Introduction to Environmental Law of Thailand: Barriers in the Effective Implementation and Enforcement

Abstract

This qualitative study examines the systemic barriers that hinder the effective implementation and enforcement of environmental laws in Thailand, where a stark dichotomy persists between comprehensive statutory frameworks and accelerating ecological degradation. Utilizing an interpretive qualitative research design, data were collected through in-depth, semi-structured interviews with eight purposively selected key informants, including environmental jurists, senior officials from the Pollution Control Department, non-governmental legal advocates, and environmental policy scholars. The comparative textual and thematic analysis reveals critical institutional vulnerabilities, primary among which are severe legislative fragmentations and direct jurisdictional conflicts between the Enhancement and Conservation of National Environmental Quality Act (NEQA) B.E. 2535 and industrial development laws such as the Factory Act B.E. 2535. Empirical findings demonstrate that the enforcement gap is further exacerbated by acute technical and budgetary deficits within provincial regulatory bodies, a lack of specialized environmental forensic capacities, and the systematic marginalization of public participation within the Environmental Impact Assessment process. These structural imbalances encourage regulatory capture by industrial capital while stripping local administrative organizations of genuine oversight authority. The study concludes that achieving environmental sustainability requires a comprehensive legislative overhaul to harmonize overlapping ministerial mandates, the establishment of an independent environmental enforcement agency with punitive authority, and the institutionalization of binding community-led strategic environmental assessments to bridge the gap between statutory design and enforcement reality.