Yesterday it started again: cheaply cleaning of the harvested paddy-fields, no, not in the North, but the suburbs of Bangkok.

What are they destroying also?

Might be some sleeping birds who cannot orientate themselves in the dark

Toads like the Common Asian Toad

All kinds of frogs as the Asian Painted Frog and this one

The Water Monitor Lizard which are there as I have seen their paths when the paddy was almost ripe

All kind of crabs as the paddy-field crab

Snakes as the monocled cobra and the Python

Turtles

Fish

Well, you name them. A pity, Thailand has been destroyed already for a big part and it's an ongoing matter: poaching, burning, encroaching, wildlive catching; where is the end?

Oh, and here the "clean" paddy-field

It'll be the Thais themselves in the end. Sorry, I don't have a link.

I've never been there, but I gather Haiti has already desertified itself (even before the earthquake and its consequences.).

The farmers are an endangered species too.

Where do you people come from? Unfotunately it's part of evryday life. When you harvest wheat, hay or anything any where in the world, what do you think happens to all of the critters that are living in the field? It's part of evolution!

It's the nature of farming the world over. Much of the world agricultural land is effectively dead from all the chemicals they put on it and has to be kept fertile artificially. Permaculture is the way forward, but it hasn't been widely discovered yet and getting people to change their ways is hard.

There is a method of rice growing that is showing promise as being more water efficient and providing a higher yield called SRI - System of Rice Intensification. I downloaded a manual in Thai and sent it to the gf to show her Dad, and she came up with a seried of reasons not to show him. I suspect he wouldn't have read it anyway.

It's the nature of farming the world over. Much of the world agricultural land is effectively dead from all the chemicals they put on it and has to be kept fertile artificially. Permaculture is the way forward, but it hasn't been widely discovered yet and getting people to change their ways is hard.

There is a method of rice growing that is showing promise as being more water efficient and providing a higher yield called SRI - System of Rice Intensification. I downloaded a manual in Thai and sent it to the gf to show her Dad, and she came up with a seried of reasons not to show him. I suspect he wouldn't have read it anyway.

<snip>

I downloaded a manual in Thai and sent it to the gf to show her Dad, and she came up with a seried of reasons not to show him. I suspect he wouldn't have read it anyway.

No. 1 Reason: A farang telling a Thai how to grow rice. OMG! Loss of much face.

<snip>

I downloaded a manual in Thai and sent it to the gf to show her Dad, and she came up with a seried of reasons not to show him. I suspect he wouldn't have read it anyway.

No. 1 Reason: A farang telling a Thai how to grow rice. OMG! Loss of much face.

That's what I think too. But I did find it in Thai. The Thai address of the organisation is in Chiang Mai. As soon as she saw that, she said it was just for there and was no good for Surin. I think that was all she read.

<snip>

I downloaded a manual in Thai and sent it to the gf to show her Dad, and she came up with a seried of reasons not to show him. I suspect he wouldn't have read it anyway.

No. 1 Reason: A farang telling a Thai how to grow rice. OMG! Loss of much face.

That's what I think too. But I did find it in Thai. The Thai address of the organisation is in Chiang Mai. As soon as she saw that, she said it was just for there and was no good for Surin. I think that was all she read.

Might be it's more a question of "we know better, shall a Farang tell us how to do??? (Inherent to Sutheps words "I don't respect Farangs".... )

Here a more eco-friendly cleaning of the paddy-fields in Bangkok and at Java (1977)

Farmers all over the world pollute and destroy wildlife and their habitat. It's what they do.

So, let's accept it..................................

I watched this documentary not long ago. It's about England, but relevant to the world. It's a little dated in that it says the world would run out of oil in 2013 or something, but it's still good. It's all about how farming is unsustainable because of the amount of oil it uses and how there is no choice but to go back to old ways sooner or later.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3sxMByA1R0&list

Farmers all over the world pollute and destroy wildlife and their habitat. It's what they do.

Farmers grow the food that you eat - or are you a plant that can photosynthesise?

Farmers all over the world pollute and destroy wildlife and their habitat. It's what they do.

Farmers grow the food that you eat - or are you a plant that can photosynthesise?

They do, but they can do the job better. And by better I don't mean more yield cheaper whilst turning the landscape into a moonscape.

Farmers all over the world pollute and destroy wildlife and their habitat. It's what they do.

Farmers grow the food that you eat - or are you a plant that can photosynthesise?

They do, but they can do the job better. And by better I don't mean more yield cheaper whilst turning the landscape into a moonscape.

When they really care YES!

Where do you people come from? Unfotunately it's part of evryday life. When you harvest wheat, hay or anything any where in the world, what do you think happens to all of the critters that are living in the field? It's part of evolution!

Your fellow-farmers are burning now plastic.................................................

15-3-2013:

Link to Bangkok Post removed per forum rules.

15-3-2013:

Link to Bangkok Post removed per forum rules.

Link to Bangkok Post removed per forum rules.

Agriculture is probably better for wildlife than a couple of billions of hungry people with nukes. Fire clearance isn't pretty, but so weren't the wildfires before humans suppressed them. I watched something on Australian network today, some species of plants actually need the fires, they shed their seeds only during fires.

The irony of the situation is that farmers need to live with and use"wildlife" if they want to stay economically viable in the future . Coming from a farming background I have watched how farming is being split into two main groups - the big agri- business and the small farmer - medium size farmer .

Agri business is like the big buffoon bully and will use its size to conquer but In Oz , as well as many other countries ,over the past 40 years the small to medium size farmers that are surviving are the ones who have become a lot smarter and have studied the ecology . Many farmers have university qualification in land management, environmental sciences and so on. Integrated pest management is now a standard practice along with Biological controls and improved horticultural practices and along with diversification into other farming ventures. Permaculture may not be wholly practiced but a lot of their principals have been adopted.

Unfortunately , in Thailand , farmers are used as pawns both politically and economically and i can see the time when most farmers will be nothing more than contract labourers on big agribusiness farms owned by multi nationals , and in particular the Arabs who need farming land to feed their population. The only way for the small farmer to fight back is to get smarter and start using the advances in agricultural and environment sciences that are becoming standard in many other countries. Government will always be on the side of big business , they have to repay favours. Farming should be a noble occupation after all they feed the world but they get hooked on pesticides and inoculates and bank loans to pay for them.

Not a simple subject at all .

Agriculture is probably better for wildlife than a couple of billions of hungry people with nukes. Fire clearance isn't pretty, but so weren't the wildfires before humans suppressed them. I watched something on Australian network today, some species of plants actually need the fires, they shed their seeds only during fires.

Annual fires aren't part of the natural cycle in Thailand, Australia or anywhere else. They are polluting the air and wasting nutrients that should go back to the soil.

Agriculture is probably better for wildlife than a couple of billions of hungry people with nukes. Fire clearance isn't pretty, but so weren't the wildfires before humans suppressed them. I watched something on Australian network today, some species of plants actually need the fires, they shed their seeds only during fires.

Annual fires aren't part of the natural cycle in Thailand, Australia or anywhere else. They are polluting the air and wasting nutrients that should go back to the soil.

Annual fires aren't; wildfires are.

Agriculture is probably better for wildlife than a couple of billions of hungry people with nukes. Fire clearance isn't pretty, but so weren't the wildfires before humans suppressed them. I watched something on Australian network today, some species of plants actually need the fires, they shed their seeds only during fires.

Annual fires aren't part of the natural cycle in Thailand, Australia or anywhere else. They are polluting the air and wasting nutrients that should go back to the soil.

Annual fires aren't; wildfires are.

Yes, but not in the one place every year.

Agriculture is probably better for wildlife than a couple of billions of hungry people with nukes. Fire clearance isn't pretty, but so weren't the wildfires before humans suppressed them. I watched something on Australian network today, some species of plants actually need the fires, they shed their seeds only during fires.

Annual fires aren't part of the natural cycle in Thailand, Australia or anywhere else. They are polluting the air and wasting nutrients that should go back to the soil.

Annual fires aren't; wildfires are.

Yes, but not in the one place every year.

And is it normal that the Northern / North-Western part of Thailand (including Chiang Mai and wide surroundings) has been covered almost entirely under a big smog??

Smoke-haze is getting that bad in Chiang Mai that it starts affecting the locals as the volume of particles are measured in certain areas 185ug/cubic mtrs. and even 210 ug/cubic mtrs.

An emergency conference was hold by the authorities of 25 districts.

Anyone in all these districts who is lighting a fire shall be arrested.

In February and March has been 7,200,000.00 sq/mtr of land destroyed and since the beginning of February 36,160 people have been affected by the haze.

Edited March 21, 201313 yr by mistitikimikis

The Nation reports that the government starts offering cash for photos of forest-fires