Abstract: A various environmental impacts resolution, which are caused by current building construction projects, to give knowledge about environmental impact assessment in order to be an awareness for the local government officers who are responsible in their areas by a short term training method, which under limited fund especially, it would be able to specifically define a wanted issue. This research purposes were to develop the training curriculum on Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for the local government officers to comparing their knowledge and awareness after training. The sample composed of 39 officers as a agent who is in the part of Mahasarakham Province’s population, which have been selected by a purposive sampling technique. The research design was just one group pre-test and post-test. The data collection was analyzed by percentage usage and t-test. The study results are as following: the training curriculum development on EIA for the local government officers was rated as a high efficiency. The local government officers had knowledge and awareness on EIA after training was rated higher that before training (p<0.05).

INTRODUCTION

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is an integrative process that looking at the environment in a holistic way, integrating all the aspects of total environment ecologically, socially and economically. EIA is an important opponent in local sustainable development planning and environmental management. The building construction projects are associated to the issue of environmental impact assessment in order to propose before applying on constructing permission. The local administration officers, who are responsible in operation, must necessarily be knowledgeable and well aware of EIA’s command, which is to protect a negative effects, which would happen to the projects and surrounding communities (Chaitach et al., 2009).

The International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI), was launched in 1990 at the UN in New York city as an International Environment Agency for the local government officers that is under sponsorship of UNEP, IULA and The Innovative Diplomacy Centre. ICLEI’s mission is to build and support worldwide movement of local governments to achieve a tangible improvement in global environmental condition through the cumulative impact of local actions (Shem, 2000).

In term of training, refers to knowledgeable, skilled and competent acquisition as a result of vocational teaching, practical skill and knowledge that are having a relation to the specifically useful competencies. It forms up the apprenticeship’s core and provides the content’s backbone at institutes of technology. Additionally, basic training is required for trading, occupation or profession, observers of labor market suggest that there needs to be continued training beyond initial qualifications in order to maintain, upgrade and update skills throughout working life. People who are within a various professions and occupations may referred to this sort of training as a professional development (Vougias, 1988).

As Chaitach et al. (2009), research should be a knowledge development by giving the local government officers a training in the aspects of law firm, regulation and as well as the act of parliament, which relating to the environmental effects, people’s participation and social effect evaluation for the local government officers to be able to constantly use this knowledge in developing their responsible areas, including environmental problems reduction, which were caused from many development projects. This research therefore, emphasized on the development of local government officers on EIA. The aim was to have more knowledge and awareness in their working areas through the development of training curriculum on EIA for the local government officers.

The research’s purposes:

Hypothesis: The training curriculum of EIA for local government officers has rated as high efficiency. The local government offices had knowledge and awareness on EIA after training were higher than before training.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

This research was an quasi-experimental one, with the one group pretest-posttest design. Population and sample are: population were 141 local government officers as an agent who is in the part of civil of Mahasarakham province; sample, 39 local government officers as an agent, who is in the part of civil of Mahasarakham province, selected by a purposive sampling technique, chosen from 3 districts. Research instrument, including the following:

Data collection, there was the step as follows:

Step 1: Collecting pre-training data from the sample, by the test of knowledge and awareness on EIA on the first day of training.

Step 2: Collecting the immediate post-training data from the same sample, by the same instruments, namely the tests of knowledge toward EIA.

Step 3: Analyzing data by statistical, percentage and Efficiency Index (EI) and t-test.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The development of the training curriculum on EIA for local government officers has used research and development process with two steps of:

Training curriculum on EIA for local government officers:

Day 1: Law firm and regulation, which relate to environmental impact assessment and professional etiquette.

Day 2: An assessment on social impact assessment and people participation in a process of environmental impact assessment.

Day 3: A training operation on a primary environmental impact assessmen.

Fig. 1:	Step to establish contents the training curriculum on EIA

Fig. 2:	Step to development training curriculum on EIA

The local government offices had a knowledge on EIA during the training and after training in very high level of over 80%. This shows that the developed training program has made the local administration officers efficiently received knowledge and experiences about environmental impact assessment, which is accorded to Kanokkkorn (2007) research who found that the developed training program was rated as high efficiency. The curriculum of training had a high level of feasibility to be used as the results of pre-test and post-test, the post-test’s score was higher than pre-test’s score. Tai et al. (2008), research who found that after the training the institution administrators gained the leadership as knowledge in very high level of over 80%.

The local government officers had knowledge and awareness on EIA after training were higher than before training with statistically significant difference at the level of 0.05, which shows that the developed training program making more knowledge and experience receiving for the local administration officers, which relating to the environmental impact assessment directly to the program’s target, which is accorded to the Thawatchai et al. (2008), who found that the community environmental leaders had knowledge in a forest resource conservation that according to a sufficiently economic philosophy after training is higher than before training.

CONCLUSION

From this research, the training curriculum on EIA for the local government officers was rated as a high efficiency and they also had knowledge and awareness on EIA after training were higher than before training. Information from the study was giving beneficially to the EIA development system in local government department.

RECOMMENDATIONS

There should be a training curriculum in this research on EIA for the local government officers, which is beneficially giving the other aspect areas of law firm, regulation and the act of parliament, which relating to the environmental effects, people’s participation and social impact assessment for the local government officers in order to be able to constantly use this knowledge to develop their responsible areas, including an environmental problems reduction, which were caused from many development projects.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This research is based on a collaborative study with Associate Professor Suttipong Hoksuwan, Faculty of Education Mahasarakham University, Colonel Saranyu Viriyavejakul, Office of Commander-in-Chief of Royal Thai Army, Mr. Saiyon Srihabua, Natural Resources and Environment Mahasakham Official, Mr. Sanphet Ploisangvan, Local Government Mahasarakham Official. The study was supported by funds from the North East Network for Local Research Management and Technology Transfer.