Wildfires In Peat Swamp Prove Tough To Contain: Nakhon Si Thammarat

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Wildfires in peat swamp prove tough to contain

KRISSANA THIWATSIRIKUL,

KANYA KHAMNURAK,

KITTIYANEE SOMMAI,

THANIS SUDTO

THE NATION

NAKHON SI THAMMARAT: -- Wildfires in a protected peat swamp forest in the South - both on and below the surface - are proving tough to extinguish despite significant efforts by hundreds of fire-fighters over recent weeks.

About 1,600 forest fire-fighters have been deployed from national parks across the country to try to put out the fires, which have destroyed over 20,000 rai of protected forestland in Nakhon Si Thammarat and Phatthalung.

Thanakorn Raktham, of the Royal-initiated Pak Phanang River Basin Development Project Fire Control Station, said fire-fighters had to lug a long rubber water hose, plus large and medium-sized water pumps, to inject large amounts of water to put out the smouldering subsurface fire.

They also had to build a barrier to limit the fire's spread and dredge a canal to bring water to the burning peat swamp forest.

"They [forest fire-fighters] have to carry a rubber water tube with them more than one kilometre deep in the peat-swamp forest to put out the fires," he said.

"It isn't easy for fire-fighters to control the fire. Sometimes they get lost going through the forest. Sometimes they have to spend a lot of time getting over many fallen trees. Sometimes they have to travel by boat. If we could not go deep inside the forest that would mean we'd have few chances to control the fire."

The fire in the peat swamp was caused by agricultural activity by local people. They build fires to cook lunch while seeking forest products in the peat swamp. Some used fire to burn their farms and palm plantations. These then grew and spread to nearby protected peat swampland. After the forest reserves were damaged, they were keen to occupy the land.

A prolonged drought, starting in June, was another factor that made the forest vulnerable because the water level had dropped to 20 centimetres underground.

Chai Suwanchart, chief of the Wildlife Non-hunting Area Office, said he had sent over 400 fire-fighters to control the blaze in Klong Yuan Forest Reserve and Ta Lay Noi Wildlife Non-hunting Area in Kuan Khanun district in Phatthalung. About 400 rai of protected peat-swamp forest had been destroyed in these areas.

"We expect that if there is no more forest fire in the area, the situation will get better," he said.

Nation photographer Thanis Sudto, who observed the fire in Nakhon Si Thammarat and Phatthalung, said many fire-fighters did not wear protective equipment despite the danger of fire in the peat swamp. "They were just wearing cargo pants, boots and T-shirts," he said. "They have to spend all day and all night to put out a fire in the area but there are no smoke-prevention masks or goggles available for them."

-- The Nation 2012-08-22

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Fishing, clearing blamed for south swamp fires

JANJIRA PONGRAI

KRISSANA THIWATSIRIKUL

KANYA KHAMNURAK

KITTIYANEE SOMMAI

THE NATION

BANGKOK: -- Ordinary and ill-intentioned agricultural activity by local people - some of them just burning a field of dry grass to catch fish hidden in the mud - caused a huge fire in protected peat swamp areas in the South, a forest fire-watch agency said yesterday.

At least 20,000 of 300,000 rai of protected forest in Nakhon Si Thammarat and Phatthalung have been destroyed by blazes that authorities say were lit by locals wanting to fish in the bogs.

"They burned the grass cover so they could easily catch fish hidden in the mud," Chai Suwanchart, chief of the Wildlife Non-hunting Area Office, said.

Chai admitted his officials had allowed local people to catch fish in the peat-swamp forest.

Most locals go to the forest to catch sheatfish, like snakehead fish and catfish, which hide in the mud covered by grass during the prolonged dry season in southern provinces.

"We have been asking local people to cooperate and not to burn grass in the peat-swamp forest during the dry season as it could damage protected forest areas but no one listened to us," he said.

But some locals had also started burning their farms and palm plantations. These fires then grew and spread to the protected peat swampland nearby. After the forest reserves were damaged, they would occupy the land.

Forest authorities said over 10,000 rai of peat-swamp forest had been destroyed and occupied by local people for palm oil plantations and other agricultural development.

Chai said his agency found 33 copies of land ownership deeds for 70 rai of peat-swamp forest were fake Sor Kor 1, and 29 copies of Nor Sor 3 Kor land ownership deeds for 1,269 rai of protected forest land were illegally issued.

"We found that four big oil palm plantation operators had occupied about 4,000 rai of the encroached forests. They claimed that they held legal land ownership documents such as Sor Kor 1, Nor Sor 3 and Nor Sor 3 Kor," he said.

To date, there are many land uses including palm oil plantations in 70 villages in Nakhon Si Thammarat near the peat-swamp forest reserve areas.

The large illegal plantation has degraded the peat swamp forest and caused dry weather over the land.

There were many factors that caused fires in protected peat-swamp forest in Nakhon Si Thammarat and Phatthalung provinces.

One of the major causes of wildfire in these provinces was the prolonged drought that made the forest especially vulnerable as the water was down to 20 centimetres underground.

Moreover, the local office of the Royal Irrigation Department had opened the water gate of a canal to drain water from the peat-swamp forest to the sea as it wanted to prevent palm oil plantations and local people's homes from flooding.

National Parks chief Damrong Phidet is due to visit areas damaged by fire in Nakhon Si Thammarat today to try to solve the wildfire problem in the peat-swamp forest in the longer term. He will talk with relevant agencies, including Royal-initiated Development Project and Agricultural Land Reform Office, to find long-term ways to control fire in the forest and stop land encroachment.

Sanit Aksornkaew, of the Thailand Environment Institute, said the DNP should send officials to collect samples of soil and water to study physical changes in the peat-swamp forest, as the forest fire would increase alkalinity, which affects biodiversity and the growth of plants and animals.

-- The Nation 2012-08-22

[David006]

maybe my wife misunderstood the location but she tells me MCOT said that the fires were set by a gang of motorcyclists lighting spot fires for forcing sales,illegal land grabs/speculation? ......Sad if true no matter where.

[Dibbler]

peat swamps are the most carbon rich form of natural vegetation. they store huge amounts of the stuff and if DNP understood the impacts on their national carbon "bank" and future potential for carbon credits, they should send up airplanes to douse the fires as quickly as possible.

[DGS1244]

peat swamps are the most carbon rich form of natural vegetation. they store huge amounts of the stuff and if DNP understood the impacts on their national carbon "bank" and future potential for carbon credits, they should send up airplanes to douse the fires as quickly as possible.

Airplanes don't work on peat fires, only way to dig out barriers to prevent spread and then remove top soil. Ask the Irish they have been doing it for ages.

[Rob8891]

I was a firefighter in the Highlands and Islands for over 10 years.... peat fires are a curse, and the only real way is to have prolonged rain that soaks right into the ground. Hope that they get that, but without flooding elsewhere....

[DeepInTheForest]

The problem occurs over various regions of the globe. Not only peat, but underground coal fires (peat is a precursor to coal, geologically speaking), have been continuing for decades, most notably in parts of Pennsylvania and China.

In 1997, it is estimated that peat and forest fires in Indonesia released between 0.81 and 2.57 Gt of carbon; equivalent to 13-40 percent of the amount released by global fossil fuel burning, and greater than the carbon uptake of the world's biosphere. These fires may be partially responsible for the increase in carbon dioxide levels since 1998.

Underground peat fires are fairly common and world wide. In 2008 there was an underground peat fire in North Carolina triggered by a lightning strike and aided by a prolonged drought. In Australia (Victoria province)there has been a peat fire raging for 13 years. In 2010 Russia is suffering from a prolonged peat fire.

http://oilprice.com/The-Environment/Global-Warming/The-Compost-Bomb-Peat-And-Global-Warming.html

As the above article makes clear, the problem is exacerbated by, and also contributes to, global warming.

Also see: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12422213

[cdnski12]

Good Luck to the Thai Fire fighters. Canucks spent nearly a year fighting a peat fire in Burn's Bog (appropriate name) near VAncouver. They used super modern equipment & had access to a lot of water. Eventually the high sea tides & winter rainstorms put it out.

[xen]

I think i remember being told about a peat fire in Wales that has been burning/smoldering quite some distance from the surface for a few hundred years. Maybe someone can verify if that is so and if it is true then it does look grim for the Thai Fire fighters .