The Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP) has issued strict instructions to monitor for wildfires in three large forest areas, covering more than 2 million rai, with directives to extinguish any detected fires immediately.
Atthaphon Charoenchansa, Director-General of the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation, issued the orders following an aerial patrol over the conservation forests of Nakhon Sawan and Kamphaeng Phet provinces. He also conducted an aerial inspection in Tak Province to monitor the wildfire situation above the Bhumibol Dam.
Subsequently, he visited and encouraged officers at the temporary flight base of Bhumibol Dam and the wildfire watch bases in three large forest areas: Mae Tuen Forest Park, Omkoi Wildlife Sanctuary, and Mae Ping National Park. These interconnected areas span over 2 million rai and have been critical zones for wildfire occurrences. Accessing these areas for fire extinguishment is challenging due to their remote, rugged, and steep terrain, often requiring several hours of hiking.
The Director-General indicated that the primary causes of wildfires are foraging and hunting activities by humans, which pose significant threats to the northern population.
The DNP has closed several conservation areas to prevent illicit forest burning and has collaborated with administrative authorities and related officials to engage communities affected by wildfires, conducting door-to-door campaigns to promote awareness of these efforts.
This includes continuous strict enforcement to prepare for immediate firefighting upon incident reports and surveillance of individuals suspected of arson, with immediate arrest and prosecution if violations were found. (NNT)
