A legal analysis found that Thailand has multiple laws supporting marine protected-area conservation, but lacks key elements of climate-resilient MPAs: clear protection-level criteria, connected networks, and binding cross-agency coordination. It recommends that the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources lead reform aligned with international obligations.
Key findings
- Thai laws support several conservation objectives, but the study identifies three central gaps: unclear protection-level criteria, insufficiently connected MPA networks, and no binding cross-agency coordination. It calls for greater legal coherence and a lead role for DMCR.
Why this matters globally
MPAs are used for biodiversity conservation and climate adaptation. Connected networks and coordination address a global problem: species and climate impacts do not remain within a single agency's jurisdiction.
Thai researcher contribution
A Walailak University researcher brings Thai legal and institutional context into the international-obligations debate and proposes a clear lead agency.
Limitations to consider
The abstract does not describe document-search criteria, cases, MPA examples, or stakeholder interviews. Enforcement, budgets, ecological outcomes, and community rights were not empirically evaluated, so the best reform and its trade-offs remain uncertain.