Haze pollution in Northern Thailand : causes, impacts, and implications for urban-rural integrated and multi-stakeholder approach in meso-level management | |
| Author | Yongyut Tiyapairat |
| Call Number | AIT Diss. no.UE-12-03 |
| Subject(s) | Air--Pollution--Thailand, Northern Haze--Thailand, Northern |
| Note | A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Urban Environmental Management |
| Publisher | Asian Institute of Technology |
| Series Statement | Dissertation ; no. UE-12-03 |
| Abstract | This dissertation examines forest and agricultural burnings and associa ted haze recurrence in northern Thailand, particularly in the provinces Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Mae Hong Son, and Lampang, which often recur annually during the dry season with varying intensity and severity. It studies causes and urban impacts of haze, and current policies and management practices at the national, provincial and local levels. Using the haze episodes in these four provinces in 2007 and 2008 as the principal empirical cases, various fire burnings embedded in a number of forest -based and f arming livelihood activities have been identified as causal factors. On the hand, it highlights the fact that the haze generated most severely impacts the urban areas or city in this region, affecting their population’s health, disrupting transportation and people’s mobility, and harming tourism industry. These constitute a major burden to local government and societal stakeholders in the urban municipalities. Yet, this burden’s solution/s currently lies beyond these urban ‘victims’ influence and control. The main findings of the dissertation include the following: dynamics and boundary of haze pollution problem are spatially linked and integrated within a continuum of forest/rural and the urban areas, but the latter are administratively separated by line and territorial jurisdictions in the gov’t institutional landscape; there is need for some level of horizontal integration and minimalization of departmental compartmentalism between various ministries and between their respective counterparts in the provinces in responding to haze issue; centralized management and lack of autonomy of provincial and local governments is a major constraint to initiating locally responsive and integrated planning to address linkages between causal and impact factors; and, multi- stakeholder dialogue and public participation at meso- and local levels have remained in serious deficits in policy making, planning and overall management of haze. The dissertation’s central conclusion is the need for an urban- rural integrated and multi- stakeholder approach in meso -level management of haze. It is argued that in an environmental problem such as this type of haze pollution in northern provinces, sources, burdens and solutions and major state and societal stakeholder groups are inseparable in space and transcends the conventional rural -urban divide. Linking rural and urban dimensions of haze management can open up prospects for using tools such as payment for environmental service and Coasian solution that are already being pursued an d operationalized in the domains of integrated water management and global warming issues. The dissertation’s theoretical contribution to Southeast Asia haze study literature is its adoption of an analytical perspective in policy and management framing of haze that is based on rural -urban linkage and on local trans - boundary dimension of the problem domain, a departure from either urban- centered or forest/rural centered framing of issues. This dissertation employs a mixed -method approach. Qualitative data g athering used are individual key informant interviews, group brainstorming meetings with experts and policy makers, document review, and policy discourse analysis. The quantitative data gathering consisted of two rounds of surveys, one in 2007 and another in 2008, both right after each haze episodes, with a sample of 1,200- respondent. |
| Year | 2012 |
| Corresponding Series Added Entry | Asian Institute of Technology. Dissertation ; no. UE-12-03 |
| Type | Dissertation |
| School | School of Environment, Resources, and Development (SERD) |
| Department | Department of Development and Sustainability (DDS) |
| Academic Program/FoS | Urban Environmental and Management (UE) |
| Chairperson(s) | Sajor, Edsel E. |
| Examination Committee(s) | Vilas Nitivattananon ;Nguyen Thi Kim Oanh |
| Degree | Thesis (Ph. D.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2012 |