National activity: Thailand Strengthening the local community movement A commitment to include people who are commonly marginalised and underrepresented in decision-making processes is key to realising the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment. A priority for the National Human Rights Commission of Thailand (NHRCT) is to strengthen the community rights movement in the country, with a focus on access to information; participation in decision-making; access to remedies and justice; and protection of environmental human rights defenders. By developing plain language resources and creating a safe space for community voices in policy dialogues, the NHRCT seeks to contribute to national and regional human rights frameworks on the right to a healthy environment. Climate change and development pose real threats for communities and human rights defenders in Thailand. Communities can be excluded from decision-making. The NHRCT wants to change this by sharing resources and information to build knowledge on human rights standards and holding meetings for community representatives to identify priorities and build community networks. Watch the video Snapshot: Climate change, the environment and Thailand ● ● ● ● ● Extreme heat and rising sea levels threaten large parts of Thailand, including the capital city of Bangkok. Thailand is vulnerable to many natural and human-induced hazards: floods, tsunamis, storms, droughts, landslides, forest fires and epidemics. Floods are by far the greatest natural hazard facing Thailand, in both economic and human impacts. Thailand is one of the ten most flood-affected countries in the world. The aftermath of devastating floods in 2011 provides an example of how climate change can adversely affect poorer people in Thailand. The human impacts of climate change in Thailand remain dependent on the approach taken to adaptation, but there is a significant risk that poor and marginalised groups will experience disproportionately greater loss and damage. Background Since 2011, the NHRCT has placed a high priority on implementing the ‘respect, protect and fulfil framework’ with Human Rights based approach, while also putting more efforts to articulate the practices with remedies and human rights due diligence set out in the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. - 30 -