EIA News

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Bangkok and a problem of architecture
Date of Release: 
Sep 19 2016

A few weeks ago, Thais gaped in awe at MahaNakhon, that new ultramodern high-rise on bustling Sathon.

Now our collective attention is being diverted to Wiman Phra-in, or Abode of Indra, a much-talked about architectural design intended as a landmark in the Chao Phraya riverside promenade project. The name suggests a feature with a pointed spiral structure that offers nothing less than paradise.

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Communities deeply divided over southern power plant plans
Date of Release: 
Sep 10 2016

PINK and green flags flying outside homes in the peaceful Tambon Pak Bang fishing village in Songkhla’s Thepa district may be merely insignificant decorations to the outsider.

But to residents of the quiet community they represent a clear division over plans for a major coal-fired power plant on their doorstep.

Local communities in the South are clearly divided over plans by the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (Egat) to locate coal-fired power projects in Thepa district and Krabi's Nuea Khlong district.

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Land-rights dispute delays Chao Phraya study
Date of Release: 
Sep 10 2016

Members of community say they have deeds to land earmarked for promenade as opponents to plane threaten court action.

WITH LESS than one month until deadline, model schemes for the first 12 kilometres of the Chao Phraya for All riverside promenade project have yet to be finalised due to a land-rights identification problem at Wat Dhevaraj Kunchon Community, the study team said yesterday.

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Activists fume over plan to use Article 44 for dam
Date of Release: 
Sep 4 2016

ENVIRONMENTAL groups have strongly opposed a plan by the Agriculture and Cooperatives Ministry to seek invocation of special powers under Article 44 of the post-coup interim charter to commence construction of the controversial Mae Wong dam in Nakhon Sawan province.

In a statement released by the 19 organisations yesterday, they said Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister General Chatchai Sarikulya wanted to implement a project that was against the government's reforestation campaign.

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Residents claim potash mines causing problems
Date of Release: 
Sep 1 2016

TRANSPARENCY and strict environmental regulations are needed to avoid problems between local communities and potash mines, an academic said recently.

Rungreung Lertsirivorakul, a geologist at Khon Kaen University, said mining companies should make their operation plans clear to the public to avoid problems, adding that suspicious and hidden strategies would only give rise to conflicts.

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AoT commits to expanding Suvarnabhumi
Date of Release: 
Aug 27 2016

Airports of Thailand Plc (AoT) has signed three contracts worth 14.9 billion baht to expand Suvarnabhumi airport as the government gears up efforts to turn Thailand into the region's aviation hub.

The first contract worth 12 billion baht involves Italian-Thai Development Plc (ITD), hired to construct a concourse, parking bays and a tunnel in the airport's southern area.

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Egat insists on going ahead with Thepa plant
Date of Release: 
Aug 25 2016

CONSTRUCTION of the Thepa coal-fired power plant is set to begin in the second quarter of next year, the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (Egat) said, even though many locals have refused to sell their land despite facing threats.

Egat has so far insisted that it will build the 2,200-megawatt power plant in Songkhla's Thepa district, despite strong protests from local people. The Environment and Health Impact Assessment (EHIA) for both the plant and coal transport has also not been approved by the Natural Resources and Environmental Policy and Planning Office (ONEP).

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Council on Environmental Quality finalises guidance for assessing climate impact
Date of Release: 
Aug 22 2016

On August 2 2016 the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) issued Final Guidance for Federal Departments and Agencies on Consideration of Greenhouse Gas Emissions and the Effects of Climate Change in National Environmental Policy Act Reviews.

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Mesco closes in on gold licence
Date of Release: 
Aug 9 2016

After an unexpectedly lengthy review, the Ministry of Environment has approved the environmental and social impact study of Indian mining firm Mesco Gold, clearing the last major hurdle for the company to receive a licence to operate the Kingdom’s first royalty-generating mine.

“The Ministry of Environment has given its approval for underground mining over a 12 square kilometre area,” Rajeev Moudgil, director of Mesco Gold (Cambodia) Ltd, said yesterday.

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Weak adherence to environment law leads to licensing of polluting projects
Date of Release: 
Aug 8 2016

The requirement on environmental impact assessment was first set in the 2005 Environment Protection Law and the 1998 Water Resource Law. Later, the Water Resource Law was amended with many new provisions and standards, taking effect in January 2013.

In principle, when laws are amended, reports on environmental impact assessment must be made again, while old reports must not be used.

Vu Ngoc Long, head of the Southern Institute of Ecology, when talking about the Lee & Man pulp paper project, said that the big problem can be seen in the location of the plant.

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