PM Office Minister: Difficulty to effectively implement the anti-wildfire measures

[webfact]

PM Office Minister: Difficulty to effectively implement the anti-wildfire measures



BANGKOK, 17 March 2015 (NNT) – The Minister of the Prime Minister’s Office has admitted that there are difficulties obstacles to enforcing the anti-trespassing and wildfire controlling measures.

The Minister of the Prime Minister’s Office Panadda Diskul has said regarding the ongoing haze situation in the northern region of Thailand, citing the Prime Minister’s order to related agencies to mitigate the situation.

According to him, local agencies in the provincial offices, army region, and the local administrative organisations have joined hands to help solve this issue through legal implementation, campaigning, and operations such as the royal rainmaking operation and the use of water to help reduce the fog and smoke.

All agencies have been ordered to regularly submit their operation report as this issue affects the tourism business in the area and affects the health of the people, says the Prime Minister’s Office Minister.

The Prime Minister’s Office Minister has also admitted that the operations are now being carried out with difficulties, especially the prosecution of forest trespassers and arsonists, due to the vast size of area. To tackle this obstacle, the government has proceeded with local operations through the request that the public should cooperation and has initiated an awareness raising campaign that stresses the responsibilities of the public.


-- NNT 2015-03-18

[JingerBen]

The first step would be to get rid of all these incompetents.

Start again with people who would be willing to learn how wildfires are fought in places like Wyoming and Colorado.

[Just1Voice]

Second step would be to immediately arrest anyone starting a fire, then toss their ass in jail for 3 months with a 50,000 baht fine.

[Costas2008]

You only have to catch 2 or 3 of those starting wildfires, throw them in prison plus put a hefty penalty on them and then I can assure you that the rest will think twice of starting wildfires.

By complaining about your difficulties to identify and prosecute them, means nothing and nobody feels sorry for you, just shows your incompetence.

[clockman]

10 years, and still no solution! but of course T.I.T.

[toybits]

Third step is to assign Costas2008 to solve the problem. He seems to have ALL the RIGHT answers to any problem.

Edited March 18, 2015 by toybits

[JOC]

Third step is to assign Costas2008 to solve the problem. He seems to have ALL the RIGHT answers to any problem.

What else would you expect from a spokesman for the PM??

[webfact]

PM instructs related agencies to get tough with forest burners in the North

BANGKOK, 18 March 2015 (NNT) – Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha has instructed related agencies to get tougher with burners of forest or farming areas in another move to contain haze levels in the northern region.

General Prayut has told the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, the air force, the army and the Department of Local Administration to join hands in stemming the crisis. Among the solutions include imposition of a ban on slash-and-burn farming in risk-prone areas and registration of collectors of wild food, as some of them are believed to be responsible for forest fires. Since February, 10 people have reportedly been arrested for having burnt forests or farming areas.

As a short-term measure, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment meanwhile has imposed a ban on entry into forest reserves, starting from now until April. Wild food collectors’ request for an entry to forest reserves will be approved on a case by case basis. The drafting of long-term plans will be incorporated in a national agenda. Gen Prayut said he wished the country would in the future have a special unit tasked with dealing with wildfires like foreign countries.

Provinces with critical levels of particulate matter (PM10) include Chiang Rai, Chiang Mai, Mae Hong Son, Nan, Phrae, Phayao and Tak. Doctors estimated the number of people affected by the ongoing haze this year at 30,000 in Chiang Mai alone. In Mae Hong Son, the number of patients with respiratory problems has exceeded 5,000 since January.

-- NNT 2015-03-18

[clockman]

What about the biomass farmers? This is where large areas. And big money is involved!

[Lupatria]

You only have to catch 2 or 3 of those starting wildfires, throw them in prison plus put a hefty penalty on them and then I can assure you that the rest will think twice of starting wildfires.

By complaining about your difficulties to identify and prosecute them, means nothing and nobody feels sorry for you, just shows your incompetence.

You mean they should implement the Greek Government model to deal with slash and burn real estate developers?

[newnative]

This shouldn't be difficult at all. Put the military to work--it will give them something to do. As other posters have stated, make the penalties HARSH--including large fines and jail time. We go through this year after year. Burning should be banned everywhere in Thailand--not just the North. The fines and penalties are too weak for about everything.

[Johnsen]

I think they should have a meeting to discuss having a meeting about having a meeting about how to have a meeting about the problem.

[bheard]

In Australia we have 'total fire ban' days. Anyone caught lighting fires on those days is really in trouble. Huge penalties, including being locked away for years.

Do that here in Thailand. Works!

You just need to have the will to do it.

[arunsakda]

Well here it is local authorities, your marching orders. Follow the smoke and go to the fields. Who burned here? Haul off to gaol. Is it that difficult?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[sweatalot]

10 years, and still no solution! but of course T.I.T.

big chance for the new sheriff in town.

Hope he takes it

[cloudhopper]

Masters of the culture of excuse.

[WhizBang]

The 'Difficulty to effectively implement the anti-wildfire measures' is that there is no will to actually do anything. The problem could be solved almost overnight if only there was the will to do so.

[Benmart]

Third step is to assign Costas2008 to solve the problem. He seems to have ALL the RIGHT answers to any problem.

Singling out a poster does nothing to add to the discussion.

Attack the post, not the poster.

I prefer to remember that anyone can be a target, particularly those painting the bulls-eye on someone else.

[newnative]

I couldn't agree more with the comments of Whizbang and Bheard. These problems are not difficult--there is just no will to tackle them. No will at all. Ridiculous for the Minister to announce that it's just too hard. With that attitude you're defeated from the get go. It's the same with Pattaya, sad to say. I challenge anyone to point out just one project that has been done in the past few years that was done with any competence and success. The will to do a good job just isn't there so everything done is half-assed at best. Thappraya Road widening? Terrible job. Jomtien Second Road extension? Even worse than Thappraya. Why worse? Bad construction, road is already falling apart, insufficient U Turns and the ones there are only about 4 feet wide, large stretch of street lights have never worked, narrow lanes especially on curves, no striping of lanes, bad flood control, lack of intersections, I could go on. Pattaya Beach Road improvements? Terrible. Why terrible? Bad lighting, bad sidewalks, bad flood control, bad trees, bad pedestrian control, bad taxi management, bad trash control.and sidewalks that needed the most work--the ones on the shop side, not fixed at all. Same for the awful entrance to Walking Street--guess the money ran out. The road by Jomtien Immigration was torn up for a long time and finally finished, then last week they were back re-doing it and when they were done it was worse than when they started. Same for the Jomtien Second Road/Wat Boon Road intersection. Huge hole at the turn for at least a year and finally finished a few weeks ago. Hurray! Oops, cheered too soon as they are back again and there is ANOTHER huge hole where they just 'fixed' the last one. Terrible oversight by the city administration with everything that is done. One last example--the new tunnel boondoggle. Started with absolutely NO road construction preparation to ease the construction for traffic. And how is a tunnel suppose to help traffic when it is only moving it a little faster to the next bottleneck? Pity the huge money expense wasn't used to make intersection and road improvements throughout Pattaya. That would have made a much bigger difference at this point.

[EyesWideOpen]

Just got back from a couple of days in Chiang Mai . Smoke was beyond belief, my eyes were

burning all the time. I am never going to set foot there again........

[alant]

The 'Difficulty to effectively implement the anti-wildfire measures' is that there is no will to actually do anything. The problem could be solved almost overnight if only there was the will to do so.

Agree, the authorities in the north just don't care, fires by the roadside burning not extinguished, prosecutions, token at best. No money in it, easier to check tax disks.

Offer the cops a cut of the fine levied against the fire setters and see if that helps. It is bad.

And what about the overseas Consuls etc here in ChiangMai, how about you guys saying to the Thai government if you don't stamp it out we will issue no travel notices to north Thailand in the burning season?

[lifeincnx]

The real smog source is the major food growers and distributors who have contract farmers converting over from smaller rice field plots to mega corn plots - over 5 million rai for animal feed. Blaming the small hill tribe farmers and local trash burns is merely a PR convenience.

Though this article is in Thai, the gist is the main reason of heavy smoke in the northern Thailand and its neighboring countries in the region is the result of "contract farming" corn growing for animal food. The total area for corn farming is nearly 5.6 million rai. No wonder why the situation is getting worse every year. Naturally, the offending companies are not named because of Thailand's anti-defamation laws. But as the saying goes just, "Follow the Money."

http://www.prachachat.net/news_detail.php?newsid=1426066880