On 13 February, the Supreme Administrative Court reaffirmed a temporary injunction halting a proposed coal mine project in Chiang Mai’s Omkoi District after local community members filed a lawsuit alleging that the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for the project was not conducted properly.

The lawsuit was filed in 2022 by 50 people from Kaboedin, an Indigenous Karen community in Omkoi, and 615 supporters, against the Expert Review Committee for the environmental impact assessment report and the Office of Natural Resources and Environmental Policy and Planning (ONEP). They alleged that the EIA process was not conducted properly, as it was done without the participation of local residents and contained many errors and omissions.

The community has long protested against the coal mine project out of concern that if implemented, it would have negative impacts on residents’ health and livelihoods, and that would deprive them of their rights to a healthy environment, including clean air and water.

On 23 September 2022, the Chiang Mai Administrative Court granted a temporary injunction suppressing the EIA report, which meant that mining concession for the project cannot be granted.

The Expert Review Committee and the ONEP filed an appeal. According to the EnLAW Foundation and the Center for Protection and Revival of Local Community Rights (CPCR), whose lawyers are representing the community, the Supreme Administrative Court ruled on 13 February to reaffirm the temporary injunction, so the EIA report cannot be used to grant a mining concession to the project until the Administrative Court rules on the case or changes its order.

Watchalawalee Kunboomreung, a lawyer from EnLAW, said that the Supreme Administrative Court reaffirmed the temporary injunction on the grounds that the community might suffer long-term environmental and health impacts that may be difficult to remedy in the future if the project is allowed to go ahead while the case is pending.

The ruling set a precedent for the protection of the environment and the health and livelihoods of people who might be affected by a mining project, Watchalawalee said. It affirms the right to a healthy environment. It is a moment of victory for local residents standing up for their communities against mining projects and sends the message that any decision that affects a community must take their input into account.

Pornchita Fapratanprai, a member of the Kaboedin community, said that she is happy with the ruling. The community has been protesting for 6 years, she said, and the ruling shows that the Court cares about communities and the environment.

The community does not want a coal mine on their land, Pornchita said. Such a project can cause both short-term and long-term environmental impacts as seen in many examples, including the mine in Myanmar which caused contamination of the Kok River. She said that the impact cannot be avoided no matter how good the project is or how many times the EIA is redone, noting that she does not know of any mine in Thailand that is environmentally friendly and good for the local community.

“Everyone loves their hometown,” she said. “The coming of a coal mine is a big problem for people in Omkoi and other communities along the way. Kaboedin itself is in the area of the planned project. Our community has lived this way from time immemorial; we can support ourselves with agriculture. If one day six-wheel and ten-wheel trucks carrying stones go past every day, it may not be a normal happy story for the people there.”