Chiang Mai Trash Threat To Wetlands

Phayao - Villagers in tambon Mae Na Rue of Muang district have set up checkpoints around Kwan Phayao wetland, fearing that mountains of garbage from neighbouring Chiang Mai province will be dumped in the area.

They are worried that rubbish generated by the vast numbers of tourists who visited the Royal Flora Expo held in Chiang Mai, combined with household trash, will be dumped illegally in nearby provinces, including Phayao, said Mae Na Rue tambon administration organisation chairman Jaroon Sankwan.

A road linking Chiang Mai and Phayao runs past Mae Na Rue which is near Kwan Phayao wetland and a watershed area for the Mae Na Rue reservoir.

If the garbage is dumped there, it will pollute the water, soil and nearby forest, he said.

"We will keep a close watch on garbage trucks and put up signs asking commuters not to carelessly drop rubbish along the road," Mr Jaroon said.

Villagers needed to stay alert to every truck entering the area because they were usually covered with canvas and garbage could be hidden inside, he said.

Last year there were reports of illegal dumping of rubbish on private land and in forests in Lamphun, Lampang, Phrae, Tak and Kamphaeng Phet provinces. The garbage came mainly from Chiang Mai.

A source said earlier that officials with close ties to a politician in Chiang Mai and local officials in northern provinces were involved in the dumping.

This made the authorities' attempts to crack down on illegal dumping all the more difficult, said the source.

Chiang Mai has been through two garbage crises. The first was in 1994 when it ran out of landfill space and waste was not collected for a month. Four years later the problem happened again for the same reason.

Experts say the province will face a third crisis if it does not come up with a better garbage management plan.

This must also including separating and recycling waste.

Bangkok Post