Chiang Rai Declares 80 Dangerous Days To Curb Haze Crisis

[webfact]

Chiang Rai declares 80 dangerous days to curb haze crisis

CHIANG RAI, 24 January 2013 (NNT) - Chiang Rai provincial authorities are set to toughen measures to avoid the repeat of last year’s man-made haze crisis.

Chiang Rai and other northern provinces recorded the highest level of dust particles last year, exceeding safety standards by a wide margin. Smog severely affects local businesses every year, generally from mid-February to mid-March.

Chiang Rai Governor Pongsak Wangsamer presided over a meeting on haze and other environmental issues on Thursday, attended by over 3,000 administrative officials, civil network members and agriculturists. Mr Pongsak said on the sideline of the meeting that the province plans to declare an ‘80 dangerous days’ period during January 21-April 10 of this year. Residents and local farmers will be urged to refrain from burning rice fields and forest land during the period in a bid to prevent fire hazard and air pollution.

Chiang Rai will be competing with eight nearby provinces in the campaign to tackle the haze crisis. An award will be presented to the area most successful at mitigating land and forest fires.

Authorities are also looking to seek cooperation from neighboring Myanmar and Laos in refraining from burning activities in an effort to jointly stamp out the haze problem in the region.

-- NNT 2013-01-24

[sidelines]

You can't make this stuff up.

[harrry]

Just what were they smoking..

[marioc]

"An award will be presented to the area most successful at mitigating land and forest fires."

It really makes me laugh.....

[LingLek]

"An award will be presented to the area most successful at mitigating land and forest fires."

It really makes me laugh.....

Apart from writhing about on the floor with laughter at the antics of the comical Orientals what would you recommend?

[lungmi]

Swim googles.

[whybother]

The annual "7 dangerous days" at New Year and Songkran have a great effect on traffic deaths too.

[espinoza]

"An award will be presented to the area most successful at mitigating land and forest fires."

It really makes me laugh.....

Apart from writhing about on the floor with laughter at the antics of the comical Orientals what would you recommend?

I would recommend 100 000,- bath fines for every Redneck they can catch for starting a fire. If they can`t pay, confiscate the land.

[Choonpon]

Many already started the burnings as early as last month.

[Big Gary]

Many already started the burnings as early as last month.

As I said in my last post is that the whole bloody country is doing it. Came back from Koh Chang last Monday and I am not joking as it was smog/smoke ALL the way home.

[edwinchester]

Two or three hilltribe types will be paraded before the cameras and made to point at some patch of scorched ground before everything is put on the back burner.

Then the blame will be put firmly at the door of the nasty Burmese and Laotians.

[thaicbr]

"An award will be presented to the area most successful at mitigating land and forest fires."

It really makes me laugh.....

Apart from writhing about on the floor with laughter at the antics of the comical Orientals what would you recommend?

Maybe some education about the effects of burning and different ways to stop it. Methods on clearing that don't require so much damage. Just a thought

[User3]

Many already started the burnings as early as last month.

As I said in my last post is that the whole bloody country is doing it. Came back from Koh Chang last Monday and I am not joking as it was smog/smoke ALL the way home.

Indeed you are correct. It's probably a bit early for the Post to start pointing fingers at Indonesia and/or Malaysia as they normally do.. but here is a world fire map current up to about 2 weeks ago....

Check out:

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/fires/main/world/index.html

or

http://lance-modis.eosdis.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/imagery/firemaps.cgi

In my opinion, nothing will change in the near future and really why should it? How else are the farmers going to clear the paddies?? Hire a tractor to plow them under? Buy a tractor? Press the gov't to create a plowing department to offer the service to all farmers (wouldn't work due to time constraints). So until anyone can show the farmers how to clear their fields as cheaply and quickly as they are doing now.... not much will change.

Just my 2 satang.

[DonaldBattles]

This is the same eye wash BS that comes up ever year. If you look at statistics you will find that there has been no improvement in 30 years. These fiers are burning very near the Khamnan's house but do you think he would ever call the police. When have you ever seen the police around a rice field that was burning making an arrest. Of greater importance is the number of arrest and convictions in Chiang Rai during this burning season. Do you think that there has been any. What evidence will they use to determine who gets the award. BAH!

[villagefarang]

At least they are acknowledging awareness of the situation. We blame them if they say and do nothing but we also blame them when they do address the problem but are unable to solve it as quickly as we might like. This is an entrenched problem with no quick fixes. Over time I am confident things will improve but it may take a very long time. At least they are talking about it.

[whybother]

At least they are acknowledging awareness of the situation. We blame them if they say and do nothing but we also blame them when they do address the problem but are unable to solve it as quickly as we might like. This is an entrenched problem with no quick fixes. Over time I am confident things will improve but it may take a very long time. At least they are talking about it.

Are they addressing the problem or just talking about it again?

[villagefarang]

At least they are acknowledging awareness of the situation. We blame them if they say and do nothing but we also blame them when they do address the problem but are unable to solve it as quickly as we might like. This is an entrenched problem with no quick fixes. Over time I am confident things will improve but it may take a very long time. At least they are talking about it.

Are they addressing the problem or just talking about it again?

By turning it into a bit of a competition, or game, perhaps someone will come up with some new ideas and incremental solutions. Talking is good, as it takes time to promote an idea and sell it to the public. Look at how long we have been talking about Global Warming.

[DonaldBattles]

The easiest thing here to sell is your vote. Ideas don't sell very well because of a listening problem. Schools do a good job of teaching talking but not listening.

[villagefarang]

Having a rough day are we, The Donald? Seem particularly cynical today.

[how241]

The annual "7 dangerous days" at New Year and Songkran have a great effect on traffic deaths too.

+1

[villagefarang]

I would argue we don’t know how much worse things might be without “7 dangerous days”. Certainly some effort is better than none.

[krobert6]

Many already started the burnings as early as last month.

As I said in my last post is that the whole bloody country is doing it. Came back from Koh Chang last Monday and I am not joking as it was smog/smoke ALL the way home.

Indeed you are correct. It's probably a bit early for the Post to start pointing fingers at Indonesia and/or Malaysia as they normally do.. but here is a world fire map current up to about 2 weeks ago....

Check out:

http://www.nasa.gov/...orld/index.html

or

http://lance-modis.e...ry/firemaps.cgi

In my opinion, nothing will change in the near future and really why should it? How else are the farmers going to clear the paddies?? Hire a tractor to plow them under? Buy a tractor? Press the gov't to create a plowing department to offer the service to all farmers (wouldn't work due to time constraints). So until anyone can show the farmers how to clear their fields as cheaply and quickly as they are doing now.... not much will change.

Just my 2 satang.

Well said , the farmers have to make a living

[bobbyd1]

At least they are acknowledging awareness of the situation. We blame them if they say and do nothing but we also blame them when they do address the problem but are unable to solve it as quickly as we might like. This is an entrenched problem with no quick fixes. Over time I am confident things will improve but it may take a very long time. At least they are talking about it.

I agree with Village Farang

[JeffreyMcCollum]

The technology is there, the desire to truly do something about it is not

Weekly I drive up to Mae sai and for the last month there has been hundreds of firs with nothing done about it

[villagefarang]

While the technology might be there, who is going to pay for its implementation. The farmers are in debt up to their eyeballs as it is and the government blew all their money on buying rice at inflated prices.

Every night I get to watch a handful of fields and these stacks of rice straw set alight, but like it or not, I don’t see things changing anytime soon.

[HaleySabai]

Came back from the 19th century after visiting my wife's village near Hod (Hot) last week, at night one could see several surrounding mountains etched with flame channels .

No hope for big(or little) change in the future as the fundamental remains; Thailand is an agricultural country.

[stoli]

"An award will be presented to the area most successful at mitigating land and forest fires."

It really makes me laugh.....

The award is a BIC lighter.

[harrry]

http://www.aqicn.info/?city=all

may be interesting as it applies to the countries around us.

[sceadugenga]

At least they are acknowledging awareness of the situation. We blame them if they say and do nothing but we also blame them when they do address the problem but are unable to solve it as quickly as we might like. This is an entrenched problem with no quick fixes. Over time I am confident things will improve but it may take a very long time. At least they are talking about it.

Farmers have had to learn the hard way that because they own the land they don't have free reign to do what ever they like on it.

Australia when I grew up in the 50s had a similar burning off problem but I look out of the window now during a seriously hot summer (45C a couple of weeks back) and the air is crystal clear.

Fines seem to have worked, big fines for big fires and little fines for little fires, try burning a few leaves in your back yard here and see how soon a local council bureaucrat arrives with his book and pencil.

I worked in the gardening industry for a while and was a big fan of mulching, you had this huge mobile machine like a horizontal helicopter that turned virtually anything into itty bitty pieces. (Any Aussies remember anti-drugs campaigner Donald Mackay?)

This stuff is useful for a number of things, probably one of the best is just leaving it in a heap where it turns into compost, a useful natural fertilizer.

[Big Gary]

At least they are acknowledging awareness of the situation. We blame them if they say and do nothing but we also blame them when they do address the problem but are unable to solve it as quickly as we might like. This is an entrenched problem with no quick fixes. Over time I am confident things will improve but it may take a very long time. At least they are talking about it.

Farmers have had to learn the hard way that because they own the land they don't have free reign to do what ever they like on it.

Australia when I grew up in the 50s had a similar burning off problem but I look out of the window now during a seriously hot summer (45C a couple of weeks back) and the air is crystal clear.

Fines seem to have worked, big fines for big fires and little fines for little fires, try burning a few leaves in your back yard here and see how soon a local council bureaucrat arrives with his book and pencil.

I worked in the gardening industry for a while and was a big fan of mulching, you had this huge mobile machine like a horizontal helicopter that turned virtually anything into itty bitty pieces. (Any Aussies remember anti-drugs campaigner Donald Mackay?)

This stuff is useful for a number of things, probably one of the best is just leaving it in a heap where it turns into compost, a useful natural fertilizer.

They do Mulch some of it but use it to make Charcoal and not fertilizer. They set the mulch alight over the wood and thick smoke rises up.