A Green Criminological Framework for PM2.5 Pollution Prevention in the Bangkok Metropolitan Region
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Abstract
Since PM2.5 pollution is often considered an environmental crime, this study proposes a green criminological framework for PM2.5 pollution prevention in the Bangkok Metropolitan Region based on the problem-solving approach for crime prevention. Three data collection methods were applied in this study: documentary research, in-depth interviews, and focus groups. There were 26 participants in total. Qualitative content analysis was employed to identify the significant patterns embedded in the collected data. According to the research findings, challenges to PM2.5 pollution mitigation were classified into three regulatory voids: political voids, institutional voids, and knowledge voids. Combining the possible solutions to the regulatory voids and suggestions from all three data sources, alternative solutions to the PM2.5 crisis were conceptualized into a green criminological framework for PM2.5 pollution prevention. The solutions are based on environmental crime prevention approaches, including socio-legal, regulatory, and social action strategies. These approaches emphasize the enhancement of environmental laws and law enforcement, investments in public infrastructure, land use planning, application of economic incentives and technological solutions, and public participation in pollution monitoring.
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
References
• Administrative Court of Thailand. (2013, April). National Report of Thailand: The Administrative Judge and Environmental Law. Supreme Administrative Court of Thailand. https://www.admincourt.go.th/admincourt/upload/webcmsen/Judgment/Judgment_160822_105316.pdf#search=The%20Administrative%20Judge%20and%20Environmental%20Law
• Alfaro, J., & Miller, S. A. (2014). Applying industrial symbiosis to smallholder farms: Modeling a case study in Liberia, West Africa. Journal of Industrial Ecology, 18(1), 145–154. https://doi.org/10.1111/jiec.12077
• Angkasa, A. (2020). Green victimology perspective the Law Number 32 of 2009 on environmental protection and management. Jurnal Media Hukum, 27(2), 228–239. https://doi.org/10.18196/jmh.20200153
• Bangkok Post. (2019, October 1). BMA to test 'air purification tower.’ https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/1762664/bma-to-test-air-purification-tower
• Banzhaf, S., Ma, L., & Timmins, C. (2019). Environmental justice: The economics of race, place, and pollution. The Journal of Economic Perspectives, 33(1), 185–208. https://doi.org/ 10.1257/jep.33.1.185
• Brisman, A., & South, N. (2013). A green‐cultural criminology: An exploratory outline. Crime Media Culture, 9(2), 115–135. https://doi.org/10.1177/1741659012467026
• Brisman, A., & South, N. (2015). An assessment of Tonry and Farrington's four major crime prevention strategies as applied to environmental crime and harm. Varstvoslovje, Journal of Criminal Justice and Security, 15(2), 127–150. https://www.fvv.um.si/rv/arhiv/2015-2/02_Brisman_South_rV_2015-2-E.html
• Boonlert, T. (2021, June 16). The never-ending story. Bangkok Post. https://www.bangkokpost.com/life/social-and-lifestyle/2133183/the-never-ending-story
• Buakamsri, T. (2019, January 16). ปกป้องสุขภาพคนไทย ถึงเวลาเปลี่ยนมาตรฐานฝุ่น PM2.5 [Protecting Thai people’s health, time to change PM2.5 standards]. https://www.greenpeace.org/thailand/story/1919/upgrade-aqi-standard-to-save-life/
• Buchanan, D., & Badham, R. (2020). Power, politics, and organizational change (3rd ed.). SAGE Publications.
• Business & Human Rights Resource Centre. (2020, March). Strategic lawsuits against public participation: Southeast Asia cases & recommendations for governments, businesses, & civil society. https://media.business-humanrights.org/media/documents/files/SLAPPs_in_SEA_2020_Final.pdf
• Carrabine, E., Cox, P., Lee, M., Plummer, K., & South, N. (2009). Criminology: A sociological introduction (2nd ed.). Routledge.
• Chaiakaraphong, N., & Sirivunnabood, P. (2020). Applying green criminology to explain wildlife trafficking in Thailand. International Journal of Innovation, Creativity and Change, 12(11), 260–272. https://www.ijicc.net/images/vol12/iss11/121123_Chaiakaraphong_2020_E_R.pdf
• Chan, P. (2022, August 26). Thai government pushed to consider overdue pollutant bill. Fair Planet. https://www.fairplanet.org/story/thai-government-pushed-to-consider-overdue-pollutant-bill/
• Cherney, A. (2006, May 31). Problem solving for crime prevention. Trends & Issues in Crime and Criminal Justice no. 314. Australian Institute of Criminology. https://www.aic.gov.au/publications/tandi/tandi314
• Chertow, M. R. (2007). “Uncovering” industrial symbiosis. Journal of Industrial Ecology, 11(1), 11–30. https://doi.org/10.1162/jiec.2007.1110
• Chinwetkitvanich, S., Ngamsritrakul, T. & Panyametheekul, S. (2021). New normal role in PM2.5 reduction in Bangkok. International Journal of Environmental Science and Development, 12(4), 100–106. https://doi.org/10.18178/ijesd.2021.12.4.1325
• ChooChuay, C., Pongpiachan, S., Tipmanee, D., Suttinun, O., Deelaman, W., Wang, Q., Xing, L., Li, G., Han, Y., Palakun, J., & Cao, J. (2020). Impacts of PM2.5 sources on variations in particulate chemical compounds in ambient air of Bangkok, Thailand. Atmospheric Pollution Research, 11(9), 1657–1667. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apr.2020.06.030
• Davis, C., & Abraham, J. (2013). Putting pharmaceutical regulation to the test. In C. Davis & J. Abraham (Eds.), Unhealthy Pharmaceutical Regulation: Innovation, Politics and Promissory Science (pp. 5–35). Palgrave MacMillan.
• Davis, N. (2020, March 3). Outdoor air pollution cuts three years from human lifespan—Study. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/mar/03/outdoor-air-pollution-cuts-three-years-from-human-lifespan-study
• Davies, P. A. (2014). Green crime and victimization: Tensions between social and environmental justice. Theoretical Criminology, 18(3), 300–316. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362480614522286
• de Prez, P. (2000). Excuses, excuses: The ritual trivialisation of environmental prosecutions. Journal of Environmental Law, 12(1), 65–78. https://doi.org/10.1093/jel/12.1.65
• EANET. (2020). Thailand: Policies and practices concerning acid deposition. https://www.eanet.asia/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/12-Thailand_Factsheet_compressed.pdf
• Ellefsen, R., Sollund, R., & Larsen, G. (2012). Eco-global crimes: Contemporary problems and future challenges. Routledge.
• Eman, K., Fields, C. B., & Mesko, G. (2009). Crimes against the environment: Green criminology and research challenges in Slovenia. Varstvoslovje, Journal of Justice and Security, 11(4), 574–592. https://dk.um.si/Dokument.php?id=40224&lang=eng
• Fitzgerald, A., & Baralt, L. B. (2010). Media constructions of responsibility for the production and mitigation of environmental harms: The case of mercury‐contaminated fish. Canadian Journal of Criminology and Criminal Justice, 52(4), 341–368. https://doi.org/10.3138/cjccj.52.4.341
• Fuller, R., Landrigan, P. J., Balakrishnan, K., Bathan, G., Bose-O’Reilly, S., Brauer, M., Caravanos, J., Chiles, T., Cohen, A., Corra, L., Cropper, M., Ferraro, G., Hanna, J., Hanrahan, D., Hu, H., Hunter, D., Janata, G., Kupka, R., Lanphear, B., . . . Yan, C. (2022). Pollution and health: a progress update. The Lancet Planetary Health, 6(6), e535–e547. https://doi.org/10.1016/s2542-5196(22)00090-0
• Goyes, D. R., Abaibira, M. A., Baicué, P., Cuchimba, A., Ñeñetofe, D. A. T., Sollund, R., South, N., & Wyatt, T. (2021). Southern green cultural criminology and environmental crime prevention: Representations of nature within four Colombian indigenous communities. Critical Criminology, 29, 469–485. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10612-021-09582-0
• Greenpeace. (2018). Greenpeace’s city rankings for PM2.5 in Thailand. https://greenpeace.or.th/s/right-to-clean-air/PM2.5CityRankingsREV.pdf
• Greenpeace Southeast Asia. (2022, June 2). Air pollution responsible for 29,000 deaths across 31 Thai provinces in 2021— Greenpeace. https://rb.gy/qoo2ij
• Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL). (2019, June). Madrid: Healthy air, healthier children: Traffic pollutes schools and threatens children’s health. https://www.env-health.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Healthy-air-children_Madrid.pdf
• Htwe, T. T. H., Thepanondh, S., Kwonpongsagoon, S., Chompunth. C., & Jindamanee, K. (2021). Social restriction effects on air pollution: How the PM2.5 concentration changed with lockdown management of COVID-19 pandemic control in Bangkok Thailand. Environment Asia, 14(3), 80–90. https://doi.org/10.14456/ea.2021.25
• Hughes, G. (2001). Crime prevention. In E. McLaughlin & J. Muncie (Eds.), The SAGE Dictionary of Criminology (pp. 63–64). SAGE Publications.
• Human Rights Lawyers Association. (2019, October). Recommendations on the protection of those who exercise their rights and freedoms from strategic lawsuits against public participations. https://th.boell.org/sites/default/files/2020-04/Final_TRANS-report-SLAPP_A5.pdf
• IQAir. (2020). 2019 World Air Quality Report: Region & City PM2.5 Ranking. https://www.greenpeace.org/static/planet4-thailand-stateless/2020/02/91ab34b8-2019-world-air-report.pdf
• Januszkiewicz, K., & Kowalski, K. G. (2019). Air purification in highly-urbanized areas with the use of TiO2. New approach in designing urban public space with beneficial human condition. IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering, 603(5), Article 032100. https://doi.org/10.1088/1757-899X/603/3/032100
• Juangjun, A. (2015). การทุจริตเชิงนโยบาย [Policy Corruption]. Legislative Institutional Repository of Thailand. https://dl.parliament.go.th/handle/20.500.13072/521142
• Kanchanasuta, S., Sooktawee, S., Patpai, A., & Vatanasomboon, P. (2020). Temporal variations and potential source areas of fine particulate matter in Bangkok, Thailand. Air, Soil and Water Research, 13, 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1177/1178622120978203
• Karnjanawat, N., & Mallikamarl, S. (2011). A local legislative model for the reduction and elimination of environmental pollution in Thailand. Journal of Population and Social Studies, 20(1), 57–69. https://so03.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/jpss/article/view/84531
• Katz, R. S. (2010). The corporate crimes of Dow Chemical and the failure to regulate environmental pollution. Critical Criminology, 18(4), 295–306. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10612-010-9117-5
• Klitgaard, R. (1998). International cooperation against corruption. Finance & Development, 35(1), 3–6. https://doi.org/10.5089/9781451953220.022
• Kundhikanjana, W. (2019, March 16). Identifying the sources of winter air pollution in Bangkok Part I. Towards Data Science. https://towardsdatascience.com/identifying-the-sources-of-winter-air-pollution-in-bangkok-part-i-d4392ea608dc
• Li, X., & Liu, X. (2021). Effects of PM2.5 on chronic airway diseases: A review of research progress. Atmosphere, 12(8), Article 1068. https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos12081068
• Lv, J., & Qin, S. (2016). On low-carbon technology. Low Carbon Economy, 7, 107–115. http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/lce.2016.73010
• Lynch, M. J. (2020). Green criminology and environmental crime: Criminology that matters in the age of global ecological collapse. Journal of White Collar and Corporate Crime, 1(1), 50–61. https://doi.org/10.1177/2631309X19876930
• Lynch, M. J., & Stretsky, P. B. (2003). The meaning of green: Contrasting criminological perspectives. Theoretical Criminology, 7(2), 217–238. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362480603007002414
• Mahakul, V. (2017). กรณีศึกษาการทุจริตโครงการก่อสร้างบ่อบำบัดน้ำเสียคลองด่าน [A Case Study of Corruption in the Klong Dan Waste Water Treatment Pond Construction Project]. National Anti-Corruption Commission. https://www.nacc.go.th/images/article/freetemp/article_20161012160349.pdf
• Manisalidis, I., Stavropoulou, E., Stavropoulos, A., & Bezirtzoglou, E. (2020). Environmental and health impacts of air pollution: A review. Front Public Health, 8, Article 14. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2020.00014
• Marks, D., & Miller, M. A. (2022). A transboundary political ecology of air pollution: Slow violence on Thailand's margins. Environmental Policy and Governance, 32(4), 305–319. https://doi.org/10.1002/eet.1976
• Ministry of Foreign Affairs. (2014, August 29). National Broadcast by General Prayut Chan-o-cha, Head of the National Council for Peace and Order 29 August 2014. Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kingdom of Thailand. https://www.mfa.go.th/en/content/5d5bce2415e39c3060013fff?cate=5f1a9f2340789f61121eca84
• Narita, D., Oanh, N. T. K., Sato, K., Huo, M., Permadi, D. A., Chi, N. N. H., Ratanajaratroj, T., & Pawarmart, I. (2019). Pollution characteristics and policy actions on fine particulate matter in a growing Asian economy: The case of Bangkok Metropolitan Region. Atmosphere, 10(5), Article 227. https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos10050227
• Nikam, J., Archer, D., & Nopsert, C. (2021) Air quality in Thailand: Understanding the regulatory context. (SEI Working Paper). Stockholm Environment Institute, Sweden, February. https://www.sei.org/publications/air-quality-thailand-regulatory-context/
• Panyametheekul, S., & Panswad, T. (2018, May 5). ดราม่า เรื่อง PM2.5 (ตอน 3): สถานการณ์ของ กทม [Drama on PM2.5 (Episode 3): Bangkok’s situations]. ThaiPublica. https://thaipublica.org/2018/05/air-pollution03/
• Parker, C., Scott, S., & Geddes, A. (2019). Snowball Sampling. SAGE Research Methods Foundations. https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/211022791.pdf
• Pedersen, O. (2014). Opinion: What happened to environmental justice? Environmental Law Review, 16(2), 87–90. https://doi.org/10.1350/enlr.2014.16.2.207
• Pollution Control Department. (2018, August). โครงการศึกษาแหล่งกำเนิดและแนวทางการจัดการฝุ่นละอองขนาดไม่เกิน 2.5 ไมครอนในพื้นที่กรุงเทพและปริมณฑล [A Study on the Sources of PM2.5 in Bangkok metropolis and Vicinities and PM2.5 Management Approaches]. https://www.pcd.go.th/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/pcdnew-2020-06-05_02-34-12_147817.pdf
• Potter, G. (2014). The criminogenic effects of environmental harm: Bringing a ‘green’ perspective to mainstream criminology. In T. Spapens, R. White, & M. Kluin (Eds.), Environmental crime and its victims: Perspectives within Green Criminology (pp. 7–21). Ashgate Publishing.
• Saengmanee, P. (2021, February 10). Change is in the air. Bangkok Post. https://www.bangkokpost.com/life/social-and-lifestyle/2065723/change-is-in-the-air
• Sahramäki, I., Korsell, L. M., & Kankaanranta, T. (2015). Prevention of environmental crime through enforcement—Finland and Sweden compared. Journal of Scandinavian Studies in Criminology and Crime Prevention, 16(1), 41–59. https://doi.org/10.1080/14043858.2014.1000649
• Sahramäki, I. P., & Kankaanranta, T. T. (2021). Regulatory voids in the prevention of environmental crime in Finland. European Journal of Criminology, 00(0), 1–22. https://doi.org/10.1177/14773708211020634
• Scott, M., & Tollefson, C. (2010). Strategic lawsuits against public participation: The British Columbia experience. Review of European Community & International Environmental Law 19(1), 45–57. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9388.2010.00663.x
• Skinnider, E. (2013, March). Effect, Issues and Challenges for Victims of Crimes that have a Significant Impact on the Environment. In International Centre for Criminal Law Reform and Criminal Justice Policy [Workshop]. Emerging Forms of Crime That Have an Impact on the Environment: Lessons Learned. https://www.unodc.org/documents/commissions/CCPCJ/CCPCJ_Sessions/CCPCJ_22/PNI_Workshop/Paper_ICCLR_CJP_PNI-Workshop.pdf
• Sofia, D., Gioiella, F., Lotrecchiano, N., & Giuliano, A. (2020). Mitigation strategies for reducing air pollution. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 27, 19226–19235. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-08647-x
• South, N. (2014a). Green criminology, environmental crime prevention and the gaps between law, legitimacy and justice. Revija Za Kriminalistiko In Kriminologijo [Journal of Criminal Investigation and Criminology], 65(4), 373–381. https://www.policija.si/images/stories/Publications/JCIC/PDF/2014/04/JCIC2014-04_NigelSouth_GreenCriminologyEnvironmentalCrimePrevention.pdf
• South, N. (2014b). Green criminology: Reflections, corrections, horizons. International Journal for Crime, Justice and Social Democracy, 3(2), 5–20. https://doi.org/10.5204/ijcjsd.v3i2.172
• South, N. (2016) Free trade agreements, private courts and environmental exploitation: Disconnected policies, denials and moral disengagement. International Journal for Crime, Justice and Social Democracy, 5(4), 45–59. https://doi.org/10.5204/ijcjsd.v5i4.307
• Sriphonkrang, N. (2017). Policy corruption deterrence. National Anti-Corruption Commission Journal, 10(1), 51–61.
• Spapens, T., White, R., & Kluin, M. (Eds.). (2014). Environmental crime and its victims: Perspectives within Green Criminology. Routledge.
• Stavins, R. N. (1997). Economic incentives for environmental regulation. In P. Newman (Ed.), The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics and the Law. Macmillan Reference.
• Stavins, R. N. (2008). Cap-and-trade or a carbon tax? The Environmental Forum, 16. https://scholar.harvard.edu/files/stavins/files/column_22.pdf
• Stavins, R. N. & Whitehead, B. W. (1992). Pollution charges for environmental protection: A policy link between energy and environment. Annual Review of Energy and Environment, 17, 187–210. https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/pdf/10.1146/annurev.eg.17.110192.001155
• Teeratanabodee, W. (2021, June 22). Thailand’s hazy problem – Challenges in passing clean air legislation. Fulcrum. https://fulcrum.sg/thailands-hazy-problem-challenges-in-passing-clean-air-legislation/
• Thailand Clean Air Network. (2019, May). Clean Air White Paper, Thailand. https://thailandcan.org/Clean_Air_White_Pape_EN.pdf
• Thailand Clean Air Network (2020, March). Clean air blue paper: Insights on the impact of air pollution and its root causes. https://thailandcan.org/Clean_Air_Blue_Paper_EN.pdf
• Tsiatsianis, D. (2021). Who qualifies as an environmental victim? A cross-jurisdictional case-study in the waste-sector. The Resolution Journal, 3, 1–26. https://www.jerseylawcommission.org.je/_files/ugd/f5ec37_dcbd00dd1d964dd49c18a2b6b9cfeba2.pdf
• Tsikolenko, V. (2017, June 30). Environmental crime – Challenges and propositions. Cross-border Research Association. https://www.cross-border.org/2017/06/30/environmental-crime-challenges-and-propositions/
• United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO). (2017). Terms of Reference: Independent terminal evaluation of GEF UNIDO CleanTech Programme for Small and Medium Enterprises in India (UNIDO SAP ID: 120345 / GEF Project ID:4065). https://www.unido.org/sites/default/files/files/2018-01/TOR_GFIND-120345_TE-2018_Dec%202017_Draft.pdf
• Vargas, B., Miño, G., Vega, P., & Mariño, J. (2019). Application of resource efficient and cleaner production through best management practice in a pallet manufacturer sawmill located in the city of Puyo, Ecuador. Maderas. Ciencia y tecnología, 21(3), 367–380. http://dx.doi.org/10.4067/S0718-221X2019005000309
• Voice Online. (2020, February 3). ร้อง 'นายกฯ' ปิดโรงงานน้ำตาล ปล่อยฝุ่น PM 2.5 [Requesting ‘Prime Minister’ to shut down the sugar factory producing PM2.5]. https://voicetv.co.th/read/KmQV6yeDo
• Welsh, B. C., & Farrington, D. P. (2012). Crime prevention and public policy. In D. P. Farrington & B. C. Welsh (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Crime Prevention (pp. 1–18). Oxford University Press.
• Wetchayont, P., Hayasaka, T., & Khatri, P. (2021). Air quality improvement during COVID-19 lockdown in Bangkok Metropolitan, Thailand: Effect of the long-range transport of air pollutants. Aerosol and Air Quality Research, 21(7), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.4209/aaqr.200662
• White, R. (2003). Environmental issues and the criminological imagination. Theoretical Criminology, 7(4), 483–506. https://doi.org/10.1177/13624806030074005
• White, R. (2009). Environmental victims and resistance to state crime through transnational activism. Social Justice, 36(3(117)), 46–60. http://www.jstor.org/stable/29768548
• White, R. (2010). A green criminology perspective. In E. McLaughlin & T. Newburn (Eds.), The SAGE Handbook of Criminological Theory (pp. 410–426). SAGE Publications Ltd.
• White, R. (2013). Environmental crime and problem-solving courts. Crime, Law and Social Change, 59(3), 267–278. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10611-013-9414-5
• White, R. (2015). Environmental victimology and ecological justice. In D. Wilson and S. Ross. (Eds.), Crime, victims and policy: international contexts, local experiences (pp. 33–52). Palgrave Macmillan.
• Wipatayotin, A., & Ngamkham, W. (2018, June 24). Politicians linked to electronic waste scams. Bangkok Post. https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/special-reports/1491350/politicians-linked-to-electronic-waste-scams