Such unplanned urban development can have adverse impacts not only on rural agricultural landuse but also to the natural resources such as soil and water. In the case of Pathumthani, urban development is predominantly driven by industrial growth. In the mean time government has promoted foreign direct investment (FDI) for industrial manufacturing in the province (Dahlmen and Brimbel, 1990; Mephokee, 2001). It leads to change the quality and quantity of land and water resources for urban and industrial use. Thus, there is a need to address the existing impact of urban and industrial development on agricultural landuse in the context of natural resources management.

Economic Development and Natural Resources Management Policies and Plans
Thai economic diversification has happened through industrial development while increasing the productivity of the agriculture sector in the country. Thailand continues with a two pronged approach to development by consolidating on its agriculture base while pursuing the goal on an industrialized country. The Industrial Development Promotion Act has been introduced in Thailand in 1954. It has been gradually amended and Board of Investment (BOI) has been established to implement the provisions of this Act. It has provided a number of privileges and incentives to promote industries, such as tax exclusions, permission to own land for specific industries, permission to export industrial products, and others (Kritiporn et al., 1990). Nevertheless, no particular attention has been given to the question of industrial location or regional distribution of industries. This development practice has largely exploited and degraded natural resources and environment in the city. The government seriously recognized these problems by enacting first environmental law entitled “Enhancement and Conservation of National Environmental Quality Act B.E. 2518” in 1975. This Act has been amended number of times to strengthening its effectiveness in favor of nation. The latest amended Act is “Enhancement and Conservation of National Environmental Quality Act B.E. 2535” (1992) (http://www.onep.go.th/eng/about_onep_1.asp). To implement this Act effectively, government has formulated ‘Policy and Prospective Plan for Enhancement and Conservation of National Environmental Quality (1997-2016)’ and established three environmental organizations, namely, the Office of Natural Resources and Environmental Policy and Planning (ONEP), the Pollution Control Department (PCD) and the Department of Environmental Quality Promotion (DEQP) under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE). These governmental organizations are further divided into several division and regional offices, which take charge of special natural resources and environmental concerns at national and provincial levels.

In the early stage, the national economic and social development plan has largely been based on the acceleration of economic growth with utilizing the natural resources to produce goods and materials. Due to this activity, the natural resources have been degraded in the country, and ecosystem functions of certain communities have been adversely affected (http://www.onep.go.th/eng/; and http://managingwholes.com/--ecosystem.htm). On those days, plans were only incorporated natural resources and environment management as part of development objectives, but latter government has specifically addressed workable guideline and procedure to manage natural resources and environment. The summary of National Development Plans and their focus on economic development and natural resource management are illustrated as below:

Table 1: National Development Plans with Comparative Analysis of Economic Development and Natural Resource Management

National Development Plans	Economic Development Focus	Natural Resource Management Focus
First Plan (1961-1966)	Aimed to raise the living standard by developing economic condition.	Emphasized to conserve and protect forest area.
Second Plan (1967-1971)	Emphasis was placed on private sector involvement on nation development activities.	Focused on problem solving process from central level.
Third Plan (1972-1976)	Shifted its investment policy from import-substitution orientation to export-promotion industries.	Activities designed to improve natural resource conservation and increase protection areas.
Fourth Plan* (1977-1981)	Emphasized decentralization economic growth from the capital region to the provinces. Promoted on export-oriented industries.	Attention was given to manage basic natural resources, such as land, forest, water and minerals and rehabilitate environmental condition
Fifth Plan (1982-1986)	Development of the Eastern Seaboard Area as an industrial zone and Industrial Estates have set-up in the southern part of Thailand.	Emphasized about the conservation of major natural resources like soil, water and forest.
Sixth Plan (1987-1991)	Specified programs for development of urban and specific areas, in consideration of the principle of “distributing prosperity and strengthening justices”.	Encouraged private, public and local authority to manage natural resources and environment. Improved the administrative system and organizations.
Seventh Plan (1992-1996)	Reflected the importance of industrial development in the overall development of the country.	Provided the natural management guidelines and authorities down to provincial and district levels.
Eighth Plan (1997-2001)	Shifted from "growth" orientation to holistic "people-centered" development.	Rehabilitation process took place with local participation.
Ninth Plan (2002-2006)	Emphasized on balance development of human, social, economic, and environmental resources.	Community-based management has been recognized to solve the problems on natural resources.

Source: NESDB, National Economic and Social Development Plans of Thailand.

*Fourth National Development Plan is a turning point for both industrial development and natural resources management sectors. This plan has spelled out the industrial decentralize policy from cities level to national level and has given emphasis on natural resource management.

According to the National Development Plans of Thailand, it seems that the government’s policies have encouraged industrial development in peri-urban agricultural fields, which leads to conflicts in landuse and degradation of the local environment. Beside these a serious issue is regarding the sharing of water for irrigation and industrial consumption and ensuring the treatment of effluent.

The rapid change of spatial as well as non-spatial characteristics in the fringe area of the big cities, make social, economic and environmental impacts (Allen, 2003). This paper attempts to analyze the consequences of urban and industrial development of Pathumthani province, which is also a fringe area of Bangkok Metropolitan Area (BMA).

The specific objectives of the research were:

• To explore socio-economic impact after expansion of urban development in the fringe area.
• To analyze the patterns of fringe development and industrialization and its effect on natural resources within decadal interval of time (1980-1990-2000)
• To study the conflicts arising out of the process of urbanization and industrialization

Methodology
As stated above the Pathumthani Province of Bangkok Metropolitan Region was selected as the study area. The main reason for its selection is because it was the first peripheral province of the city to attract new industries including the first industrial estate in Thailand (Nava Nakhon Industrial Estate).

Collection of base information on social, economic and environmental parameters of the province as well as its districts was the first step of the research. Especially, the district level data (As disaggregate data at sub-district levels were not available, District level data was considered for analysis) was collected for analyzing industry led urban development and agricultural activities. A combination of landuse data (spatial data) and the socio-economic data (non-spatial data) were selected as major indicators for the study. The landuse data referring to the time line on a decadal interval of 1980, 1990 and 2000 were collected. For evaluation, the year of 1980 was treated as the baseline year because government has only introduced a new industrial decentralization policy in 1977, which has resulted the shifting of industries from inner city areas to the periphery. Pathumthani province has accommodated some of these relocated industries and newly established industries during the two decades since the introduction of this new policy. So the effects of urbanization and industrialization on natural resources were analyzed between ten year intervals (i.e. 1980 to 1990 and 1990 to 2000).

The spatial data was analyzed with the application of ARCVIEW GIS. Data adjustments were carried out to meet the objectives of the study. Some details are explained as follow:

• Agricultural land, fallow land and water bodies were considered as major natural sources in the province. Similarly, urban and industrial areas were considered as a built-up area.
• The urban and industrial’s impact on the natural resources were analyzed with comparing outcome maps of decadal interval, like 1980-1990 and 1990-2000.
• Canal network and industrial locations were plotted together to point-out the more vulnerable location in the province.

The non spatial data like population, labour and income & expenditure of different fiscal years were also collected for analysis. Some related spatial and non-spatial data were also analyzed like population vs. urban and industrial growth, industrial growth vs. income & expenditures.

The interviews were carried out with concerned stakeholders to understanding the existing conflicting issues due to the expansion of urban areas and industries in the province. Some specific conflict issues related to landuse and water use were collected from the field level. The following section summarizes the findings from the study.

Findings
The study area is characterized by an extensive mix of agricultural and non-agricultural activities and exhibits both urban and rural features. This extended zone of development is a good example of what McGee (1991) calls ‘desakota’ (A term derived from two Indonesian words for Desa (village) and Kota (town/city) which includes an intensive mix of agricultural and non-agricultural activities side by side). This zone has without doubt represented areas of new economic opportunity, new jobs and increased income, especially for young female workers. At the same time, these areas are experiencing serious social and natural resources management problems. Brief discussions on the principal findings of the study are given below.

Socio-economic Transformation: The study reveals that industrial development has a significant socio-economic impact in the province. The population growth (see Table 2) rate between 1980 to 1990 had been 29 percent, and between 1990 to 2000, 64 per cent. Among the seven districts in Pathumthani province, the population-growth rate had been higher in the districts with more industries. Such as Khlong Luang, Muang Pathumthani, Thanyaburi and Lam Luk Ka have more population and industries than other remaining districts (see Fig 1 and Fig 4).

Table 2: Population Distribution at District Level of Pathumthani Province

Source: National Statistical Office, 1980, 1990 and 2000