Sustainable Property Developments 
Sustainable Property Developments
Thailand is fast learning from the mistakes of massive over-development seen in the tourist resorts of Spain and taking action.
Thailand
is well known for its natural beauty. This is the very reason we have
seen a huge holiday property boom in the country, particularly in
tourist hotspots where developers, both big and small, are establishing
real estate projects to keep up with the constant demand. This
exponential growth in places such as Phuket, Hua Hin and Koh Samui has
inevitably had a detrimental effect on the country’s ecosystem. It is
difficult to ignore the peculiar sense of irony in all of this, but
Thailand is fast learning from the mistakes of massive over-development
seen in the tourist resorts of Spain and in some cases, taking serious
environmental measures to maintain sustainable property developments.
Why is it Important?
We’ve
all seen or at least heard about Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth and
despite individual opinions on the matter; it is hard to ignore the
effect it has had on the mindsets of people today. Environmental issues
are now at the forefront of every political platform in all the
developed and developing nations where people are opting for greener
alternatives and finding ways to reduce their carbon footprints. The
issue has been around for decades, but it is only recently that
consumer choices are beginning to affect the way goods and services are
produced. This includes the way properties are being built. Discerning
buyers are now looking, and at times, demanding for properties to be
built in a responsible and sustainable manner. This, in turn, is
changing the way property developers conduct their business.
Thailand’s Environmental Standards
The
shift towards greater sustainability in property construction also
stems from Thailand’s greater public awareness of environmental issues.
Many individual tourist hotspots began implementing their own
regionally specific laws in relation to zoning and urban planning. The
most renowned example is the Phuket Town & City Planning
Ministerial Regulation B.E. 2548, which assigns zoning areas for
specific types of developments. Nationwide, more environmental
regulations are springing up to cater for the future impact of major
projects in the country. This is where the old Environmental Impact
Assessments (EIA) steps in.
EIA had its humble beginnings in the
US in 1969 and is now implemented in over a hundred countries
worldwide. Thailand adopted the use of EIA some twenty years ago, but
it has always been met with mixed success. The main problems with EIA
in the past were the lack of personnel, expertise and funding, which
made it very difficult to properly maintain and administer the system.
It was often seen as a heavy burden on the bureaucracy with little
compensation in comparison to the value the housing projects themselves
brought in. As such, it became just another administrative procedure to
go through with little or no participation from concerned parties.
The
Office of Natural Resources and Environmental Policy and Planning
(ONREPP) is the agency responsible for the administration of EIA in
Thailand. Since 2005, it has made moves to improve the efficiency of
EIA by implementing various new measures that included more funding and
greater local community participation. There are currently 22 types of
project that need to obtain an EIA. Property developments aremin one of
these categories. There are also two levels of EIA depending on the
scale of a project. Projects deemed to have less environmental impact
will only be required to obtain an Initial Environmental Evaluation
(IEE) while projects with greater impact will be required to do the
full EIA.
IEE vs. EIA
If you are buying a property
off-plan in Thailand, check with your developer whether the development
requires either an IEE or an EIA along with its status. IEE can be done
in much less time as most of the assessments are gathered from
secondary data. EIA on the other hand, requires primary field data and
a much more comprehensive analysis of major as well as minor impacts on
the environment. It will also end up costing the developer more in
terms of time and money and this is why some developers try to avoid
the need to obtain an EIA by reducing the size of the project to just
under the requirement criteria. This may save them some time and money
in the short term, but more sophisticated buyers are now more willing
to pay more for a greener property and may shun any properties that
they think may have taken short cuts.
Both an IEE and IEA will
also list any pertinent ‘Green Areas’ of the project, which will
require special attention. IEE and EIA are best described as an
anticipatory environmental management tool. Therefore, it is important
to ensure that the developer you choose has not circumvented any of
their obligations to obtain an IEE or EIA. This will also ensure that
the property you buy supports sustainability and has been built with
the environment and local community in mind.
Kert Stavorn is a
senior legal consultant for Siam Legal International. Kert’s practice
primarily focuses on real estate, construction and corporate matters.
kert@siam-legal.com
Source: http://www.property-report.com/apr_op_archives.php?id=127&date=8326
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