This year’s haze crisis ‘should serve as a lesson’

By The Nation

 

 

A serious study is required as this year’s air pollution in the North proves that Thailand lacks proactive measures to deal with “special conditions”, officials fighting forest fires in the past month say.

 

Apart from the El Nino phenomenon, which has dried up water sources and moisture, the accumulation of natural fuel in the forests and lack of cooperation from communities near forests has contributed to the crisis this year, said Thalerngsak Petchsuwan, deputy director general of the Pollution Control Department. He was speaking at a weekly press briefing at the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry.

 

“There is something unusual about this year, as the number of hotspots skyrocketed from the year before, when communities living near forests were cooperating. A lesson should be learned from this to guide our actions in the future,” he said. 

 

This lack of cooperation is believed to be one of the prime reasons for wildfires this year, as relations between communities and forest officials turned sour after the junta ordered strong action against forest encroachers. 

 

Though concerned agencies have not confirmed this as being the reason for forest fires, they agree that lessons must be learned from the ongoing crisis. 

 

Based on records, wildfires had dropped over the past four or five years, but have climbed again this year, up to more than 6,900 spots, with as many as 3,100 occurring in protected forests. 

 

A source from the National Parks Department said fires are generally started on the edge of deciduous forests overlapping community forests that people utilise to make a living. 

 

Using fire to seek forest resources and to clear farmland are being widely blamed for forest fires and heavy haze this year. 

 

Sources say the most worrying trend is that wildfires this year have been started intentionally deep in the forest, which are more difficult to douse and cause more damage to forest resources and wildlife. 

 

Sompoch Maneerat, the department’s spokesperson and former chief of Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuary, which is well protected from forest fires and other threats, said his department will assess the damage done this year and investigate the cause of wildfires in protected areas.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30368444

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2019-04-27

9 minutes ago, rooster59 said:

air pollution in the North proves that Thailand lacks proactive measures

not enough incentive for self-serving governments, general 'public health' in a specific part of the country in a specific season wont cut it nationally and local governments are inept

Nothing will be learnt from this years pollution,as nothing

was done or learnt in past years ,going way back.

 

The only way to try and stop it,is to have feet on the ground

up in the hills,camping out,Police ,Army and any Volunteers,

starting in February next year,any arsonists caught, need to be made 

an example of with 5 years prison terms,500 - 5000 THB fines

are not good enough,the losses in the tourist industry,never mind

the effect on people's health,demand that something serious be

done,been proactive is the only way to go.

regards worgeordie

This has been going on for as long as anyone has been burning stuff. Nothing is going to change in Thailand. All talk, no follow through, zero enforcement.

 

Make up some tough laws and then it all ends with the police who won’t do their job.

Nothing changes except the level of greed, which intensifies each year

lessons are never leaned here, if they were they would do something about the slaughter on the roads, the dire education system and rampant corruption at every level.

Settled down folks. Like everything else the PM has it under control with his stiff upper lip and spade; not forgetting the leaf blower.

Edited April 27, 20197 yr by Cadbury

2 hours ago, rooster59 said:

This year’s haze crisis ‘should serve as a lesson'

Just as this year's (and the previous 10 years) 20,000 plus road fatalities will serve as a lesson...……...yeah right!

Thais have the memory span of goldfish. One month from now this will have died down; a thousand people will have succumbed to lung diseases; another 1000 will have died on the roads despite the furore that erupts every public holiday and nothing will change.

3 hours ago, rooster59 said:

This year’s haze crisis ‘should serve as a lesson’

Indeed, they could ban the selling of these 'forest mushrooms' in markets etc.

Should - but won't.

 

Watch the news channels in about a month, be genuinely surprised when there is flooding in the areas that have been flooding since I came here 14 years ago.

 

Attentions spans of a gnat.  ????

4 hours ago, rooster59 said:

A serious study is required as this year’s air pollution in the North proves that Thailand lacks proactive measures to deal with “special conditions”, officials fighting forest fires in the past month say.

 

55555, and of course they won't blame it on the agriculture fires made by farmers.

The only lessons Thai's are interested in learning are how to get loads of money for doing nothing, how to scam each other and Foreigners, setting up fake Travel Agencies, running Ponzi Schemes and a thousand other illegal activities.   If they can't find a way to do any of these things here they will go to Foreign countries with 'Student' Visa's or as 'Visitors' and then work illegally until they get thrown out.

 

Learning how to look after their country and the wellbeing of its people are just about the furthest thing from their minds !

Edited April 27, 20197 yr by trainman34014

5 hours ago, worgeordie said:

Nothing will be learnt from this years pollution,as nothing

was done or learnt in past years ,going way back.

The only thing that changes is the mythology they use to deal with the media, believe it would be fair to say they have a lot better quality of "liars" in "government" now?

In the future "they" will probably ban any negative reporting - that will help maintain their ridiculous narcissistic behaviours! ????

Edited April 27, 20197 yr by CGW

5 hours ago, rooster59 said:

the accumulation of natural fuel in the forests

Nothing scares me more than this statement. What they will decide is they need to burn all the forests every single year to prevent this fuel from building up. In fact, it has already been reported they are doing this to some extent which the forestry people refer to as "fuel management". This practice is bad for the forest ecology, bad for the air people breathe. It's truly mind boggling the best solution they come up with to tackle smoke is to deliberately set the forests on fire.

 

But my bet is on that exactly the same thing will happen next year, and so on and so on ????

7 hours ago, worgeordie said:

Nothing will be learnt from this years pollution

Have you ever seen Thais learning something?

Lesson =  how  soon can we forget all  about this.

The only lesson for those who stayed in Northern Thailand this year is to go away next year and/or for the long-term to make other plans.

It is a good lesson and I am grateful for it.

Things will not change here, you can only adapt.

10 hours ago, rooster59 said:

This year’s haze crisis ‘should serve as a lesson’

History proves Thailand doesn't learn lesson very fast!

Yes should serve as a lesson !!....just as the annual floods in Thai metros serve as a lesson....since the last 10 or 20 years if not more !!!

Maybe far fetched, but, the article stated that there was a declining trend. Could this mean that Thais were finally getting it and that now other influences are at work. Just thinking, but what about migrant workers trying to make some extra money or maybe even do it by order of their 'boss'. If caught, migrants are easily replaced and the Thai didn't do it. Fires deeper into the forest makes you wonder.

 

As I said; just thinking.

10 hours ago, rooster59 said:

This year’s haze crisis ‘should serve as a lesson’

But it won't. 20 years from now, Thais will be doing the exact same thing. 

9 hours ago, dcnx said:

This has been going on for as long as anyone has been burning stuff. Nothing is going to change in Thailand. All talk, no follow through, zero enforcement.

 

Make up some tough laws and then it all ends with the police who won’t do their job.

One wonders why Thais even pretend by writing these silly articles. Perhaps they just want to practice English. 

My brother is an agronomist and has worked for several years in Africa. His theory is that people from countries that don’t have winters, and where nature provides them with everything the whole year round are usually not the best planners. I’ve had countless (pointless) discussions with wifey about (not) planning more than 5 minutes in advance. “Later - enjoy aroy food first na. Oh, this is old - throw away na. Mai pen rai, go to temple market. Not expensive ka.”

Gee this has been a great Thai bashing post. I wonder how many forum rules have been broken?

 

Mods?

9 minutes ago, emptypockets said:

Gee this has been a great Thai bashing post. I wonder how many forum rules have been broken?

 

Mods?

The trouble being that all of the comments are true to one degree or another.

On 4/27/2019 at 9:40 AM, mikebell said:

Thais have the memory span of goldfish. One month from now this will have died down; a thousand people will have succumbed to lung diseases; another 1000 will have died on the roads despite the furore that erupts every public holiday and nothing will change.

You shouldn't talk so bad about goldfish... They remember way more, unless taken on fight 1 vs 12