Aatjima Hanchana. Management of invasive alien species - water hyacinth : an alternative for corporate social responsibility activities of factories. Master's Degree(Technology of Environmental Management). Mahidol University. Mahidol University Library and Knowledge Center. : Mahidol University, 2018.
Management of invasive alien species - water hyacinth : an alternative for corporate social responsibility activities of factories
Abstract:
This research focused on factors related to participation, interest and possibility of industrial factories in water hyacinth management, an alternative activity for corporate social responsibility (CSR). The target groups were the managers and representatives of staffs of large and medium factories, the chiefs of subdistrict administration organizations, and community leaders in the area adjacent to the Tha Chin River. The research tools included questionnaire and interview forms for factory managers, employee representatives, community leaders and representatives of the local organizations. Descriptive statistics and chi-square were used to analyze the correlation between the variables. The results showed that internal factors significantly related to participation of industrial factories in water hyacinth management were the factory policy, work plans and projects for CSR activities. At present, 21.1 % of industrial factories in the central Tha Chin River Basin are involved in the management of water hyacinth as CSR activities. Most of the industrial factories (57.9%) were interested in CSR activities for water hyacinth management at a medium to high level. All the factories in this study did not have interest in designing new activities for water hyacinth management. The most interesting activities for factories were using water hyacinth for fuel production, bio-fertilizing and bioextracts. Managers and employee representatives believed that factories were not causing the water hyacinth problem but factories should participate in water hyacinth management. Community leaders and local government representatives had an opinion that it was not the direct responsibility of factories to manage water hyacinth but the main responsibility of the government. However, factories are parts of the communities, so factories should be involved and help in solving problems of the communities. Communities are very pleased if all sectors including the private sector, are involved in solving water hyacinth problem in the communities. This research recommends that awareness and understanding of water hyacinth problems should be raised among all sectors. Factories should set up policies, plans, and projects to include water hyacinth management in their corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities. Water hyacinth should be managed by the government, the private and public sector from every sub-district along the Tha Chin river because it is a national agenda.