As a part of the IEE process, public involvement is necessary. A
total of 130 sets of questionnaires were used to collect opinions
from the communities living along the 7 km of eroding coastline.
The majority of the interviewees (98.46%) demanded detached
breakwaters to protect the shore. Moreover, two formal meetings
between a design team and the affected villagers were organized
with each event lasting roughly half a day. The attendees responded
very positively to the project. The majority of villagers, who claimed
they were deeply depressed by the potentially devastating impact
of the erosion, urged the design team to hasten the process. They
were also informed that new legislation demanded that an EIA had
to be completed before the construction could commence.
relevant governmental sectors, to decide whether to accept or
reject the report (Saengsupavanich, 2011).
Three more public meetings were organized during the EIA
process, namely, a public scoping, a focus group meeting, and
a public review. During each meeting, the coastal people com-plained about the slowness of the breakwater construction, and
requested a compromise on the EIA law due to the difficulties in
their lives caused by the erosion.