Policy and Legal Recommendations for Sustainable Management of Transboundary Haze Pollution in Ubon Ratchathani Province, Thailand, and Champasak Province, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic
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Abstract
This study aimed to 1) Evaluate legal measures and policy frameworks for managing transboundary haze to prevent PM2.5 pollution, 2) Analyze the limitations and gaps within those legal and policy measures, and 3) Propose policy recommendations and legal mechanisms to address transboundary haze problems in Sirindhorn District, Ubon Ratchathani Province, Thailand, and Phonthong and Shanasomboun Districts, Champasak Province, Lao People’s Democratic Republic. A qualitative research approach was employed through content analysis of academic documents combined with in-depth interviews with 67 key-informants, including executives, policymakers, local forest conservation officers, community leaders, and affected residents from both sides of the border.
The study found that 1) Thailand and the Lao People’s Democratic Republic had clear and comprehensive legal and policy frameworks on environmental management. However, in practice, both countries faced problems of discontinuity in law enforcement and overlapping authority among responsible agencies in protected forests, reserved forests, and border forest areas. 2) The limitations and gaps of legal and policy measures were found in four main aspects: the complexity of institutional structures and authority, the shortage of resources and officer capacity, the persistence of burning behavior as a traditional way of life in border communities, and the gap in cross-border cooperation mechanisms, which remain at a formal level rather than being effectively enforced, and 3) Policy recommendations emphasize the necessity to enhance laws and regulations in border areas by defining both the main and shared responsibilities of each agency more clearly, establishing joint coordination centers and monitoring mechanisms, creating incentive measures for alternatives to open burning of agricultural residues, implementing state mechanisms to regulate operations, and promoting bilateral cooperation at both domestic and international levels to establish a sustainable foundation for clean-air governance on both sides of the border.
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