Which eroding site is more urgent for the government?: a reflection from coastal communities

• Published in: Journal of coastal conservation Vol. 24; no. 1; pp. 1 - 10
• Main Author: Saengsupavanich, Cherdvong
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht Springer 01.02.2020; Springer Netherlands; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Budgets; Coastal erosion; Coastal management; Coastal Sciences; Coastal zone management; Criteria; Cultural heritage; Cultural resources; Digital media; Earth and Environmental Science; Environmental protection; Geography; Local government; Natural resources; Nature Conservation; Oceanography; Public opinion; Remote Sensing/Photogrammetry; Social media; Urban areas; Coastal engineering; Coastal protection; Ranking; Coastal management; Site selection
• ISSN: 1400-0350; 1874-7841
• DOI: 10.1007/s11852-020-00729-9

The study investigated what coastal communities perceived as influencing criteria used by the government of Thailand to choose a particular location for coastal protection. Every sea-connected local governmental unit in Chonburi province was approached. All 69 seafront villages/communities were requested for interviews, and 51 of them accepted. During the criteria assimilation stage, the research found 7 perceived influencing factors: important natural resources, urban area and cultural heritage, political orders, previous budget allocation, erosion severity, social media, and resistance to conservationists. Ranking of the criteria was subsequently undertaken using an analytical hierarchical process. As the result, the factor perceived by the public to be most influential was previous budget allocation, while the least influential criterion perceived to play the role in selecting the eroding site was political orders. Assessing the weights of all criteria reflected that the Thai government currently had a positive public perception. Trust from the public is crucial for integrated coastal erosion management.