Phuket Thailand Agenda 21

PHUKET MUNICIPAL AUTHORITY THAILAND CASE Study

PHUKET MUNICIPALITY AUTHORITY PROFILE The Province of Phuket is Thailand’s largest island, comprising 570 square kilometres. The island is located in the Andaman Sea, just off the western coast of Thailand and is linked to the mainland by the Sarasin Bridge. Local Government Status: Municipal Authority Population: 67,001, average density of 5,583 people per sq.km. Land Area: 14.7 sq. km Climate: Tropical, 2 seasons, rainy from April to November, and hot season from December to March Industry: Tin, rubber plantations, fishing and tourism. Education: 2 kindergartens, five municipal elementary schools. Secondary schools are under Provincial control. Health Facilities: 3 municipal health centres Transport: International airport, seaport and road. Phuket Municipal Authority (PMA) is a local administrative body upgraded from a sanitary district to a municipality in 1935. The authority is directly responsible for the provision of basic facilities and utilities to the community of Phuket Town. PMA has approximately 500 employees working within eight main administrative divisions. These include: • • • • • • • •

engineering; education; technical services and planning; finance; health and environment; social welfare; water supply; and secretariat or city clerks office.

The main issues faced by the PMA relating to Local Agenda 21 include; increasing urban populations, inequitable wealth distribution, garbage disposal, waste water management, drainage and flood control, traffic and transportation management, and protecting environmentally sensitive beaches under tourism development. The PMA commented that the government administrative structure has posed an obstacle to effective urban environmental management largely due to the lack of coordination of routine works, centralised legislative power and ineffective personnel management. The Thailand Environment Institute comments that this is in spite of the Municipal Act of 1

1933, upgraded Municipal Acts of 1953 and 1999, and the New Constitution (1997), which all in theory devolve power to Local Government. Current National Guidelines For Formal Environmental Management New Constitution 1997 – The Constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand is the principal regulation in governing the country. Environmental management issues included within the Constitution are: • • • • • •

the role of the local community in cultural heritage conservation; the provision of community comment on environmental impacts; the community’s right to utilise natural resources; the provision of information to the public - particularly in regard to projects affecting the environment; community representation during environmental impact assessment; and government responsibility for the promotion of public participation.

NESDB five year plans – Plans produced by the Office of the National Economic and Social Development Board. The motto of the eighth plan is “good economy, society without problems, and sustainable development”. The plan considers deteriorating natural resources, and the conflict and problems that arise concerning their use. Environmental management strategies included in the plan are; the principle to revive and renovate natural resources and the environment, the principle to promote public participation and the principle to manage natural resources and the environment. Natural Resources and Environmental Management Policy. Medium-term policy incorporated in the structural adjustment and social development sector. Important contents of this policy include: • • • •

promotion of forest conservation and rehabilitation; conservation, control and care of water resources; distribution of environmental management responsibilities to local authorities and the public; and strict law enforcement.

National Environmental Promotion and Conservation Policy and Plan (1997-2018). Developed to serve as a guide to systematically administer and manage the country’s environment so as to benefit the development of the country more effectively. The country’s resources are considered to be the foundation of sustainable development, and as a result their economic benefits are to be utilised on the basis of conservation and equity in society. The primary goals of the plan are to conserve the condition of natural resources while replenishing those that have been destroyed, control, prevent and reduce pollution, utilise appropriate technologies to prevent and reduce pollution, and create environmental awareness amongst communities.

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PHUKET URBAN ENVIRONMENT PLAN Preparing the Ground Phuket municipality experiences numerous environmental problems due to rapid economic growth and urban development. This situation was recognised by the Cabinet, who declared Phuket as a city with a special characteristic on 26 June 1990. This categorisation entitled Phuket to a specific supporting budget of 50 million baht per year. Despite this funding environmental problems intensified. Increasing concern about environmental quality in light of further urban and tourist development prompted the Phuket Municipal Authority to begin a process of strengthening their formal environmental management structures. In 1998, the Authority sought the assistance of the United Nations Urban Management Program (UMP-Asia) and the Thailand Environment Institute (TEI) to strengthen the capacity of the government in urban environmental planning and management, and to address the needs of stakeholders, while achieving a common vision for the future. The program had four main objectives: • • • •

develop an urban environmental policy consistent with provincial and national development plans; develop an urban environmental planning and management process; develop an on-going human resource capacity building program; and strengthen community organization participation.

The program was designed by the two agencies and the PMA to be consistent with the objectives of Local Agenda 21, namely capacity building in Local Government, community participation, and best practice environmental management. The Mayor is extremely supportive of these objectives, and as such has been an important driving force in prioritising Local Agenda 21 within the authority. Building Partnerships In order to achieve the project objectives a Project Committee was established composed of senior level representatives of Phuket’s stakeholder groups and chaired by the Mayor of Phuket. Stakeholders included: • • • • •

city government representatives; non-government organisations; private sector companies; representatives from community organisations; and representatives from local academic institutions.

The main tasks of the Committee were to provide the policy direction for the program, to review working progress, and to act on the recommendations arising from the consultative process. The Committee also ensured representation from public and private sector organisations involved in Phuket’s development.

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Determining Visions, Goals, Targets and Indicators The project began with the recognition that Phuket was in need of a clear environmental vision and policy, drafted with public participation. Three main steps included: • • •

collectively determining the direction of an urban environmental development plan through a series of multi-stakeholder seminars; drafting an urban environmental policy by a drafting sub-committee; and reviewing and approving the urban environmental policy.

In addition, the project required a number of new organisational structures to be created. An urban environmental management committee established in 1994 was upgraded and the following additional committees were established: • • • •

Urban Environmental Management Committee (UEMC) - based on the original 1994 committee, chaired by the mayor; includes local and provincial government, business, NGOs and communities; Urban Environmental Policy Drafting Committee (UEDC); chaired by the Environment and Health Division, with stakeholder representation; Urban Environmental Management (UEM) Sub-Committee - 22 municipal members co-chaired by the deputy city clerk and the director of environment and health division; and Program Implementation Task Force (PITF) (smaller group of 14 municipal staff chaired by the Chief, Environmental Health Sub-Division). This group has now been superseded by the UEM Sub-Committee.

The Urban Environmental Management Committee decided on the following urban environmental vision: • • •

make Phuket a healthy city with a healthy environment, a healthy society and a healthy economy; make Phuket an example of a city with sustainable tourism, natural resources and environment; and make Phuket a city with a distinct characteristic in terms of agriculture, arts, culture and local traditions.

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The Urban Environmental Policy Drafting Committee together with community representatives established the following principle objectives for the urban environment policy: • • • • • • • •

promoting public awareness and knowledge for creating heightened consciousness and understanding for keeping and improving environmental quality in various aspects; promoting local peoples participation in each step of environmental management; promoting proper landuse to create sustainable development; supporting the rehabilitation and improvement of environmental and natural resource qualities; approaching legal procedures and regulations with strictness and fairness; supporting continuous improvement in environmental quality and natural resource monitoring; promoting the establishment of an organisation for collaboration and monitoring of the operation; and promoting the investment in resources and establishment of a tax or specific collection fee for environmental management.

Creating a Local Action Planning Document The Urban Environment Policy Drafting Committee divided the policy into five main categories: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Green area, built environment, natural resources and land use; Traffic, air and noise pollution; Water pollution, drainage and water supply; Community environment and environmental health; and Solid and hazardous waste management.

During working group meetings, detail was provided in each of the five categories of the characteristics of the problems, and the community’s requirements or public consideration of each problem. Necessary changes were determined, and methodologies proposed. The policy will be implemented over a five-year period, and has now been incorporated into the Phuket Draft Municipal Plan. Implementing, Reporting, Monitoring and Reviewing The Municipal Plan is currently being finalised, and will be submitted for approval by the Mayor and Council in the near future. The actions contained within the plan will start to be implemented in late 2000, early 2001. As part of the implementation of the Municipal Plan two pilot programs were undertaken with the assistance of UMP-Asia and TEI which involved two of the eleven poor communities in Phuket. The communities were surveyed to identify the state of the environment and other general problems, the community organisational structure, and the potential for community involvement in environmental management. Community representatives participated in training courses and study tours, as well as in local and international seminars conducted as part of the overall project. Lack of secure land and housing tenure is a common problem in many communities leading to a lack of concern 5

and limited participation in improving living conditions. PMA addressed this problem by announcing that they have no plans to evict residents from municipal land. As a result community members have become increasingly involved. Results from the pilot programs were: Lhang Sarlarklang, or ‘Community Behind the Town Hall’ • • • • • •

very active in carrying out community activities; good coordination with members, increasing volunteer activities; over 50% participation in monthly cleaning activities; a community development fund established; an environmental project proposal has been prepared and forwarded to concerned agencies for funding support; and representatives participated in drafting environmental policy during the Phuket/UMP/TEI project activities.

Soi Kor Phai Community • •

good community organisational structures and volunteer groups are yet to be established; and representatives participated in drafting environmental policy during the Phuket/UMP/TEI project activities.

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Existing Programs PMA have a number of existing programs that are based on the principles of Local Agenda 21. Health Promotion and Protection Self care programs are being run in municipal primary schools, with students from Grade 4, 5 & 6. Health promotion programs, such as ‘aerobics in the park’, are also being provided to the community free of charge. Non-Governmental Organisations A community organisation, known as the ‘White Pearl Group’ is undertaking an antilittering campaign. This is targeted at school students, spreading the message of ‘reduce, reuse, recycle’. This program is supported by the PMA. Solid Waste Management Most people in the community do not discard waste properly, and the current waste collection system is not very effective. In 1992 the area of Klong Kao Pee at Muang district was designated for the development of landfill, an incinerator, and a hazardous waste incinerator. These facilities will serve the whole of Phuket province. The sanitary land field was established in 1994, with a land area of 32 acres, which is designed to serve the municipality for 12 years. The incinerator and the hazardous waste incinerator were completed in 1998, with pollution controls to ensure meeting national environmental standards. They are capable of processing 250 and 3 tonnes per day respectively. The current amount of hazardous waste is about 200-800 kilograms from the hospitals and clinics in Phuket. The PMA charges 5 baht for each kilogram. There are plans to increase the efficiency of the incinerator to 500 tonnes per day by the year 2012, and to construct a waste separating plant in 2002. Waste water Commercial buildings have been instructed to install their own waste water treatment equipment. This equipment would undertake primary waste water treatment, and then expel the water to the central treatment system. Unfortunately this system has not been very successful due to a reluctance from the community to purchase the equipment and little to no enforcement of the policy. The central waste treatment facility is currently being constructed, and while operational, is not at full capacity. At completion it will serve an area of 4 square kilometres treating 12,000 cubic metres of waste water per day. A second phase, which will supply treatment for the entire municipality, is now planned for construction. Information dissemination PMA has a 30 minute broadcast on the local radio station each week discussing activities which affect the community. Environmental management issues form part of this discussion. There are as yet no formal indicators or monitoring regimes for the urban environmental policy. Suggestions for indicators from the working group sessions have been included in the draft plan. Data collection and the interpretation of this data into information, is a relatively new concept to the PMA, and one that will take time to fully implement.

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The program to develop Phuket’s Urban Environmental Policy and Plan, forms part of the National Local Agenda 21 Taskforce’s efforts to promote the adoption of Local Agenda 21 within Local Governments. It is hoped that the experiences of both PMA and the Thailand Environment Institute during the undertaking of the program, and in future implementation of the Plan, will provide other Thai Local Governments with valuable assistance to undertake Local Agenda 21 activities. PMA Capacity Training Program undertaken by UMP Asia and TEI As part of this project, UMP Asia and TEI conducted a capacity building program for PMA employees. Capacity building is seen to be crucial for effective urban environmental management. In the municipality, the two types of employees are (1) elected political officials, and (2) municipal official staff. In addition, business, community organisations, NGOs and the general public are targeted for capacity building. The Urban Environmental Management Sub-Committee, became the main target for capacity building in the municipality. Notably, the target groups worked together with UMP Asia and TEI in conducting their own training needs assessment. The four major areas to be addressed were: • • • •

environmental management and sustainable development; cooperation between agencies; planning and management; and english language skills.

The Capacity Building Program was then tailored to the needs of each target group in short, medium and long-term training activities. The short-term training program was carried out as part of the project and to prepare participants for drafting the environmental policy between November 1998 and May 1999. Thereafter, the participants prepared their own assessment, identifying the outcomes, problems occurred and suggestions for future training programs. Future training needs highlighted were: • • •

additional training required for – development of environmental groups or clubs, public speaking and presentation, skills development, and cooperation between organisations. further training on policy and action plan formulation; and how to emphasise awareness-raising activities.

The medium-term training program aims to build the capacity of municipal officials and to strengthen the various groups working in collaboration with the municipality on urban environmental policy, plans and projects. The long-term program will promote and strengthen the organisation of new groups, as well as continuing to work with established environmental groups, by focusing on activities that create opportunities for public participation. The PMA employees who attended the course commented that it was very useful, and applicable to their daily responsibilities. The course was limited however to senior employees and heads of departments, while there is an identified lack of skills below this level. No further training programs are planned for other employees at this stage. 8

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Key Contact Dr. Thawee Limsomboon Director of Public Health and Environment Phuket Municipal Authroity 52/1 Narison Road Phuket 83000 Thailand Tel: + 66 76 222-931

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