A framework of stakeholder analysis for public participation in EIA process: a case study of Thailand

ABSTRACTThis study aims to 1) investigate current stakeholder analysis in Thai Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) reports, 2) explore the opinions of key informants regarding the elements of stakeholder analysis relevant to Thai EIA, and 3) develop a framework of stakeholder analysis for public participation (PP) in the Thai EIA process. Qualitative methods were employed by reviewing 18 EIA reports, interviewing 36 key informants, and brainstorming in a workshop to develop a framework. The proposed framework of stakeholder analysis includes five domains: 1) context exploration, 2) stakeholder identification, 3) stakeholder categorisation, 4) determination of participation level, and 5) participatory technique selection. The finding suggested that key elements considered in the domains should include the identification of vulnerable groups, the characterisation of stakeholders, getting multiple groups of people involved in determining participation level, and assigning professional facilitator(s) in PP. This study recommends applying conflict resolution strategies e.g. generating informal contact with potential mainstays before public consultation, involving key stakeholders in an advisory committee, and using a local academic mediator.KEYWORDS: Stakeholderstakeholder analysisstakeholder identificationstakeholder categorisationdetermination of participation levelparticipatory technique selection AcknowledgmentsThe authors thank all reviewers for their constructive, critical and insightful comments, which were very helpful in improving this manuscript. We thank Smit Chiramongkol for his support during data collection and Dr Alan Marshall for proofreading the article.Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.Data availability statementData sharing is not applicable to this article as no new data were created or analysed in this study.Additional informationFundingThis work (Grant No. RGNS 63-172) was supported by Office of the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation (OPS MHESI), Thailand Science Research and Innovation (TSRI) and Mahidol University.