PHUKET MUNICIPAL

AUTHORITY
THAILAND
CASE Study

PHUKET MUNICIPALITY AUTHORITY PROFILE

The Province of Phuket is Thailand’s largest island, comprising 570 square kilometres.
The island is located in the Andaman Sea, just off the western coast of Thailand and is
linked to the mainland by the Sarasin Bridge.

Local Government Status: Municipal Authority

Population: 67,001, average density of 5,583 people per sq.km.
Land Area: 14.7 sq. km
Climate: Tropical, 2 seasons, rainy from April to November, and hot season from
December to March
Industry: Tin, rubber plantations, fishing and tourism.
Education: 2 kindergartens, five municipal elementary schools.
Secondary schools are under Provincial control.
Health Facilities: 3 municipal health centres
Transport: International airport, seaport and road.

Phuket Municipal Authority (PMA) is a local administrative body upgraded from a

sanitary district to a municipality in 1935. The authority is directly responsible for the
provision of basic facilities and utilities to the community of Phuket Town.

PMA has approximately 500 employees working within eight main administrative
divisions. These include:

• engineering;
• education;
• technical services and planning;
• finance;
• health and environment;
• social welfare;
• water supply; and
• secretariat or city clerks office.

The main issues faced by the PMA relating to Local Agenda 21 include; increasing urban
populations, inequitable wealth distribution, garbage disposal, waste water management,
drainage and flood control, traffic and transportation management, and protecting
environmentally sensitive beaches under tourism development.

The PMA commented that the government administrative structure has posed an obstacle
to effective urban environmental management largely due to the lack of coordination of
routine works, centralised legislative power and ineffective personnel management. The
Thailand Environment Institute comments that this is in spite of the Municipal Act of

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1933, upgraded Municipal Acts of 1953 and 1999, and the New Constitution (1997),
which all in theory devolve power to Local Government.

Current National Guidelines For Formal Environmental Management

New Constitution 1997 – The Constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand is the principal
regulation in governing the country. Environmental management issues included within
the Constitution are:

• the role of the local community in cultural heritage conservation;

• the provision of community comment on environmental impacts;
• the community’s right to utilise natural resources;
• the provision of information to the public - particularly in regard to projects affecting
the environment;
• community representation during environmental impact assessment; and
• government responsibility for the promotion of public participation.

NESDB five year plans – Plans produced by the Office of the National Economic and
Social Development Board. The motto of the eighth plan is “good economy, society
without problems, and sustainable development”. The plan considers deteriorating natural
resources, and the conflict and problems that arise concerning their use. Environmental
management strategies included in the plan are; the principle to revive and renovate
natural resources and the environment, the principle to promote public participation and
the principle to manage natural resources and the environment.

Natural Resources and Environmental Management Policy. Medium-term policy

incorporated in the structural adjustment and social development sector. Important
contents of this policy include:

• promotion of forest conservation and rehabilitation;

• conservation, control and care of water resources;
• distribution of environmental management responsibilities to local authorities and the
public; and
• strict law enforcement.

National Environmental Promotion and Conservation Policy and Plan (1997-2018).

Developed to serve as a guide to systematically administer and manage the country’s
environment so as to benefit the development of the country more effectively. The
country’s resources are considered to be the foundation of sustainable development, and as
a result their economic benefits are to be utilised on the basis of conservation and equity in
society. The primary goals of the plan are to conserve the condition of natural resources
while replenishing those that have been destroyed, control, prevent and reduce pollution,
utilise appropriate technologies to prevent and reduce pollution, and create environmental
awareness amongst communities.

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PHUKET URBAN ENVIRONMENT PLAN

Preparing the Ground

Phuket municipality experiences numerous environmental problems due to rapid economic

growth and urban development. This situation was recognised by the Cabinet, who
declared Phuket as a city with a special characteristic on 26 June 1990. This
categorisation entitled Phuket to a specific supporting budget of 50 million baht per year.
Despite this funding environmental problems intensified.

Increasing concern about environmental quality in light of further urban and tourist
development prompted the Phuket Municipal Authority to begin a process of
strengthening their formal environmental management structures. In 1998, the Authority
sought the assistance of the United Nations Urban Management Program (UMP-Asia) and
the Thailand Environment Institute (TEI) to strengthen the capacity of the government in
urban environmental planning and management, and to address the needs of stakeholders,
while achieving a common vision for the future.

The program had four main objectives:

• develop an urban environmental policy consistent with provincial and national

development plans;
• develop an urban environmental planning and management process;
• develop an on-going human resource capacity building program; and
• strengthen community organization participation.

The program was designed by the two agencies and the PMA to be consistent with the
objectives of Local Agenda 21, namely capacity building in Local Government,
community participation, and best practice environmental management. The Mayor is
extremely supportive of these objectives, and as such has been an important driving force
in prioritising Local Agenda 21 within the authority.

Building Partnerships

In order to achieve the project objectives a Project Committee was established composed
of senior level representatives of Phuket’s stakeholder groups and chaired by the Mayor of
Phuket. Stakeholders included:

• city government representatives;

• non-government organisations;
• private sector companies;
• representatives from community organisations; and
• representatives from local academic institutions.

The main tasks of the Committee were to provide the policy direction for the program, to
review working progress, and to act on the recommendations arising from the consultative
process. The Committee also ensured representation from public and private sector
organisations involved in Phuket’s development.

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Determining Visions, Goals, Targets and Indicators

The project began with the recognition that Phuket was in need of a clear environmental
vision and policy, drafted with public participation. Three main steps included:

• collectively determining the direction of an urban environmental development plan

through a series of multi-stakeholder seminars;
• drafting an urban environmental policy by a drafting sub-committee; and
• reviewing and approving the urban environmental policy.

In addition, the project required a number of new organisational structures to be created.

An urban environmental management committee established in 1994 was upgraded and
the following additional committees were established:

• Urban Environmental Management Committee (UEMC) - based on the original

1994 committee, chaired by the mayor; includes local and provincial
government, business, NGOs and communities;
• Urban Environmental Policy Drafting Committee (UEDC); chaired by the
Environment and Health Division, with stakeholder representation;
• Urban Environmental Management (UEM) Sub-Committee - 22 municipal
members co-chaired by the deputy city clerk and the director of environment
and health division; and
• Program Implementation Task Force (PITF) (smaller group of 14 municipal
staff chaired by the Chief, Environmental Health Sub-Division). This group
has now been superseded by the UEM Sub-Committee.

The Urban Environmental Management Committee decided on the following urban

environmental vision:

• make Phuket a healthy city with a healthy environment, a healthy society and a
healthy economy;
• make Phuket an example of a city with sustainable tourism, natural resources and
environment; and
• make Phuket a city with a distinct characteristic in terms of agriculture, arts,
culture and local traditions.

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The Urban Environmental Policy Drafting Committee together with community
representatives established the following principle objectives for the urban environment
policy:

• promoting public awareness and knowledge for creating heightened consciousness

and understanding for keeping and improving environmental quality in various
aspects;
• promoting local peoples participation in each step of environmental management;
• promoting proper landuse to create sustainable development;
• supporting the rehabilitation and improvement of environmental and natural
resource qualities;
• approaching legal procedures and regulations with strictness and fairness;
• supporting continuous improvement in environmental quality and natural resource
monitoring;
• promoting the establishment of an organisation for collaboration and monitoring
of the operation; and
• promoting the investment in resources and establishment of a tax or specific
collection fee for environmental management.

Creating a Local Action Planning Document

The Urban Environment Policy Drafting Committee divided the policy into five main
categories:

1. Green area, built environment, natural resources and land use;

2. Traffic, air and noise pollution;
3. Water pollution, drainage and water supply;
4. Community environment and environmental health; and
5. Solid and hazardous waste management.

During working group meetings, detail was provided in each of the five categories of the
characteristics of the problems, and the community’s requirements or public consideration
of each problem. Necessary changes were determined, and methodologies proposed.

The policy will be implemented over a five-year period, and has now been incorporated
into the Phuket Draft Municipal Plan.

Implementing, Reporting, Monitoring and Reviewing

The Municipal Plan is currently being finalised, and will be submitted for approval by the
Mayor and Council in the near future. The actions contained within the plan will start to
be implemented in late 2000, early 2001.

As part of the implementation of the Municipal Plan two pilot programs were undertaken
with the assistance of UMP-Asia and TEI which involved two of the eleven poor
communities in Phuket. The communities were surveyed to identify the state of the
environment and other general problems, the community organisational structure, and the
potential for community involvement in environmental management. Community
representatives participated in training courses and study tours, as well as in local and
international seminars conducted as part of the overall project. Lack of secure land and
housing tenure is a common problem in many communities leading to a lack of concern
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and limited participation in improving living conditions. PMA addressed this problem by
announcing that they have no plans to evict residents from municipal land. As a result
community members have become increasingly involved.

Results from the pilot programs were:

Lhang Sarlarklang, or ‘Community Behind the Town Hall’

• very active in carrying out community activities;

• good coordination with members, increasing volunteer activities;
• over 50% participation in monthly cleaning activities;
• a community development fund established;
• an environmental project proposal has been prepared and forwarded to
concerned agencies for funding support; and
• representatives participated in drafting environmental policy during the
Phuket/UMP/TEI project activities.

Soi Kor Phai Community

• good community organisational structures and volunteer groups are yet to be

established; and
• representatives participated in drafting environmental policy during the
Phuket/UMP/TEI project activities.

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Existing Programs

PMA have a number of existing programs that are based on the principles of Local
Agenda 21.

Health Promotion and Protection

Self care programs are being run in municipal primary schools, with students from Grade
4, 5 & 6. Health promotion programs, such as ‘aerobics in the park’, are also being
provided to the community free of charge.

Non-Governmental Organisations
A community organisation, known as the ‘White Pearl Group’ is undertaking an anti-
littering campaign. This is targeted at school students, spreading the message of ‘reduce,
reuse, recycle’. This program is supported by the PMA.

Solid Waste Management

Most people in the community do not discard waste properly, and the current waste
collection system is not very effective. In 1992 the area of Klong Kao Pee at Muang
district was designated for the development of landfill, an incinerator, and a hazardous
waste incinerator. These facilities will serve the whole of Phuket province. The sanitary
land field was established in 1994, with a land area of 32 acres, which is designed to serve
the municipality for 12 years. The incinerator and the hazardous waste incinerator were
completed in 1998, with pollution controls to ensure meeting national environmental
standards. They are capable of processing 250 and 3 tonnes per day respectively. The
current amount of hazardous waste is about 200-800 kilograms from the hospitals and
clinics in Phuket. The PMA charges 5 baht for each kilogram. There are plans to increase
the efficiency of the incinerator to 500 tonnes per day by the year 2012, and to construct a
waste separating plant in 2002.

Waste water
Commercial buildings have been instructed to install their own waste water treatment
equipment. This equipment would undertake primary waste water treatment, and then
expel the water to the central treatment system. Unfortunately this system has not been
very successful due to a reluctance from the community to purchase the equipment and
little to no enforcement of the policy. The central waste treatment facility is currently
being constructed, and while operational, is not at full capacity. At completion it will
serve an area of 4 square kilometres treating 12,000 cubic metres of waste water per day.
A second phase, which will supply treatment for the entire municipality, is now planned
for construction.

Information dissemination
PMA has a 30 minute broadcast on the local radio station each week discussing activities
which affect the community. Environmental management issues form part of this
discussion.

There are as yet no formal indicators or monitoring regimes for the urban environmental
policy. Suggestions for indicators from the working group sessions have been included in
the draft plan. Data collection and the interpretation of this data into information, is a
relatively new concept to the PMA, and one that will take time to fully implement.

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The program to develop Phuket’s Urban Environmental Policy and Plan, forms part of the
National Local Agenda 21 Taskforce’s efforts to promote the adoption of Local Agenda
21 within Local Governments. It is hoped that the experiences of both PMA and the
Thailand Environment Institute during the undertaking of the program, and in future
implementation of the Plan, will provide other Thai Local Governments with valuable
assistance to undertake Local Agenda 21 activities.

PMA Capacity Training Program undertaken by UMP Asia and TEI

As part of this project, UMP Asia and TEI conducted a capacity building program for
PMA employees. Capacity building is seen to be crucial for effective urban
environmental management. In the municipality, the two types of employees are (1)
elected political officials, and (2) municipal official staff. In addition, business,
community organisations, NGOs and the general public are targeted for capacity building.
The Urban Environmental Management Sub-Committee, became the main target for
capacity building in the municipality.

Notably, the target groups worked together with UMP Asia and TEI in conducting their
own training needs assessment. The four major areas to be addressed were:

• environmental management and sustainable development;

• cooperation between agencies;
• planning and management; and
• english language skills.

The Capacity Building Program was then tailored to the needs of each target group in
short, medium and long-term training activities.

The short-term training program was carried out as part of the project and to prepare
participants for drafting the environmental policy between November 1998 and May 1999.
Thereafter, the participants prepared their own assessment, identifying the outcomes,
problems occurred and suggestions for future training programs. Future training needs
highlighted were:

• additional training required for – development of environmental groups or clubs,

public speaking and presentation, skills development, and cooperation between
organisations.
• further training on policy and action plan formulation; and
• how to emphasise awareness-raising activities.

The medium-term training program aims to build the capacity of municipal officials and to
strengthen the various groups working in collaboration with the municipality on urban
environmental policy, plans and projects. The long-term program will promote and
strengthen the organisation of new groups, as well as continuing to work with established
environmental groups, by focusing on activities that create opportunities for public
participation.

The PMA employees who attended the course commented that it was very useful, and
applicable to their daily responsibilities. The course was limited however to senior
employees and heads of departments, while there is an identified lack of skills below this
level. No further training programs are planned for other employees at this stage.
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Key Contact

Dr. Thawee Limsomboon

Director of Public Health and Environment
Phuket Municipal Authroity
52/1 Narison Road
Phuket 83000
Thailand
Tel: + 66 76 222-931

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