Forest Office Orders Hunt For Those Behind Fires In Thailand's North

[japatee]

Just go into a hilltribe village and arrest every male over the age of 10. Then you have a good chance of catching the culprit. Burning the forest is a way of life for these people and they donot care about the health of themselves or others.

That to me is a very important line which should be noted by all those complaining. Don't forget, it is their land. I find it hard to believe the advice being given to a guy who is planning to move here from UK (ongoing thread), probably to the Chiang Mai area and the number one item is check out where you are planning to live, don't buy for at least a year until you are happy with your surroundings. Not one comment about the burning that I have seen.

That said I do understand the health issues involved, but don't forget that it is their way of life and you are their guests. It was your choice to live where you are and even though there has been an increase (through modern measuring instruments) this problem has always been here.

(And no, I don't live in Bkk)

You sound just like the monk that lives next door to me.

I approached him recently about burning plastics and politely offered to help collect his garbage for him each week to limit the emission of deadly gases that spread to all the locals in the immediate area. In a very agressive manner he told me that he had lived here for over 10 years and told me to get off 'his' land.

Although some of these comments in this topic are complaints, a lot of them are not - a lot of them are suggestions to make this a better place for everyone that wants to live here, locals and foreigners alike Thailand has so much potential and for the most part it is a beautiful place to live. That's why we're here now, right? Foreigners should have a say, whether they are foreigners to Thailand or any other country. I'm from London and there are probably more foreigners than English people there. They all get a say on how London operates. What does it matter anyway, where we're from? Where we're going is much more important. And if we all start to act positively about this and actually do something about it, Thais and foreigners, rather than putting our headsin the sand, then we can have a positive impact on this terrible situation that effects not only those in the North of Thailand, but everyone in Asia and even beyond.

It is a fact that slash and burn farming does not improve soil fertility. It is an easy way to clear/clean up land. It is a lot more beneficial to the land to recycle organic waste. There are more people on this planet than ever before and so slash and burn farming doesn't work like it used to. Before, when the land had be depleted by this practice, the farmer would move on to the next plot of land. Now, we can't do that anymore with less land available and so people are turning to chemicals to 'boost' their output.

Burning forest land is simply a selfish act and those that do it should be caught and punished. The local police don't do anything about it because they probably know the individuals personally and so it becomes a bit awkward for them. Most effected people don't do anything about it because it goes against Thai culture to report another person. Also there is a severe lack of education regarding the dangers of breathing this smoke, which leads me to the next issue concerning the burning of plastics. Here, again a good educational program could really make a differnece here. In most cities, like Chiang Mai and Bangkok, your average Thai is probably aware of the dangers of burning plastics in and around your home, but in small villages, most people just don't know either way. So they burn it.

I personally feel the positives of Thai life far outweigh the issue of burning that we see at this time of year, but I also feel that it is something that can and really ought to change. For everyone’s benefit

Thank you for that, I was possibly a monk in another life, in a galaxy far away........................

And I am extremely happy that London has solved its slash & burn problem and its multi national populace is now living in harmony. But I am off topic as that is not Thailand. My issue was not to do with burning plastics; that I cannot stand.

You state that there are many suggestions included in this thread. I have seen one mention of education and another suggestion to read a book, apart from that, nothing but complaints.

As for the below statement, I wish you luck, but tread carefully when telling advising the land owners what to do. Wonder what it is doing for global warming (you could have used that as well)?

"And if we all start to act positively about this and actually do something about it, Thais and foreigners, rather than putting our headsin the sand, then we can have a positive impact on this terrible situation that effects not only those in the North of Thailand, but everyone in Asia and even beyond".

You were probably a better monk than my neighbour.

Nikster's suggestion is a great one -

My approach would be to assign local villagers / hill tribes guardians of the forest, give them some area to protect, and reward them when their area is found to have not been burnt any given year. You could call them fire brigade with rewards for not having fires.

I just feel that putting our heads in the sand is the same as giving up. And this is an issue that really must be challenged. Not by farrang alone, but by the Thai's that know about the dangers and consequences of the situation.

Please support us on this and sign our petition:

http://www.breathecampaign.net/

Thanks

[japatee]

How convenient for everyone to blame the hill tribes for this. In fact, most Thais in rural areas burn their rice fields back, burns their trash, and clears land scrub by.... BURNING. Yes hill tribe perform slash and burn but as one can see from the fire maps it is not just in the Northern forest regions but throughout central and Northern regions. Living in Chiang Mai the problem is only worsening. To get a sense of the air particulate YOU and I are breathing watch this you tube video taken on March 4.

Share this via email - blaming others and just sticking our heads in the sand, Ostrich style, does not help the issue but accepts it. Change starts with us.

And if you agree with NormadTad and the burning has effected you, please sign our petition open to Thai nationals and foreigners alike... http://www.breathecampaign.net/

Thanks

[OzMick]

It is human nature to continue habitual actions. Perhaps when we have an event like the great smog of London with thousands of dead, the message will get across. Of course, even there, it took enforced legislation to solve the problem.

PS Large number of fatalities, all to be cremated...............hmmm.

[Reasonableman]

More smoke

It is human nature to continue habitual actions. Perhaps when we have an event like the great smog of London with thousands of dead, the message will get across. Of course, even there, it took enforced legislation to solve the problem.

PS Large number of fatalities, all to be cremated...............hmmm.

[connda]

I see the last post was on March 11th.

"Hey! It rained...nevermind!"

Call off the search. Time to go back to putting their collective heads in the sand until next year.