The possibility that the 25-year-old controversy over the planned construction of the Mae Wong dam could soon be resolved brings to light the importance in society to have open space for public debate on policy matters.
The Royal Irrigation Department (RID) on Wednesday softened its stance over its plan to build the 13-billion-baht dam in Mae Wong forest of Nakhon Sawan province.
The director of the department's project management office, Somkiat Prajamwong, made a major concession when he said the RID would be willing to scrap the dam project if it can find sufficient alternatives to address irrigation and flood control needs in the area.
Mr Somkiat even said the department will consider an alternate proposal prepared by the secretary-general of Seub Nakhasathien Foundation, Sasin Chalermlarp, who has actively campaigned against the RID's dam idea.
The Mae Wong dam project, which has been around since 1989, has generated fierce opposition from environmentalists who do not see how its flood protection and irrigation benefits can justify the series of negative impacts the project would cause on the forest and ecosystem.
The project had been put on the back-burner pending approval, until the Yingluck Shinawatra government decided to give it a push by including the project in its 350-billion-baht water management scheme.
The RID representative spoke after the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP) countered its proposal with a report that said the dam should not be built.
The report was submitted to an Office of Natural Resources and Environment Policy and Planning (Onep) experts panel tasked with considering the dam project's Environmental and Health Impacts Assessment (EHIA).
According to the DNP, the Mae Wong national park is too fertile an area for a dam to be built inside it. The dam's 19 sq km reservoir will inundate about 13,000 rai of forest area, from where hundreds of thousands of trees must be removed. Hundreds of species of wildlife will be adversely affected by the dam's construction and flood as well.
It is no surprise that the two state agencies assigned to do a different task have come up with a different recommendation over the same project.
What the panel of experts did, however, offers a lesson on conflict resolution. Seeing that the two agencies used different sets of data for their reports, the Onep committee told them to go back and work together to ensure their findings are from the same data.
The panel also invited Mr Sasin to brief it about his alternative water management plan which he said would render the construction of the Mae Wong dam unnecessary.
The softening of the RID's stance and attempt to include opposing voices into public policy consideration does not mean the conflict over the Mae Wong dam — which has divided people into staunch supporters and opponents — is now over. Still, it is a heartening sign when policy makers start to rely on facts not just from one field but all relevant areas and to listen to all stakeholders, not just state officials.
This is not the case with student activists arrested for staging a symbolic protest against Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha in Khon Kaen on the same day.
The students may be released without charge but the detainment is not a good sign for an inclusive political atmosphere that must be fostered for an eventual return to democracy.