Nations meet in bid to solve Asean’s haze pollution woes

[rooster59]

Nations meet in bid to solve Asean’s haze pollution woes

By NATTHAWAT LAPING
THE NATION

 

 

Minister confident that Thailand will |experience 30 per cent drop in hot spots.

 

REPRESENTATIVES from five Greater Mekong Subregion countries including Thailand met in Chiang Rai’s Muang district yesterday to try and find a solution to |the region’s annual haze pollution problem. 

 

The Minister of Natural Resource and Environmental, General Surasak Kanjanarat, said he was confident northern Thailand this year would experience a 30 per cent drop in haze-causing fire hotspots due to anti-outdoor burning and forest fire measures. 

 

Full story: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/news/national/30307198

 

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2017-02-25

[PatOngo]

 

[Ulic]

Meet talk and do nothing seems to be the order of the day. The haze is still not as bad as China and India so don't worry.

 

[bheard]

36 minutes ago, Ulic said:

Meet talk and do nothing seems to be the order of the day. The haze is still not as bad as China and India so don't worry.

 

Yup, just another gabfest which will be forgotten next week. No action from other nations, they're all waiting till someone else takes the first step. 

[55Jay]

Sure, easy to be cynical about this.  The problem is the smoke/haze.  Everyone knows the origin.  There is a solution but will involve time spent educating the rural farmers.  And that can be done.  The real problem is changing centuries of practical behaviour is going to take lots of money.  Money to buy modern equipment and gifting it to the farmers who can't afford it on their own. 

 

This money has to come from somewhere and there's no return, and so.....

[canopy]

This isn't a centuries old practice. It's modern chemical farming. Centuries old practice was the stalks and such were valuable to farmers and used to enrich the soil along with the manure produced by buffalo working the fields. Today what's left over in the fields after harvest are considered waste products, heaped, and burnt. Mind you the same thing happens to plastic, every twig and leaf in everyone's yard. They just love burning everything and you can see it go on everyday. Education is not going to do anything. You could tell them how bad it is until you are blue in the face but the people don't care. The village heads are out there burning along with everyone else. Solutions are a piece of cake. Developed countries I've been to never burn their fields no matter what they are farming and the farmers become much more rich.