://law.pace.edu/sites/default/files/IJIEA/jciMulqueeny_JCI%203-17_cropped.pdf.
33
http://www.pnuma.org/forodeministros/19-mexico/documentos/Report%20LA%20workshop%20on%20
Principle%20and%20Bali%20Guidelines%2010_DIC%2019%20eng%20lcl.pdf,
http://www.pnuma.org/documentos/Programme_workshop_Caribbean_July_29.pdf.