A transboundary political ecology of air pollution: Slow violence on Thailand's margins

Abstract

This study develops a transboundary political ecology of air pollution to show how its spatially and socially unequal distribution constitutes a form of slow violence among already marginal sections of society. Recent research on transboundary air pollution in Southeast Asia and globally has mainly focused on the supranational or regional scale of environmental governance without taking into proper account the socially differentiated impacts of these cross‐border flows of environmental harm at lower organisational scales. Air pollution in Thailand, which ranks amongst the worst in the world, generates spill‐over effects across sub‐national borders that disproportionately impact the urban and rural poor. We examine the drivers of the three major sources of air pollution in Thailand: vehicular emissions, agricultural emissions and industrial emissions to direct attention toward the barriers and opportunities for collaborative governance in urban, peri‐urban and rural settings. The article argues that administrative fragmentation and the protection of vested economic interests by Thai business and political elites have compromised transboundary governance of the air while adding to socio‐spatial inequalities and environmental injustices. We recommend legislative reforms centred on cross‐sectoral and cross‐jurisdictional cooperation to provide redress for the slow violence perpetrated against marginal citizens in the governance of air pollution.

Transboundary environmental governance: Emerging themes and lessons from Southeast Asia

“…Marks and Miller (2022) are similarly concerned with scalar disconnects in addressing the transboundary problem of air pollution that originates inside Thailand and extends across its national borders. Using a transboundary political ecology framework, the authors direct attention toward the role of borders and bordering practices in creating barriers to cross‐border cooperation while driving flows of environmental impacts.…”

“…Drawing from semi-structured interviews and event ethnography conducted in Thailand and Cambodia, Yong makes her case by comparing and contrasting two types of transboundary environmental publics in the Mekong that entail divergent visions of what public participation means through varying interpretations of publics, place, scale, and temporality.Addressing questions of scale,Suhardiman and Geheb (2022) argue that institutional disjuncture in hydropower decision-making impede meaningful participation in transboundary water governance.Taking the case of the Pak Beng hydropower dam project in Laos, the authors show how institutional disjuncture constitutes a form of scalar disconnect that limits the ability of grassroots stakeholders to articulate their needs and aspirations for sustainable development through formal channels. Unless efforts are made to overcome such institutional disjuncture-that results from unequal power relations between national government and private sector actors on the one hand, and riparian communities and local governments on the other hand-then the environmental costs of restricted hydropower decision-making are likely to continue to accumulate to the detriment of the latter Marks and Miller (2022). are similarly concerned with scalar disconnects in addressing the transboundary problem of air pollution that originates inside Thailand and extends across its national borders.…”

Sustainable Options for Reducing Open Burning of Corn Residues: Case Study of Mae Chaem District, Thailand

“…Open burning of corn residues in the field contributes to atmospheric pollution, emitting gaseous pollutants i.e., CO 2 , CH 4 , CO, N 2 O and particulate matter [17]. Ninety percent of emissions and air pollution in Chiang Mai have come from open burning of corn residues [18], which leads to exceeding the PM 2.5 standard in Chiang Mai during the burning season [15]. Open burning of corn residues causes air pollution and overheats the soil, which causes loss of soil microbes, soil carbon, and soil organic material [18][19][20].…”

“…Ninety percent of emissions and air pollution in Chiang Mai have come from open burning of corn residues [18], which leads to exceeding the PM 2.5 standard in Chiang Mai during the burning season [15]. Open burning of corn residues causes air pollution and overheats the soil, which causes loss of soil microbes, soil carbon, and soil organic material [18][19][20]. In terms of economic impacts, collecting and managing corn residues from the field not only requires energy and intensive labor but also creates delays in sowing the next crop.…”

“…The added cost of residues reduces the total profits of the farmers [21]. However, smallholder corn farmers never receive incentives or governmental support in adapting a zeroburning mode for sustainable production [18]. In terms of social impacts, the worst effects of illegal biomass burning between February and April are disruption of tourism with adverse affects people's livelihoods and health [22][23][24].…”