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This research was undertaken in an attempt to find new environmental management approaches, strategies and procedures suitable for the upstream Oil & Gas Industry in Thailand and which would be most applicable (practical and reasonable) and suitable to the situation of the country. Current management frameworks in various developed countries were reviewed, compared and analysed to select criteria most applicable to Thailand. The research has found that Thailand's industry is smaller scale and younger than the others, and its provisions for environmental management are only very basic in comparison. There are few laws or regulations, standards, and guidelines that deal specifically in detail with the environmental management of Thailand's upstream oil & gas industry. The Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) under the Ministry of Industry is the only key authority directly acting as a 'one-stop-shop' responsible for the upstream oil & gas industry in Thailand. The functions concerned with environmental protection involve the enforcement of Petroleum Acts and Regulations, and safety and environmental standards but, because of the lack of environmental regulations, rules and standards for petroleum development, DMR can not be regarded as an active agency dealing with environmental matters. The UK has fuller and more definitive provisions, including standards and systems for levying penalties, and as such they are more akin to the command-and-control regulatory systems that have evolved in the more developed countries. There are many existing Acts and regulations affecting offshore oil & gas activities in UK. There are some strengths of the UK system which could be applied to Thailand. Pollution quality control by limiting the concentration of the discharge (standards) from oil & gas activities in the UK, USA, and the Netherlands are universal in their application and probably reasonable. Thus, these standards should be practicable for application to Thailand. On analysis of some of the new approaches (Environmental Covenants, STAR Producer Program), in the case of Thailand, it is considered that the country is not yet ready for these approaches because they require a mature environmental policy. Some part of the Asian Development Bank's recommendations however could suit Thailand in this situation. This research has lead to certain conclusions and recommendations for environmental management in Thailand. The main recommended priority is that DMR should set up a formal action team in the short-term to have specific responsibilities for driving environmental compliance and enforcement related to oil & gas activities. This team should prepare an action plan to enhance the regulatory framework and DMR capacity building. This planning is necessary for long term development and has to be implemented seriously.

This thesis examines the development and expansion of the UK onshore oil and gas pipeline network in Scotland which occurred in the 1970s and 80s as a result of the exploitation of oil and gas resources of the Central and Northern North Sea. In 1974 the first pipeline landfall in Scotland was established at Cruden bay, north of Aberdeen, and a pipeline onshore was laid to link that landfall with the Grangemouth refinery. In the period 1974-1984 the construction of major cross-country pipelines linking the north east of Scotland with the central belt and markets of England became an almost annual occurrence. The routing process and an analysis of the routes adopted is the subject of Chapter 4. It was calculated that over 2,000km of cross-country pipeline have been constructed in Scotland since 1974, involving disturbance of 2,000ha of land, 94% of which was in agricultural use, 2% woodland, 2% moorland and rough ground, 1% wetland, and 1&37 roads and railways. This research examined the impact of piplines on different land uses, and the quantification of pipeline impacts is the subject of Chapter 5. The emphasis of the research was on impacts on agriculture focussing upon intensive grazing and cereal crops in eastern Scotland, and upon extensive moorland grazing in Shetland. The analysis used a sampling approach with the selection of 13 sites in eastern Scotland and the study of the entire onshore length of the Brent and Ninian pipelines in Shetland. It was noted that in some circumstances pipelines have resulted in a decrease in crop yield and in other cases led to an increase in yield. In most cases there is no significant difference, the result of the successful reinstatement of ground conditions, and where differences do occur it is unlikely that they are any more than of statistical significance. The importance of pipeline impacts is considered in Chapter 6. The hazardous nature of the materials transported within the pipelines results in there being an impact outwith the area of disturbed land. This is the result of restrictions placed upon development in the vicinity of 'major hazards'; restrictions could apply to some 24,000ha of land in Scotland. However, because pipelines are principally routed in rural areas where other development control policies apply, pipelines have not acted as a major restriction upon rural development.

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The literature review identified the current scientific understanding of element and lime interactions with clay minerals and the leaching protocols used to assess contaminant mobility. This understanding formed the basis for the mechanisms postulated for clay-contaminant-lime interactions and the appropriate methods of chemically assessing time-dependent interactions. Two refined clay minerals English China Clay (predominantly kaolinite) and Wyoming Bentonite (predominantly sodium-montmorillonite) were used to assess the time-dependent effects of mineral structural chemistry on clay-contaminant-lime interactions. (Continues...).

Many global problems in society relate to issues of environment and development. This research explores different connotations of environmental management and development. Development models for Third World countries are found to be most effective when they promote the participation of people in the communities they serve. The thesis demonstrates that development is a process through which members of society develop themselves and their institutions to enhance their ability to mobilize and manage resources to produce sustainable and distributed improvements in their life. The thesis shows that environmental impact assessment (EIA) is an environmental management instrument that allows people to participate in the management of large development proposals. My research demonstrates that the integration of public participation for environmental impact assessment makes the ETA process more meaningful and satisfactory for those who are most frequently affected by infrastructures and commercial enhancement. The thesis reviews European legislation which identifies major projects such as nuclear and fossil fuel power stations, coal mines, oil and gas projects, airports, tunnels, barrages, roads and manufacturing plants for compulsory EIA. The thesis identifies then public participation as a necessary requirement for these assessments. My work shows that the existence of NGOs and other community groups may guarantee more realistic representation than those circumstances where such groups are discouraged, prohibited or ill formed because of inadequate local leadership. My investigation indicates that grass-roots participatory movements, in which people are encouraged to take the initiatives to manage the environment, develop their expertise and capacity to survive in particular circumstances are numerous. In order to investigate EIA in a country well on the way to industrialisation I examined the environmental impact assessment of development projects incorporating public participation in Portugal. I found that public participation in EIA in Portugal is weak because of historical political constraints. Participation is integrated with environmental management and development in grass-roots sustainable development initiatives in Africa and Asia. I demonstrated that local/regional resource management and development is often promoted from the grass-roots by NGOs with diverse histories. Some relate to people in different communities who have come together with different degrees of participation according to their individual, family, social, economic, political and environmental concerns. They challenge their situations by making responsible decisions, planning, implementing and monitoring their objectives through processes of consultation, action and reflection. I further demonstrated that community objectives are achieved through involvement in each stage of the development process. If it is believed that human potentials are to be discovered and developed, then meaningful participation can realise this by people's active involvement at all level of society in decision making. I demonstrated that NG0s, historically, have been effective in this task by removing obstacles and educating communities to participate. suggested it is through the promotion of participation that EIA can exert its effectiveness.

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