Comparative study of rural regional planning between Thailand and Nepal in relation to SPRING-AIT approach | |
| Author | Lamsal, Krishna Prasad |
| Call Number | AIT RSPR no.HS-94-09 |
| Subject(s) | Regional planning--Thailand Regional planning--Nepal |
| Note | A Research Study submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science, School of Engineering and Technology |
| Publisher | Asian Institute of Technology |
| Series Statement | Research studies project report ; no. HS-94-09 |
| Abstract | Planning is a continuous process which has been taken place from household level to i nternational level. The main purpose of the plann i ng is to maximi ze the limited resources in order to achieve desired goal. Dec i sion makers cou ld not wait the trickle down effect of top down planning approach in deve loping countries because they wanted economic growth very fast. As a result, many ideas ha ve been put forward by planners in the field of pl a nning. Thus , decentrali zed planning is b e ing a major approach at present. In fac t, it i s result of the c h a nging interest of international institutions because their experiences have s hown only few people of deve loping countries have been benefitted from the aid of these institutions. Poverty is increased in absolute numbers in the world and pas t development efforts brought larger gap between rich and poor in soc iety and spatial disparities emerged tremendously within the countries themselves. Whic h are the reason s of social ins tability in and outside the country too. Thi s study has attempt to analyze the decentralized planning methodol ogy between Thai land, Nepal a nd compared with SPRING-AIT approach for rura l regional planning. SPRING-AIT approach is developed by SPRING center, Univers ity of Dortmund, Germany and s lightly modifie d in AIT, Thai l and. Thail a nd starte d rural development program since 1980s to reduce the growing disparities both in s patia l and social. Ne pal a lways advocated in favor of decentralization a nd people's participation in the field of deve lopment planning. But the realities in both count ries are found different. The administrative systems i s still centrali zed. Top- down pl a nning and sectoral approaches are more influential. Decentralize d planning is still init ia l stage in these countries. Whatever powe r is decentralized, it is again captured by local elites. Principa lly , nobody argues against the decentralized pl a nning which promote the people's participation in planning process . But planning without planne d way is obvious in d eve loping countries, like in Nepal a nd a l so Thailand. There is no clear methodology to develop the integrated pl a n accordin g to the felt nee d s of the poor people. So ca ll e d people's participation is limited within the loca l elites and government officials in accordance with the central directives. The local bodies are quite weak in terms of financial resources. Thi s study e ntire ly d e pendent on secondary information and qualitative met hods. Author himse lf has ma d e s ome qualita tive assumptions to show the present conditions of decen traliz e d planning of two Asian countries- provincial l eve l in Thailand di s trict l eve l in Nepal. Both countries could not follow even all the basic steps of planning process. Some steps are v i s ibl e and some are sti ll mi xed or not clear. They could not follow the a ppropriate techniques for planning at province and di s trict level. The SPRING-AIT methodology could be an appropriate methodology for the developing countries, like Nepal and Thailand. Still, some techniques are difficult to pursue by the planners who are not trained and simple people may not unders tand it. Therefore, it is to be modified in accordance with t he situation differs. Finally, it has to be said that there is difficult to implement any planning approach without supporting by political system which designs the decision making process or administrative system i n the country. One method and technique can not be valid in different situations and time. However, fundamental steps of plann ing are always inevitable. SPRI NG-AIT methodology for decentralized plann i ng can be an guiding too l to the developing countries though it is not supported by e mpirica l study. This Research Study was completed as part of the requ irements for the SPRING (Asia) Program. SPRING, an acronym for Spatial P l anning for Regions in Growing Economies, is an M.Sc. Program jointly offered by AIT a nd the University of Dortmund, Germany. Under the SPRING Program a Researc h Study carrying 12 credits, must be conceptualized and compl eted within on l y o ne term, i.e. from 1st May to 3 1 July 1994. Preferably, the topic s hould be related to t he preceding District Development Workshop. The SPRING Program thus differs from other M. Sc . programs at AIT where most students write a thesis which span s at least eight months. |
| Year | 1994 |
| Corresponding Series Added Entry | Asian Institute of Technology. Research studies project report ; no. HS-94-09 |
| Type | Research Study Project Report (RSPR) |
| School | School of Engineering and Technology (SET) |
| Department | Other Field of Studies (No Department) |
| Academic Program/FoS | Human Settlement (HS) |
| Chairperson(s) | Routray, Jayant K.; |
| Examination Committee(s) | Demaine, Harvey;Sopart Pongquan; |
| Scholarship Donor(s) | Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst (DAAD), Germany; |
| Degree | Research Studies Project Report (M.Sc.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 1994 |