Thread: Chiang Rai to Impost Ban on all Types of Burning for 60 days

Farmers practice slash and burn agriculture in the belief that ashes will replenish the soil


CHIANG RAI – The Department of Pollution Control on Tuesday announced that the amount of particulate matter was last measured at 115 micrograms/cubic meter in Mueang Chiang Rai.

In Mae Sai district on the Thai-Myanmar borders, the level of particulate matter was 152 micrograms/cubic meter which was higher than safe levels, said the department.

The Chiang Rai Provincial Government has placed a ban on all types of burning is imposed for 60 days, or from 17 February -16 April. Manpower and equipment have been prepared to handle the smog.

The Government has also imposed measures to prevent and control forest fires due to wildfire smoke from the neighboring Myanmar.

In Mae Hong Son, a Big Cleaning Day activity will take place from 16 -31 March. The provincial disaster prevention and mitigation are working with local administrative organization in spraying water mist into the air to increase humidity.

The amount of particulate matter in Mae Hong Son on Tuesday was 134 micrograms/cubic meter.

Chiang Rai to Impost Ban on all Types of Burning for 60 days | Chiang Rai Times English Language Newspaper

Good. Let's hope they enforce it.

Great move. Someone in power must have a child with asthma.

Over 26% the local population have asthma, while nearly all the local population have chronic and/or mild - acute breathing problems, conjunctivitis and skin allergies as a result of the smoke pollution.

Where do you get those statistics from?

I'll give this development a cynical "Yeah, right" rating until proven otherwise next decade . . .

Chiangmai Maharaj hospital and CMU.

Was around < 20% in 2014, spiked last April and prevalence not so high so far this year.

Also; 2015 Research
" A cross sectional non-randomized study was performed on 93 mild persistent asthmatic children who attended the Pediatric Allergy clinic between June 2012 in Chiang Rai Hospitaland August 2013.
"one-third of children hospitalized had high risk conditions, primarilyasthma (24%). "
http://thailand.digitaljournals.org/...le/27301/26489

1999 Research
"The prevalence over the past 12 months, in 6-7 and 13-14 years olds, respectively, are as follows; wheezing, 5.5% and 12.6%; rhinitis, 18.5% and 38.3%; rash at flexural areas, 12.9% and 10.7%.
Prevalence of asthma, rhinitis, and eczema in Northern Thai children from Chiang Mai (International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood, ISA... - PubMed - NCBI

Those figures have risen sharply since.

Good luck with the one.

By 2004 Sweden’s asthma cases had increased to 10 percent, according to one international study, while the number of cases in the U.K. had soared to 20 percent.

Ten years on figures have risen further, as other complications such as influenza A infections often masked asthma symptoms.

Not fully understood, asthma may be due to other bacteria, and some research points to calcium receptors in the airways that over-react to pollutants may be a key cause of the condition.

Ban on all Types of Burning for 60 days

That will leave them stacked up at the wats, one would think. Or maybe they just don't exactly mean that.

Composting rice and corn waste seems a little too complicated for modern Thai farmers reared on chemical fertilizers, weed killers and pesticides and mechanization.

Some farmers are doing their bit.

One I heard of recently near Lamphun sowed beans in his corn fields after harvest.

The beans grew up the dead corn-stalks, their roots fixing nitrogen into the soil and producing an easily maintained/cultivated crop.

At the end of the bean harvest, the tough corn stalks had nearly rotted, so were easily ploughed into the topsoil along with the bean vines.

Getting the locals to compost their rice straw is met with blank stares and a feeble explanation of what was good for my daddy is good enough for me,....so burn the waste.

Rice husks are another lot of wasted material, easily turned into a rich compost in a few days, without ploughing it in initially.

But a box of matches is easier, lazy sods.

It just won't happen. What about the inforcment in chiang mai. They are burning everywhere I go, including do i inthonon national park...

There's generations of beliefs and practices indoctrinated into Thais from birth.

It's all down to climate change, innit. If we build more windmills it'll all get better. Stands to reason, yeah?

Windmills would help,....unless you're Don, fren' of Sancho ...?

Millions of small windmills all across the Lamphun valley plain for example,.......yup.
I read that Chiangrai's got a solar panelled klong!
Solar farming covering fish farming below?

Yup.

Bio-mass should all be composted, none turned into biodiesel/fuel or burned/ de gaused , etc, ALL must compost and re-cycle, one way or another....better the environmentally friendly way.

Originally Posted by ENT

Composting rice and corn waste seems a little too complicated for modern Thai farmers reared on chemical fertilizers, weed killers and pesticides and mechanization.

Some farmers are doing their bit.

One I heard of recently near Lamphun sowed beans in his corn fields after harvest.

The beans grew up the dead corn-stalks, their roots fixing nitrogen into the soil and producing an easily maintained/cultivated crop.

At the end of the bean harvest, the tough corn stalks had nearly rotted, so were easily ploughed into the topsoil along with the bean vines.

Getting the locals to compost their rice straw is met with blank stares and a feeble explanation of what was good for my daddy is good enough for me,....so burn the waste.

Rice husks are another lot of wasted material, easily turned into a rich compost in a few days, without ploughing it in initially.

But a box of matches is easier, lazy sods.

Surprisingly, there is a growing percentage of Thai farmers that are going this way - not enough for comfort, of course....

I was surprised also when I met more recently.

Organic farming is the way forward, but some folk, realizing that organic hydroponic farming involves less work and less risk of plant pests and diseases, thus cheaper to produce and cleaner, have since upped their prices because of demand.

That'll kill the demand and allow room for more poisonous fluoride ridden inorganic veges and fruit on the market.

Greed's screwing up the fledgling organic industry, and some organic growers have already priced themselves out of the industry.

It'll change as the industry adjust realistically to market forces,...but that I hope doesn't mean that prices have to go up, not by a long shot.