BANGKOK, 18 March 2015 – 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.
