An analysis of public participation under community health impact assessment of Thailand : the case study of the gold mining project at Ban Na Nong Bong, Loei Province

Abstract

Health impact assessment (HIA) is a relatively new concept within the Thai policy-making arena. From a human security perspective, the HIA has the potential to be a practical tool to empower local communities in protecting their health. One important element of the HIA is the process of public participation. While the HIA mechanism requires public participation at various stages of the process, the risk remains that the effect of public participation on the final HIA-outcome is limited. The research at hand investigates the case of the gold-mining project in Ban Na Nong Bong, Loei province, where a community HIA was recently conducted. Using a five-social-goals research framework, the research assesses the usefulness of public participation under HIA in Thailand. Research findings show that public participation under HIA significantly educates and informs the public, the primary goal of community HIA. On the other hand, the findings suggest that the community HIA does not influence levels of trust in institutions, nor reduces conflict between stakeholders. Finally, it is too early to judge whether public participation under community HIA can truly incorporate public values into decision-making and whether the community HIA process has improved the substantive quality of decisions.