🔹May 14, 2026 — Mr. Buntoon Srethasirote, Chair of the Subcommittee on Promoting Open Government and Public Participation; Mrs. Areepan Charoensuk, Senior Advisor to the Office of the Public Sector Development Commission (OPDC); and their team held a consultation meeting with Mr. Pinsak Suraswadi, Director-General of the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR); Mrs. Ravadee Prasertcharoensuk, Executive Director of the Sustainable Development Foundation; Ms. Porkamol Jornburom, Executive Director of the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) Thailand; Dr. Peechanit Ketsuwan, Director of the 30×30 Thailand Coalition; representatives from the Department of Fisheries, Marine Department, Strategic Transformation Office, RECOFTC Thailand, Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF), and related officials. The meeting was held at Department of Marine and Coastal Resources and conducted via electronic communication system.
🔹The meeting aimed to exchange views and strategies for advancing the National Action Plan (NAP) 2027-2030 on participatory management of marine environmental resources, with emphasis on policy formulation grounded in the voices, concerns, and actual needs of communities in the area, such as livelihood conflicts, utilization of marine and coastal resources, and equitable resource access. The Open Government Partnership (OGP) principles were applied as the guiding framework, prioritizing transparency, multi-stakeholder participation, and public sector accountability, coupled with development of open data platforms, marine spatial planning, and locally managed marine areas to achieve systematic management, reduce conflicts, and respond authentically to local context.
🔹For the implementation mechanism, responsible parties from the public sector, private sector, and civil society have been initially assigned to respective areas. Additionally, intensive quarterly progress review meetings have been scheduled to ensure that the National Action Plan translates into concrete implementation outcomes. The initiative is anchored on five critical implementation milestones:
1️⃣ Open Government Data Platform: Establishing a shared, credible database as a critical foundation for collaborative work.
2️⃣ Marine Spatial Planning (MSP): Utilizing data for collaborative spatial planning among national, regional, and local authorities, with resource bases and ecosystems as the foundation.
3️⃣ Locally Managed Marine Area (LMMA): Promoting community rights in resource management to ensure livelihood and food security.
4️⃣ Sustainable Finance: Creating financial mechanisms for sustainability through the Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) system.
5️⃣ Assessment System: Developing monitoring and evaluation systems such as OHI Plus (Ocean Health Index), including dimensions of governance and environmental justice.
👉🏻 Next Steps: The OPDC will continue consultation with lead implementing agencies and supporting agencies on participatory management of marine environmental resources in the Phang Nga Bay. Public feedback sessions on NAP development will be held on May 22 and 29, 2026 with participation from public sector, private sector, and civil society representatives.
#OGPThailand #OGP #OpenGovernmentPartnership
