Policy Instruments for Managing Urban Green Spaces in Thailand

Abstract

Urban green space is one of the major element of urban environment because the use of green spaces has profound effect on urban residents’ quality of life. A scarcity of urban green spaces caused by urban growth and urban sprawl has brought a need for policy instruments that are effective for urban green space management. This article examines four types of policy instruments used in Thailand for urban green space development, regulatory instruments, market-based instruments, procedural instruments, and institutional instruments. The fidings show that the existing instruments have some limitationsin policy implementation due to a lack of law enforcement and the suitable green standard for urban communities in Thailand. Moreover, suggestions are provided to indicate alternative instruments used for providing and maintaining urban green spaces in other countries which emphasize on the involvement of stakeholders in the development of urban green spaces, guiding the development of effective instruments for urban green space management in Thailand in the future.