Principles for Sustainable Regional Planning and Management in Thailand: Some Comments H. Detlef Kammeier

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Principles for Sustainable Regional Planning and
Management in Thailand Some CommentsH. Detlef
Kammeier

• Seminar on National and Regional Planning
• A Strategy for Sustainable Development of the
  Country
• Bangkok, 21 March 2002

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Who is this speaker?

• Last speaker of the day --- hard to grab the
  attention...
• Farang ?????? ?????????
• Honorary or adopted Thai?
• Long-term observer who is both sympathetic and
  critical...
• Objectives
• Some comments on the - wonderful - new drive of
  the DTCP

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Regions

• Permanent Regions
• (a) Administrative Regions
• Five macro-regions too large
• Changwat too small
• Multi-Changwat regions
• (b) Natural Regions
• Watersheds
• Coastal zones

• Economic Programme Regions
• International triangles, quadrangles, etc.
• Border towns hinterlands
• Eastern Seaboard
• Economic development corridors

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Sub-regionalization proposed by NESDB

• Spatial Development Framework (NESDB, 1997)
• Pragmatic mix of administrative, economic and
  natural-area criteria for dividing the country
  into ten functional development zones
• Basis Comparative economic advantages,
  protection of natural resources, multiple
  changwat regions
• Long-term, macro-area development objectives,
  30-year perspective
• The crucial question Have all agencies
  concerned agreed upon it?

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Dealing with Externalities (positive and
negative)

• Development of a nation and its regions
  Everything is interconnected at all levels, from
  the top to the bottom
• This requires both
• Division into ministerial and departmental
  responsibilities (vertical), and
• Strong horizontal connections and enforcement

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Principles Planning hierarchy and feed-back

• The Constitution Fundamental principles, rights,
  responsibilities
• Long-term development framework - non-spatial
  plus spatial
• Five-year plans prioritizing resource allocation
• Vertical programmes and plans (highways, energy,
  water, e.g.)
• Special economic and spatial coordination
  mechanisms (horizontal)
• Intermediate provincial plans, local plans
  (mainly horizontal)
• Local development control and permit management

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Principles Bottom-up plus top-down
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Private Land Ownership Rights and
Responsibilities

• Land owners rights are exaggerated
• Privatizing all gains of land development and
  leaving the losses to the public agencies
• This leads to Ribbon development, excessive
  fragmentation, inefficient use of scarce
  resources, environmental chaos

• Responsibilities?
• All land ownership carries a social
  responsibility
• Building on private land only with permit, not as
  an inherent right
• Socially responsible use of land requires close
  links between land use policies and taxation laws

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Rich provincial-level plans and programmes

• 1. Since 1971 Provincial five-year plans
  (including ???)
• 2. Since 1981 Changwat Structure Plan
• 3. Since 1986 Natural Resources and
  Environmental Plan
• 4. Since 1991 Strategic Development Plan
  (longer-term)
• 5. Since 1993 Investment Plan
• gtgtgt Too many plans in parallel, too much overlap,
  not enough follow-up two types of
  programmes/plans are sufficient
  spatial-environmental plus investment/management

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Weak Points of the Thai Urban Planning System

• General Plan OK in principle, but no functional
  Local Plan
• General Plan too loose, too soon out of date
  (5-year limit)
• Infrastructure-led development (mainly highways)
  but Highway Dept. not responsible for
  projecting/monitoring development
• The most important function of any General Plan
  is to coordinate all public agencies concerned
  even before guiding private land use
• The Local Plan should be the basis for building
  permits
• This requires a new type of Local Plan to be
  developed and used

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Decentralization under the Constitution

• This is not a five- or ten-year process but it
  requires a full generation of 30 years
• Four definitions of decentralization
• 1.Political/democratic process ADVANCED
• 2. Administrative reform MOVING
• 3. Fiscal reform MOVING
• 4. Economic (privatization) ALREADY THERE, ANYWAY

Vertical and horizontal directions
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Knowledge versus Power
Natl Politician
Local Politician
Local Planner