Assessment of local perception on eco-industrial estate performances after 17 years of implementation in Thailand

Abstract

While development of the eco-industrial estates (EIEs) could contribute to the improvement of community livelihoods, little study was conducted to assess the performances after their implementation in Thailand. Here, we assessed the local perception on EIE performances in terms of physical, environmental, social, economic, and managerial aspects. A household survey was carried out with 220 households at four EIEs, namely Bang Phli, Gateway City, Map Ta Phut and Samut Sakhon according to various indicators of EIE development and performances using a Likert scale of 1–5. In-depth interviews with 25 key informants were also conducted to obtain qualitative information and insight. It was found that the implementation of the EIEs achieved the average score of 3.39 or 67.7%, suggesting that the implementation of the EIEs had improved the livelihoods of and gained trust from the local communities. Specifically, the economic aspect achieved the highest score (4.00), followed by the physical aspect (3.38), while the environmental aspect received only 3.11. Community members were concerned about air pollution, water pollution, dust, odors and noise. However, communities were generally satisfied with the performance of the EIEs, particularly in the economic aspect as the EIEs supported local employment and developed facilities for the communities and eventually increased community incomes and built prosperity. Our findings provide important insights for policy makers to understand and introduce effective policy interventions to further improve trust and relationship between EIEs and local communities as such trust and relationship can motivate communities to actively participate in the development of EIEs.