Development of disaster risk reduction policy in Thailand
Abstract
Purpose
This exploratory study discusses the policy learning process of the development of disaster risk reduction (DRR) policy.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper discusses how DRR has and has not developed in Thailand through the two major disasters: the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami and the 2011 Great Flood. The information was collected by documentary analysis to gain a historical and critical understanding of the development of the system and policy of DRR in Thailand. Additionally, key stakeholders' interviews were undertaken to supplement the analysis.
Findings
The paper demonstrates that Thailand's DRR development has been “reactive” rather than “proactive”, being largely directed by global DRR actors.
Research limitations/implications
Being a small-scale study, the sample size was small. The analysis and argument would be consolidated with an increase in the number of interviews.
Practical implications
The model can help deconstruct which dimension of the learning process a government has/has not achieved well.
Originality/value
The application of the “restrictive-expansive policy learning” model, which identifies different dimensions of policy learning, reveals that the Thai government's policy learning was of a mixed nature.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the UCL Global Engagement Fund 2018–2019 [grant number 539596]. The author would like to express her great appreciation to Dr Puntita Tanwattana from the Environmental Research Institute, Chulalongkorn University and her students, Atcha Waitayachewa and Thawatchai Palakhamarn for their generous assistance to her in organising the fieldwork in Bangkok. The author is also grateful for all the interviewees who agreed to share their knowledge and experience with her. This piece of study could not have completed without their cooperation.
Citation
Kitagawa, K. (2020), "Development of disaster risk reduction policy in Thailand", Disaster Prevention and Management, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/DPM-08-2019-0244
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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