This case study focuses on the experience of the Omkoi community in Thailand, which is fighting back against a dangerous coal mine planned without its input. It follows the community-led resistance to the coal mine project, analyzing the legal and structural context of the situation in Thailand. The case demonstrates the threats faced by frontline communities around the world resisting fossil fuels and other forms of climate destruction. 

Although the company behind the mine, 99 Thuwanon Co. Ltd., had planned the project for 20 years, community members only heard of the project in April of 2019 when the government announced that it was almost finished with the approval process for the mine. Without local input, the Environmental Impact Assessment completed for the mine did not address the impacts it would impose on the Indigenous community that lives in Omkoi. As subsistence farmers, the community relies on the land for its food, water, and livelihoods.

Community-led efforts to stop the mine have been met with heavy repression from the government and company, with some youth leaders even criminalized. This case study follows their story.