ABSTRACT
Traditionally, the focus of environmental management in Thailand has relied heavily on the command-and-control approach. Enforcement is effective only in cases where public awareness and protests have created too much publicity for a case to be ignored, or where major companies adopt a corporate environmental policy. The environmental pollution problems have indeed reached an alarming stage for Thai society and the government's efforts to control pollution have seen limited success. The Thai government is now placing an increasing emphasis on a participatory approach and voluntary measures and is encouraging industry to take the initiative on environmental issues. The plan also recommends actions to reduce production costs, streamline production and upgrade obsolete technologies and machinery. Factory evaluation and analysis systems and the use of incentives to improve industrial competitiveness are planned. The direction adopted and the steps taken in environmental management in Thailand are appropriate considering the changing needs of the time.
