The year 2012 has been particularly bad for extreme levels of air pollution due to burning of the countryside in Northern Thailand.
So what has been the response of authorities this year? Apart from a few large billboards featuring a picture of the Prime Minister with large writ words STOP BURNING and a picture of skyscrapers in the background, (was this meant to refer to the events at Ratchaprasong in April 2010?) Very little it appears.
Yet scars of the years fires remain visible on the ground, if not in people’s lungs, as this picture of young Dipterocarpus turbinatus (ยางแดง) trees killed at the Mok Fah Waterfall in Doi Suthep-Pui National Park show. One wonders what the park staff were doing to allow a fire to burn on both sides of a walking path, a perfect fire break, where control should have been easy?
Yang Daeng saplings killed by fire at Mok Fah Waterfall
I would like to suggest a timetable for implementation of a nation wide no burning program along the following lines be put as a proposal to the government without delay:
1. July 1st: The Prime Minister delivers a special address to the people announcing:
a) The intention to outlaw all burning of forest, government, waste and farming lands from 1st September 2012;
b) Establishment of a commission to provide public information on burning and to oversee a process of consultation;
c) 15th-28th July A national consultation whereby all rural communities identify how a cessation of burning may affect legitimate economic activities and what kinds of assistance may be required to support the local economy;
d) 15th-28th July A national consultation for urban communities which are asked to pair with rural communities to support a transition to end burning;
e) 30th July-18th August the commission collates results of the national consultations with recommendations for government action;
f) 15th-24th November Fire hazard reduction and Fire suppression training for all government officers & staff involved in rural travel;
(Note: dates below apply to the north & northeast. Different dates may apply elsewhere)
g) 25th November Provide rudimentary fire suppression equipment for all vehicles used in government rural travel and require all government officers to carry out primary fire suppression when a fire is encountered;
h) 1-8th December To coincide with Father’s Day and Thai Environment week declare this to be Fire hazard reduction week to mobilize communities to remove long grass and genuine weeds along roadsides, in forested areas and other places vunerable to wild fire.
i) Commencing from 7th January 2013 with most activity during the school holiday period in March & April – The Nationwide Student farming camps whereby secondary and tertiary students assist with crop planting preparation.
More points will need to be added related to proclamation of laws and regulations and for budget provisions.
What do you think ? What points do you suggest the PM make in her speech?
Good initiative! I like the communication and awareness campaign.
If the practice of burning is so ingrained in the culture (and if it is needed), maybe, instead of just saying no (banning) we need to find some other means to help the population transition to effectively do something else that would be as good or better than burning. Can we have a win-win outcome whereby a substitute or another ways to deal with the “need” or the “tradition” to burn changed to something else? I guess c) does cover that a little bit. Can we have more emphasis on the consequences of this on health of people. Maybe students can make posters, videos, make plays, write songs… to present to adults, as in a an ad campaign against fire! Then, students can rate the ones they feel are the most effective. Give a prize for the best X works (min. one for all the provinces affected?) Have signs on agricultural products about this issue (like cigarette packages)..
(The grey-on-grey font makes writing very difficult. Can that be changed?)
การแก้ไขปัญหาหมอกควันและไฟป่า (ภาครัฐ)
จากประสบการณ์ในการทำงานของภาครัฐ
ในการการแก้ไขปัญหาหมอกควันและไฟป่าตั้งแต่ ปี 2550 จนถึงปัจจุบัน
ผมเห็นด้วยกับตารางเวลาที่ คุณ Ricky Ward ได้เสนอไว้
อันที่จริงแล้วที่ผ่านมาหน่วยงานของรัฐก็ได้ทำแล้วในระดับจังหวัดในการประกาศเป็นวาระของจังหวัด
แต่ยังขาดการทำงานร่วมกันของหน่วยงานต่างๆ ในพื้นที่จังหวัด และมีข้อจำกัดมากมาย
เช่น นโยบายของผู้บริหาร อำนาจหน้าที่ จำนวนเจ้าหน้าที่ งบประมาณ และที่สำคัญที่สุดคือ ยังขาดสำนึกรับผิดชอบและมีมุมมองต่อปัญหาที่แตกต่างกัน โดยส่วนใหญ่มองว่าเป็นปัญหาที่เกิดเพียงชั่วคราว ถึงระยะเวลาหนึ่งก็หายไป ดังนั้นการที่เสนอให้นายกรัฐมนตรีประกาศขอความร่วมมือตั้งแต่ต้นฤดูกาล เป็นสิ่งที่ภาครัฐต้องการมาก ด้วยเหตุผล ดังนี้
1. มีทิศทางนโยบายที่ชัดเจนให้กับทุกกระทรวง
2. มีการสนับสนุนงบประมาณและทรัพยากรต่างๆ ที่สอดคล้องกับสำหรับข้อเสนอเรื่องระยะเวลา
3. เป็นการกระตุ้นให้ประชาชนให้ความสนใจให้เตรียมตัวหาวิธีในการลดการเผา จัดการเชื้อเพลิง ก่อนเข้าฤดูกาลหมอกควัน
ข้อเสนอแนะของผม
1. ชุมชนในชนบทยังมีความจำเป็นต้องใช่ไฟเผาวัชพืช เพื่อการทำการเกษตร ดังนั้นควรมีมาตรการลดการเผาตามลักษณะของพื้นที่ และควรทำ Campaign งดการเผาในช่วงระยะเวลาที่มีความกดอากาศสูงที่เป็นปัจจัยให้เกิดการสะสมหมอกควัน
2. การสร้างจิตสำนึกให้กับประชาชนต้องใช่ระยะเวลา แรงจูงใจ ให้มีการสนับสนุนปัจจัยต่างๆ ทั้งระบบเศรษฐกิจของครัวเรือน
3. การเกิดการเผาไหม้ในบางฤดูกาล และจำนวนจุด Hot spot ในฤดูกาลอื่นมีมากมายแต่ไม่เกิดหมอกควัน
สัญญา ทุมตะขบ
Wildfire smoke pollution problems (Department of State)
From my experience in Government sector.
To troubleshoot smoke and wildfire since the year 2550 (2007) till now. .
I agree with the schedule you Ricky Ward In fact, in the past, the Government has made in the province level as the agenda of the province. But the lack of interoperability of the various units in the area, and there are many constraints. Such as policy management authority The number of staff, budget and most important is the lack of conscience and responsibility with a view to different problems. Most view it as a problem only temporarily. To the period of time it lost. Therefore, the offer of the Prime Minister published a request for cooperation from the beginning the season as the Government needs the following reasons.
1. There is a clear policy direction to do.
2. Budget and resources support from government must concerning the duration of problem.
3. To encourage people interested, prepare yourself for ways to reduce the firing and forest fuel management before entering the season mist smoke
My suggestion
1. Rural communities still need a fire burnt the weeds for agriculture therefore should have measures in place to reduce the appearance of the area and firing should do Campaign refrain firing during the period of high air pressure is a factor causing the accumulated fog smoke .
2. Creating awareness for citizens need a time, motivation, there are various factors supporting the economy of the household.
3. The combustion occurs in some seasons and the number handles Hot spot in many different seasons, but no mist smoke.
Thanks to Peter Sunya for the encouraging and helpful comments. I agree more detail needs to be developed and some issues will need resolution or clarification.
Regarding Sunya’s suggestions:
1. “Rural communities still need a to burn weeds…” Recently I spohe with 2 senoir National Parks officers in Chiang Mai and one said to me “If I had not been to forestry school I would not have known fire is bad for the soil”. We must remember that the fire problem is not only a public health issue and that is why the centre piece of the suggested plan is about having communities discussing the issue. The Agriculture department has been working for years with farmers to persuade them to compost rather than burn agricultural residues. Fire does not solve weed problems in my experience. Rather it provides a clear area for weed seed to germinate. Aside from composting and using weed slash as a mulch to reduce soil erosion and conserve soil moisture, weed and crop residue can be converted to bio-char, which when applied to the fields increases crop productivity. The suggestion for student work camps in the long holiday break should allow students and other volunteers to help crop land preparation without the use of fire.
So I would suggest it best to start from a no fire declaration and if the consultation provides solid evidence that this should be eased for a period so be it.
2. Creatng awareness needs time. True , and we have had propaganda for years now so I would suggest the awareness of the problem is there. What is lacking is a resolve by the government to press the issue home and the plan is calling for just that. Yesterday I spoke to a friend who lives at the edge of Doi Suthep-Pui National Park which had many fires this year. In his village the Puyai Ban speaks regularly about the need not to burn and villagers build a firebreak. Yet some folk “”appear determined to burn”. My view is that mostly people in a village know who does what in the forest and know who are the culprits. So peer pressure needs to be firmly applied and I would suggest some of the offenders be made responsible for patrolling the forest and ensuring no fires are lit. Here is where a budget may be helpful.
Now to my questions:
1. Has this plan been put to senoir officials in the government and to ministers?
2. If so what progress has been made on implementing the plan and in particular for a public announcement by the Prime Minister?
3. If not can the plan be presented for urgent consideration ( as requested in the petition from the Breathe Campaign?
Difficult to have much confidence in this website. For many days now it has said that PM-10 is 86.3, but other websites show variation, and today at aqmthai.com the level is 98. What is the real number? I just know that breathing this filth outside is uncomfortable, and the haze is thick over the city.
One other thing: This website gives you the choice of signing in with Facebook, Twitter, or Google, as if everyone has one of these accounts. Even if I have on of these, do I want to give my account name to this website? I have no confidence that they will protect my privacy. So, I use this method. Someone who wrote in mentioned that this grey on grey page is very hard to read. People who make these web pages really puzzle me;
don’t they realize that it is so difficult to see what you are writing here? Why is the type so damn small? Perhaps they just don’t care.
Sorry Roger appears to be looking at an old post where the meter is out of order. This comment and others have been referred to the site administrator who is presently out of Chiang Mai.
I am looking at what you present every day as fact, that the PM 10 is 86.3, when obviously it is not.
This is either very deliberately dishonest, or it feeds the stereotype of lackadaisical inefficiency that I would think you would very much like to avoid. This gives a very bad impression of Thailand. So, if I had not mentioned this, how many more weeks would you have presented an incorrect reading to those logging in here? If the meter is not working, why did you not tell us right away? Only when you are caught do you admit the truth. Do you realize what a terrible impression this makes? I have noticed since I have been here that Westerners who come to Thailand have this unfortunate tendency to lower their standards and expectations, and adopt a more third-world flexible attitude toward efficiency and truth, like the old adage that bad money drives out good. I look out my window and see that the air is filthy and not fit to breathe, regardless of what numbers you present here. How are we to trust anything you say?
While I still have the chance, I will say this: Your system here permits readers to comment freely while not having to identify themselves. I suspect that now that you have been challenged – I see no evidence that this has ever happened before – you will alter your system so that this is no longer possible, as do many other sites. This will stifle honest criticism by those who are reluctant or unable to reveal their true identities. This will increase the likelihood of more restrained white-bread posts that don’t rock your boat too much, and help to maintain the status quo. Thailand has some good qualities, principally that it is inexpensive, but it also has many defects. I have asked many falang the question, “Would you live here if the cost of living were the same as London or New York?” and everyone has replied, “Of course not!” Many of the demographic problems (putting it so very delicately) of London and New York are avoided here, but I become a little disgusted when I see the everything-is-so-wonderful-and-lovely attitude from falang who are afraid that any criticism will be somehow racist and anti-Thai. No place is perfect.
After some weeks where the PM10 levels were very high – into the red at Nakhorn Sawan & Ayuttaya stations in central Thailand and markedly lower in the north, the situation today 1st March has reversed itself with very high readings at Lamphun, ChiangMai & Phrae . Details at aqmthai.com
Hi Roger Lee
Thank you for your feedback.
To start I’d just like to remind you that this website is a voluntarily run community driven website for those interested in helping to preserve Chiang Mai for future generations. The site has been painstakingly maintained and funded by me and in my own [very limited] free time for over 5 years. I’d also like to especially mention Ricky Ward who really is the father of this site and whom lovingly spends a large amount of his time involved in a variety of positive projects across the province and regularly publishes a wide variety of engaging and insightful content here at ourchiangmai.com.
We have a variety of members and welcome new ones at any time. Unfortunately despite using the best tools available to us there are a huge number of people who simply register on our website and publish spam links and it was becoming too time consuming to manage. Due to this we now encourage people to register using their Facebook, Twitter and Google account which has dramatically reduced the amount of spam being added to the site (please note that when registering in this way the only information we get from these accounts are your email address and name). You can still register with just your email address and name by clicking ‘register’ in the top left of the website.
As for the air pollution monitors on our website, all data is taken from the Pollution Control Department website aqmthai.com. The monitors have to be manually maintained daily and therefore we don’t always get the chance to keep these up to date with the last two weeks being a good example of this.
You sound very passionate and I would love for you to get involved and help with OurChiangMai.com. In order to not mislead users as to the current pollution levels, I have temporarily removed the monitors from our website whilst I try to find someone who can maintain these daily on our behalf (it’s a matter of getting the data from the PCD website and adding it to a spreadsheet). Is this something you can help with Roger?
Finally with regards to our websites font size, we use a standard size (if not a little bigger) of that which many websites use – 14px. For the most part text should be black on a white background as accessibility and readability are important to us. If you are having trouble viewing the site, please take a screenshot and email this to me whilst noting which operating system, browser and version you are using so that we can investigate further.
Kind regards,
Alan
OurChiangMai.com Website Administrator
Talk is all this is, right! Nothing changes, I just leave!