PM Yingluck Calls For Green Plan For Rayong And Pollution Clampdown

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PM calls for green plan for Rayong and pollution clampdown

Anapat Deechuay

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra yesterday instructed authorities to turn now-polluted Rayong into a role model for environmental-quality management.

"We have received many complaints about pollution in Rayong. So, I hope the Industry Ministry, the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry and provincial authorities will draw up action plans to ensure local factories are environmentally friendly. We need a green plan," she said as she inspected the Map Ta Phut Industrial Estate in the province.

The inspection was made ahead of her mobile Cabinet meeting this week.

Yingluck also assigned Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Yongyuth Wichaidit to demarcate proper zoning in Rayong to determine which zones should be allocated as residential areas and which should be marked for factories.

"Also, people should be inculcated with environmental concerns. Campaigns must be launched to make locals around industrial zones love and know how to take care of the environment," she said.

Rayong Governor Senee Jitkasem said his provincial government in collaboration with the Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand (IEAT) had already worked out both short- and long-term plans to ensure factories in Rayong-based industrial estates comply with environmental laws and regulations.

He said inspections had been carried out at factories needing the renewal of their operating licences. If inspections showed the factories were below standard, they would be instructed to improve their systems.

IEAT governor Veerapong Chaiperm said his agency had implemented a clear-cut plan on the reduction and prevention of pollution.

Yingluck said an information centre should also be set up to facilitate the relief and rescue operations in the event of emergencies.

"Life-saving operations are the priority. Also, factories should be advised as to how to relocate their machinery to safe places if a flood hits. We have to be well prepared. We need to learn a lesson from the big flood last year," the prime minister said.

She also listened to reports on how authorities had investigated the fatal fire that erupted at the BST Elastomers in Rayong's Map Ta Phut area last month.

"We have also provided remedial action for people affected [by that fire]," Senee said.

During Yingluck's trip to the Map Ta Phut Industrial Estate, residents of Sapsomboon Village in Rayong's Bang Chang district showed up to seek her help.

"After buying houses, we have been told this housing estate has been located in a forest reserve," said residents' representative Prateep Kohkaeo, who was accompanied by more than 100 affected people.

Yingluck instructed Yongyuth to look into the complaint and provide help for the residents.

"We have lived there for about eight years already. But during the past four or five years, the Royal Forest Department has accused us of encroaching on forestland," said Nan Saengsuwan, one of the people affected.

-- The Nation 2012-06-18

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Cabinet to Allocate Funds for Development Projects in Four Eastern Provinces

BANGKOK, 17 June 2012 (NNT) - The fifth mobile Cabinet meeting, scheduled for 18-19 June 2012, at the Royal Cliff Grand Hotel in Pattaya, Chon Buri, will allocate funds for development projects, proposed by four provinces, namely Chon Buri, Rayong, Chanthaburi, and Trat.

Each of the four provinces will be provided with a fund of 100 million baht. Another 100 million baht will be allocated for this cluster of eastern provinces, which will receive 25 million baht each. This means that a budget of 125 million baht will be approved for each province.

Projects to be proposed by the four provinces focus on the development of infrastructure and tourism facilities. They include the expansion of waterworks, road construction, the development of local stadiums, the construction of a one-stop service center to cope with increasing cross-border trade and tourism, water management, flood prevention, the beachfront landscape improvement, tourism safety, the improvement of a runway, the planting of cash crops to ease falling fruit prices, and the development of a vocational learning center. The development of the Map Prachan Reservoir in Bang Lamung district is among the projects to be proposed by Chon Buri. The 30-million-baht project aims to increase tap water production to prevent possible water shortages and cope with the rising demand and the growing number of tourists in Pattaya beach resort.

-- NNT 2012-06-18

[DeepInTheForest]

At least on the surface, this seems like a well-intentioned initiative, and past due. There are several seemingly specific policy initiatives mentioned ("IEAT governor Veerapong Chaiperm said his agency had implemented a clear-cut plan on the reduction and prevention of pollution.")

But what are they? The devil is in the details. Without specific plans, these pronouncements are of course of dubious value. The article does not mention mechanisms for planning and enforcement. And saying "I hope the Industry Ministry, the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry and provincial authorities will draw up action plans to ensure local factories are environmentally friendly." is obviously worthless. We need to do more than hope. We need to hold people and institutions accountable, and create environmental watchdog and enforcement bodies where necessary.

"If inspections showed the factories were below standard, they would be instructed to improve their systems."

Where is the threat to industry here? If anyone expects companies to be proactive in controlling their pollution, this absolutely toothless statement should lay that expectation to rest.

Then there is this: "Also, people should be inculcated with environmental concerns. Campaigns must be launched to make locals around industrial zones love and know how to take care of the environment," she said."

Well, the problem is not with the locals. In case anyone has forgotten, the problem is the polluters. Somehow we have managed to contrive a narrative that indicts locals for the problems that have been foisted on them by hugely irresponsible corporate enterprises. This is prima facie ridiculous.

The second article seems unrelated to the first. Advice to OP: perhaps these sorts of posts could be separated in future.

Edited June 18, 2012 by DeepInTheForest

[hellodolly]

At least on the surface, this seems like a well-intentioned initiative, and past due. There are several seemingly specific policy initiatives mentioned ("IEAT governor Veerapong Chaiperm said his agency had implemented a clear-cut plan on the reduction and prevention of pollution.")

But what are they? The devil is in the details. Without specific plans, these pronouncements are of course of dubious value. The article does not mention mechanisms for planning and enforcement. And saying "I hope the Industry Ministry, the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry and provincial authorities will draw up action plans to ensure local factories are environmentally friendly." is obviously worthless. We need to do more than hope. We need to hold people and institutions accountable, and create environmental watchdog and enforcement bodies where necessary.

"If inspections showed the factories were below standard, they would be instructed to improve their systems."

Where is the threat to industry here? If anyone expects companies to be proactive in controlling their pollution, this absolutely toothless statement should lay that expectation to rest.

Then there is this: "Also, people should be inculcated with environmental concerns. Campaigns must be launched to make locals around industrial zones love and know how to take care of the environment," she said."

Well, the problem is not with the locals. In case anyone has forgotten, the problem is the polluters. Somehow we have managed to contrive a narrative that indicts locals for the problems that have been foisted on them by hugely irresponsible corporate enterprises. This is prima facie ridiculous.

The second article seems unrelated to the first. Advice to OP: perhaps these sorts of posts could be separated in future.

Agreed just another toothless announcement to make it sound like she is doing her job. The fact is all she is doing is creating more opportunity for corruption.

I notice no where did she talk about getting qualified expert's to suggest a plan to do it. Just politicians. Any experts she gets will probably be more useless academicians.

[MAJIC]

I was in Rayong a month ago,and the The PM should visit the whole Beach length of Rayong,which has a high tide mark of every conceivable piece of Junk imanginable,15 feet wide on the sand in front of the Restaurants and other seafood traders. However some Restaurants obviously rake the sand clean in front of their Restaurants,and perhaps that is the answer to the Disgraceful, filthy, beach condition,i.e make it a condition that the traders keep their beach frontage clean as part of their licence to trade.who wants to pay sky high prices for Seafood,while kicking away the debris under foot,even Pattaya beaches can't be this bad!