Pollution Control Dept To Propose Scheme To Fight Haze In Thailand's North

[webfact]

PCD to propose scheme to fight haze in North

THE NATION

BANGKOK: -- The Pollution Control Department (PCD) plans to put forward its nine-point anti-haze plan, which includes a ban on outdoor fires in the nine northern-most provinces during the “80 dangerous days” between January 21 and April 10, 2013. It will submit its proposal to the Cabinet by the end of next month.

Meanwhile, PCD chief Wichien Jungrungreung visited Nan yesterday to gather public opinion on the plan that aims to tackle the annual haze problem, which this year alone caused damage worth Bt390 million.

Wichien presided over a brainstorming session for haze solution at Muang Nan Municipality Office, which was attended by 500 officials, local administrators and community leaders from 40 villages.

PCD plans to gather public opinions in Chiang Rai, Phayao, Chiang Mai, Mae Hong Son, Lamphun, Lampang, Phrae and Tak and use them in its recommendations to the Cabinet.

Wichien said that next year Thailand, especially the upper North region, will have dry weather and the haze problem will get worse due to the El Nino phenomenon, hence the agency has drafted its nine-point plan to ban outdoor fires during this period.

He explained on Monday that the plan would mark out zones and calculate each province's potential for outdoor fires in order to keep pollution at bay.

The plan also includes the establishment of a haze prevention |and mitigation coordination centre for the upper North as well as cooperation with neighbouring countries such as Laos and Myanmar, he said.

Wichien added that the PCD would seek Bt900 million to implement this plan in 9,000 villages in the nine provinces.

According to the plan, Bt20,000 will be granted to each village to examine their potential problems and formulate an anti-fire scheme. Villages that manage to prevent the incidence of outdoor fires will be awarded Bt100,000 each.

The PCD chief said he will be asking private firms linked with corn farmers, such as CP Plc, to meet the department today to discuss measures to control outdoor fires.

On Monday, deputy permanent secretary for the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry Supoj Towichukchaikul said the haze issue should be pushed as a national agenda so agencies can take it seriously, adding that the government should work on educating the public about the issue.

He said information on haze problems was currently available on the Facebook page "Roo Tan Mhok Kwan" (Knowing Haze).

-- The Nation 2012-10-31

[Thai at Heart]

Helicopter gunships?

[chiang mai]

Haze, they seem determined to avoid the "P" word, regardless, I wish them every sucess. I also like the reference to El Nino, perhaps experts will tell us if that's truly a factor or just a scapegoat for public consumption.

Edited October 31, 2012 by chiang mai

[nurofiend]

if that's 'haze', i'd hate to see what they call smoke.

[driedmango]

This is a very serious issue for northern Thailand, they should something serious about it.

[Thai at Heart]

As yet, after 10 years there still isn't a concise answer why they do it. Clearing rice stubble to land grabs to stimulating mushrooms. Maybe it's just fun.

[nurofiend]

This is a very serious issue for northern Thailand, they should something serious about it.

but what can they do? there's no easy answer.

[fareastguy]

Mmmmm Bt900 million to tell the public NOT to light any fires, seems to me to be another recipe for some serious pocket money ??

Why not try what the local government do in my home country.. DO NOT LIGHT ANY FIRES OR YOU WILL GO TO PRISON !!

That cost's nothing !!

[hmj]

Forest fires are the biggest problem. Action has to be taken at village level: hold the village head responsible. Reward a village that had no forest fires and punish a village that did not prevent forest fires. Forbid villagers to graze cattle in the forests if there are forest fires. I wonder if the politicians will have the courage to do 'something'.

[chiangmaikelly]

My favorite was the year they banned Korean restaurants from cooking outside. That was supposed to stop it.

[fareastguy]

Forest fires are the biggest problem. Action has to be taken at village level: hold the village head responsible. Reward a village that had no forest fires and punish a village that did not prevent forest fires. Forbid villagers to graze cattle in the forests if there are forest fires. I wonder if the politicians will have the courage to do 'something'.

Forest fires are the biggest problem. Action has to be taken at village level: hold the village head responsible. Reward a village that had no forest fires and punish a village that did not prevent forest fires. Forbid villagers to graze cattle in the forests if there are forest fires. I wonder if the politicians will have the courage to do 'something'.

So the village head tells all his residents no fires or I will break your legs.. he gets a reward for complying with the directive & shares it not with the village but his family ??

[JeremyBowskill]

saw fires burning not 100 metres from army checkpoints from Chiang Mai to Pai and Pai to Mae Hon Song during a clampdown period last year. This was at the same time that the King had asked experts from Bangkok to come up and take a look, so if the kings wishes are not listened to the what hope do we have of anyone elses being listened to?

[Thai at Heart]

Well, it's interesting that this has finally reached the PCD at Bangkok level, because I know from speaking to one "political" bloke in Chiangmai last year, they have tried and tried to get it stopped on a local level.

However, telling people not to light fires is hardly a very serious effort. Lets see what comes out of the 9 point plan, but as I said, when there are whole hillsides on fire and no one can come up with a proper explanation as to why it is happening, I would suggest they work out precisely WHY so much burning goes on and for what reasons in which areas. Interesting they mention CP and corn, because the North has had a massive increase in the amount of corn production recently, so maybe clearing corn stubble is a significant issue.

That said, this is the only place I have seen where they choose to dispose of leaves by burning them instead of composting them, with no real explanation as to why. The love of burning stuff generally goes way beyond clearing land. It is part of village waste disposal.

[tfc]

Mmmmm Bt900 million to tell the public NOT to light any fires, seems to me to be another recipe for some serious pocket money ??

Why not try what the local government do in my home country.. DO NOT LIGHT ANY FIRES OR YOU WILL GO TO PRISON !!

That cost's nothing !!

Same as in mine. Even though prisoners cost a lot to upkeep in my country it's a big enough deterrent for this sort of thing that people just don't do it (much). Needs to be enforced which is the next problem here.

[Tywais]

which includes a ban on outdoor fires

They do that every year in Chiang Mai but it has done squat to minimize the issue.

[turboturtle]

The sad fact of the matter is that many local municipalities and government dispose of waste in fire pits outside of city limits as was done in the Petchabun province, fortunately that incident was actually documented on video so they were charged. But they need to strengthen the laws for air pollution, everyday in the Isaan region, garbage is burned and farmers burn the leftovers, I've came to Nakhon Sawan and the weather seems much more fresh here than any of my travels to the Isaan region. Maybe the corruption in the government is more overwhelming to give it notice to the rest of the world, they sweep all the skeleton ashes in the closet! HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

[Thailand]

Last year in Chiangmai there was a phone line that people could use to report fires and there was a reward of 5000baht if the culprits were caught.

Having spoken to quite a few Thai's who could have called the line all of them said they would never give their names etc as they would get in to trouble with the hi so owners of the land that was being burnt.

They will NEVER stop it in the short to medium term and Chiangmai and the other northern regions will be in for the smog for 3-4 months yet again -sorry,haze!

[worgeordie]

Buy some bloody big fans and blow the smoke over into Burma, dam, to late

I think someone in the Govt. already proposed that solution.

regards Worgeordie

[wayned]

Helicopter gunships?

They could fly them on their side and use them as "haze pushers" similar to water pushers in Bangkok. Where's the patent office?

[ricardofel]

Haze/pollution..............they are both an environmental and health hazard. In Chiang Mai 1000's of people must go to hospitals because the polluted air affects them. The problem is not just burning which happens year round, it's the black smoke from trucks, cars and motorsai's-it's been proven that it's carcinogenic and over time can cause cancer.

But.....the real issue is NOBODY in governmental positions/the police enforces the no-burning laws. Six days a week I ride my roadbike 2-3 hours outside of CM thru small villages and I pass villagers burning plastics, garbage, trash on a daily basis....some of the worst offenders are wats!

They want to give 20,000 baht to 9000 villages...what a joke! What a waste of money!!!! Like everything else in Thailand nothing changes for the better, the politicians don't care about the people...only padding their pockets and the pockets of their friends!

[chiangmaikelly]

Lalalalalalala---falling on deaf ears--thais do what they want--ie-helmets-driving-drinking-fires-etc---IMO they are very selfish ppl and and do ask they like as they know they will get away with it or a measly fine-slap on the wrist

Why not rally some farang volunteers and give them little visa bonus points when they report-find illegal burners?! I for sure could use a job and id love to be out there patrolling and catch those sneaky little bast*rds!

Cause the smoke comes from outside of Thailand. Stopping all the burning in Thailand won't help.

[Jobo]

Forest fires are the biggest problem. Action has to be taken at village level: hold the village head responsible. Reward a village that had no forest fires and punish a village that did not prevent forest fires. Forbid villagers to graze cattle in the forests if there are forest fires. I wonder if the politicians will have the courage to do 'something'.

Khon Thai cannot and will not enforce anything. Hence I agree with the other poster that the 900 million baht budget is just another avenue to line their pockets.

[seminomadic]

Forest fires are the biggest problem. Action has to be taken at village level: hold the village head responsible. Reward a village that had no forest fires and punish a village that did not prevent forest fires. Forbid villagers to graze cattle in the forests if there are forest fires. I wonder if the politicians will have the courage to do 'something'.

Khon Thai cannot and will not enforce anything. Hence I agree with the other poster that the 900 million baht budget is just another avenue to line their pockets.

I like hmj's idea but acknowledge it can't work in this culture. Puyaibahn will not accept not getting the money for not having any fires. The Puyaibahn will turn a blind eye when they make the fires on the DL and when whatever committee comes around saying "but you had a fire, it was seen Feb 13th..." he'll say "oh no, that was not our village" or "no, that was caused by lightning"

but one thing he won't say is "yeah, ok then, we can accept not getting the money"

[asiawatcher]

Mmmmm Bt900 million to tell the public NOT to light any fires, seems to me to be another recipe for some serious pocket money ??

Why not try what the local government do in my home country.. DO NOT LIGHT ANY FIRES OR YOU WILL GO TO PRISON !!

That cost's nothing !!

Yep - beat me to it - another side splitting brilliant record of event, and I wonder how the revenue department will account for Bt900 Million?

[BrianCR]

Forest fires are the biggest problem. Action has to be taken at village level: hold the village head responsible. Reward a village that had no forest fires and punish a village that did not prevent forest fires. Forbid villagers to graze cattle in the forests if there are forest fires. I wonder if the politicians will have the courage to do 'something'.

Forest fires are the biggest problem. Action has to be taken at village level: hold the village head responsible. Reward a village that had no forest fires and punish a village that did not prevent forest fires. Forbid villagers to graze cattle in the forests if there are forest fires. I wonder if the politicians will have the courage to do 'something'.

So the village head tells all his residents no fires or I will break your legs.. he gets a reward for complying with the directive & shares it not with the village but his family ??

Then he doesn't get elected by the villagers next term? Most villagers and village heads work together to make a living

[BrianCR]

Lalalalalalala---falling on deaf ears--thais do what they want--ie-helmets-driving-drinking-fires-etc---IMO they are very selfish ppl and and do ask they like as they know they will get away with it or a measly fine-slap on the wrist

Why not rally some farang volunteers and give them little visa bonus points when they report-find illegal burners?! I for sure could use a job and id love to be out there patrolling and catch those sneaky little bast*rds!

Cause the smoke comes from outside of Thailand. Stopping all the burning in Thailand won't help.

Do you think it might help by not adding to the imported stuff? Don't know what you're drinking but I'd like some of that!

[cloudhopper]

Lalalalalalala---falling on deaf ears--thais do what they want--ie-helmets-driving-drinking-fires-etc---IMO they are very selfish ppl and and do ask they like as they know they will get away with it or a measly fine-slap on the wrist

Why not rally some farang volunteers and give them little visa bonus points when they report-find illegal burners?! I for sure could use a job and id love to be out there patrolling and catch those sneaky little bast*rds!

Cause the smoke comes from outside of Thailand. Stopping all the burning in Thailand won't help.

Just like the laws against prostitution have done nothing to stop it - they all come from outside of Thailand.

[chiangmaikelly]

Lalalalalalala---falling on deaf ears--thais do what they want--ie-helmets-driving-drinking-fires-etc---IMO they are very selfish ppl and and do ask they like as they know they will get away with it or a measly fine-slap on the wrist

Why not rally some farang volunteers and give them little visa bonus points when they report-find illegal burners?! I for sure could use a job and id love to be out there patrolling and catch those sneaky little bast*rds!

Cause the smoke comes from outside of Thailand. Stopping all the burning in Thailand won't help.

Do you think it might help by not adding to the imported stuff? Don't know what you're drinking but I'd like some of that!

I guess you have never looked at the burn map during the season. Try it this year. There was no reason to add your flame, "Don't know what you're drinking but I'd like some of that!." I have been here since the 1960's. Now with the live computer satellite maps it is even easier to see than it ever was in the past. I don't drink and I realize it is an Asian problem and not a Thai problem.

Edited October 31, 2012 by chiangmaikelly

[chiangmaikelly]

Lalalalalalala---falling on deaf ears--thais do what they want--ie-helmets-driving-drinking-fires-etc---IMO they are very selfish ppl and and do ask they like as they know they will get away with it or a measly fine-slap on the wrist

Why not rally some farang volunteers and give them little visa bonus points when they report-find illegal burners?! I for sure could use a job and id love to be out there patrolling and catch those sneaky little bast*rds!

Cause the smoke comes from outside of Thailand. Stopping all the burning in Thailand won't help.

Just like the laws against prostitution have done nothing to stop it - they all come from outside of Thailand.

90% of the hookers and 90% of the clients are Thai so I am sure I don't know what you are talking about.

[Tywais]

Cause the smoke comes from outside of Thailand. Stopping all the burning in Thailand won't help.

I don't know how you came up with that conclusion/myth. I started and managed a pinned topic in the Chiang Mai forum regarding Smoke, Smog, Dust 2012 in February 2012. The 1st page shows the current fire map which is linked directly to the site and updated automatically. Here is a snapshot on Feb. 17, 2012 of a fire map where I added a border overlay. The density and wide spread of fires in Thailand is severe. Yes, there are border countries but even Burma doesn't have the same degree of burn as Thailand. Cambodia appears to be the 2nd worse.

//edit - the far South of Thailand is a different matter as the Indonesian burn offs effect it.