April 24, 2026 at 14:00 — Mrs. Areepan Charoensuk, Senior Advisor to the Office of the Public Sector Development Commission (OPDC), and OPDC staff participated in a consultation meeting with Mr. Ukkrit Satapoomin, Deputy Director-General of the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR); Mr. Pitul Panchaiyaphum, Director of the Community and Local Administration Participation Promotion Division; Dr. Petch Manopawitr, Advisor to the 30×30 Thailand Coalition; Dr. Peechanit Ketsuwan, Director of the 30×30 Thailand Coalition; Ms. Chow Yuen Ping, Asia Program Manager of OCEAN 5; and Ms. Carol Liew, Managing Director of the Ecca Family Foundation, who are supporting the 30×30 Thailand Ocean Strategy under a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the 30×30 Thailand Coalition and the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources. The meeting aimed to jointly discuss the development of the National Action Plan under the Open Government Partnership (OGP) framework on the issue of participatory management of marine and coastal areas in the Phang Nga Bay pilot area, held at Department of Marine and Coastal Resources. Key discussion points are as follows:
– Thailand is accelerating the implementation of the “30×30” target aimed at conserving 30 percent of marine and coastal areas by 2030 under the OGP cooperation framework, with emphasis on integrating collaboration among the public sector, civil society, and international organizations to improve the management of marine resources with transparency and public participation.
– Thailand currently has only 5–7 percent of marine protected areas, necessitating accelerated action. “Phang Nga Bay” has been designated as a pilot area (Sandbox) covering three provinces, Krabi, Phang Nga, and Phuket, to test new management models, including resolving overlapping legal constraints, budget allocation, and employing Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) tools to balance conservation with economic utilization.
– Implementation emphasizes the role of coastal communities through Locally Managed Marine Areas (LMMA) in accordance with Section 16 of relevant laws, while developing economic incentives such as Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) to ensure long-term sustainability.
– OPDC, Department of Marine and Coastal Resources, and the 30×30 Thailand Coalition Network jointly plan to develop the National Action Plan with relevant agencies to advance the OGP National Action Plan within a four-year timeline to achieve the commitments by 2030.
