Publication: Assessing governability of environmental protected areas in Phetchaburi and Prachuap Kirikhan, Thailand
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Issued Date
2015
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Language
eng
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Mahidol University
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Springer Open Journal
Bibliographic Citation
Maritime Studies. Vol.14, (2015), 17
Suggested Citation
Suvaluck Satumanatpan, Ratana Chuenpagdee Assessing governability of environmental protected areas in Phetchaburi and Prachuap Kirikhan, Thailand. Maritime Studies. Vol.14, (2015), 17. doi:10.1186/s40152-015-0035-8 Retrieved from: https://repository.li.mahidol.ac.th/handle/123456789/2897
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Title
Assessing governability of environmental protected areas in Phetchaburi and Prachuap Kirikhan, Thailand
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Abstract
Environmental degradation continues in Thailand, despite the establishment of several
environmental protected areas (EPAs) since their inception in 1992. EPAs aim to promote
the conservation and sustainability of natural resources through decentralization and
improving the participation of local governments and communities. Not all EPAs are
successful, however. The purpose of this paper is to examine factors affecting the
implementation of the EPAs program in Thailand, using the Phetchaburi and Prachuap
Kirikhan EPA, in southern Thailand as a case study. Following the governability
assessment framework, natural, social, and governing systems associated with
the EPA were first described in terms of diversity, complexity, dynamics, and spatial and
jurisdictional scale. Next, we examined the extent to which the EPA, as a participatory
regulatory tool, corresponded with the natural and social systems it aimed to govern.
The analysis reveals that the EPA did not function as effectively as it should be, even
though the governing system was well structured to deal with complex coastal
ecosystems in the area. The deficiency in the function of the EPA was due
largely to poor sectoral coordination, weak financial commitments, and uncoordinated
governing interactions. Based on these findings, we suggest that the EPA should be
situated in a broader context of land and marine spatial planning and that it needs to
be attuned to existing policies in a way that collaboration between agencies and policy
integration is possible.