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[Garcia]

"The National Health Commission has issued a landmark regulation on health impact assessments which aims to safeguard people from health hazards caused by industrial projects and development schemes.

The new regulation covers investment projects, long-term development plans and international agreements that could have severe health impacts, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said yesterday.

"The enforcement of the HIA [health impact assessments] regulation is part of the government's compliance with Article 67 of the constitution, which stipulates that [those involved in] any activities that could have a severe impact on the people must conduct health and environmental impact studies and public hearings," Mr Abhisit said.

The prime minister believed the HIA regulation would end the disputes between villagers and investors over 76 industrial projects in Rayong's Map Ta Phut industrial estate and surrounding areas because it provides a platform for the two sides to talk about concerns and impact reduction measures. The 76 projects, worth hundreds of millions of baht, were put on hold by the Administration Court on Sept 29 pending a hearing on a case filed by villagers affected by pollution against government agencies for illegal approval of the projects.

Decharut Sukkumnoed, who heads the commission's drafting committee, said the regulation did not have a retroactive clause so the government could not force developers of the 76 projects to conduct the HIA. "But the developers can voluntarily conduct health impact studies of their projects to show their sincerity in protecting the locals' health," he said.

The regulation calls for projects which are required to conduct an environmental impact assessment (EIA) by the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry to also carry out an HIA study."

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/2592...-industry-rules

[Hedda]

the regulation did not have a retroactive clause so the government could not force developers of the 76 projects to conduct the HIA. "But the developers can voluntarily conduct health impact studies of their projects to show their sincerity in protecting the locals' health," he said.

Unfortunately, whether retroactive or not, none of these regulations will mean anything unless the new agency in charge of enforcing them applies the law to protect the public health and environment. It's no different that the Thai Constitution of the year, which events have already proven means little when the courts and agencies like the Election Commission, appointed by the Junta, apply hypocritical or double standards in interpreting them. If the systemic corruption in this country favors anyone, it's the prerogative of the rich to get even richer at the expense of the public interest. There''s little reason to think that an agency appointed by the same rich vested interests is going to put the public health of the people of Map Tha Put ahead of more profits.