Judging by the wide extent of deliberate fire in February 2016 on the property at Huai Teng Tao managed by the Royal Thai Army one might think entry restrictions to prevent fire henceforth are pointless. However Army land extends into the forested foothills in the background adjacent to the Doi Suthep-Pui National Park. Most years these hills burn and the forest becomes increasingly degraded, so much so there are areas where not even grass will grow. Exclusion of fire here could allow the slow natural regeneration of the forest.
Part of the problem with the burning is caused by the local tambons themselves. They burn the verges and in doing so burn all the plastic and other waste that has been discarded. In some cases the same workers who errect the ‘no burning’ signs then come along and burn the verges, with the fire spreading into adjoining forest areas. This is a major problem because plastics burnt at these low temperatures emit extremely harmful toxins to add to the already dangerous quality of Chiang Mai air. Another problem, and this is really worth investigating if you can, is that the Northern Thai Sports Authority have built an incinerator at the back of the 700- year stadium. here they burn plastic and other waste at low temperatures using wood as fuel. You need at least 1000 degrees to eliminate toxins from plastic and wood cannot reach these temperatures. There are also no scrubbers in the one stack. Consequently polluted and foul smoke is released, across the velodrome, running areas and into the local school. As a cycling coach at the velodrome I have had to halt sessions on many occasions.