In a bid to reduce the conflict between industrial projects and their local communities, an academic yesterday called for the government to create an Environmental Bond Fund to compensate people living in environmentally risky areas.
Direk said the government should pass an Environmental Bond Act to collect funds from large scale industrial sites and other activities with the potential to cause catastrophic damage to the environment.
Under the fund, the government would pay 2 to 3 per cent interest on capital to industrial factory owners. If their operations seriously damaged local communities, their capital would be automatically seized.
He added that the money would be distributed to local authority organisations to manage by themselves, as they would not have to wait for the green light from Cabinet.
Direk said there was already a draft Environmental Bond Fund and many studies had looked into the idea - but it had never been implemented.
He said Finance Minister Korn Chatikavanij should make a courageous decision and propose such an Act as soon as possible to resolve current conflict among the industrial sector and local communities.
Suthi Atchasai, coordinator for the Eastern People's Network, said residents near Map Ta Phut Industrial Estate and their environment had been adversely affected from nearby industrial development causing air pollution, waste water, and hazardous waste.
"There was no good management to balance environmental protection and industrial development," he said. "People now have to pay for damages with their own money," he added.