Bangkok, 28 September 2012 – The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), together with the Office of Natural Resources and Environmental Policy and Planning (ONEP) and the Eighth Regional Environmental Office (REO8) have concluded their Record of Discussions to implement a Japanese Technical Cooperation Project for Strengthening Environment Management and Linkages among Central, Regional, Provincial and Local Levels in the Kingdom of Thailand.
The Project aims to strengthen environment management in Thailand, by improving the capacity of governmental agencies related to natural resources and environmental management, particularly at the regional and provincial levels, for planning, implementing and monitoring environmental quality management plans (EQMP). REO8 in Ratchaburi province, together with five Provincial Offices of Natural Resources and Environment (PONRE) in Ratchaburi, Kanchanaburi, Samut Songkhram, Phetchaburi and Prachuap Khiri Khan, have been selected as the model site for the Project.
Under a three-year cooperation period, a JICA Expert Team will work with REO8 and the counterparts to develop a comprehensive regional environmental quality management plan for REO8, to promote public awareness of environmental management issues utilizing simplified guidelines, and to implement pilot projects (to be decided). Recommendations and lessons learned will be identified and disseminated to other regional environmental offices nationwide toward the end of the Project.
JICA previously cooperated with ONEP and conducted "The Study on Supporting System for Local Administrations on Natural Resources and Environmental Management in the Kingdom of Thailand" during 2007-2008. The recommendation made by the study team to strengthen the natural resources and environmental management capacities of REO and PONRE as well as their linkages, has been adopted to formulate the full-scale Technical Cooperation Project, which is expected to commence in February 2013