Governors halt slash-and-burn farming methods

Smoking doesn't help: An anti-smoking campaigner shows a placard urging people to stop smoking to reduce pollutants in the air, which is now filled with hazardous PM2.5 dust.

Governors in provinces with an air pollution problem have ordered an end to slash-and-burn farming practices and are using artificial rainmaking to fight against the dust.

In the northern province of Phayao, where more than half of the residents farm the land, provincial governor Narongsak Osatanakorn on Saturday issued an official 60-day ban on outdoor burning in the province, starting Feb 15.

The order will be circulated to village headmen, kamnans, local administrative organisation chiefs.

Government agencies must report to provincial authorities when discovering burning sites, known as hot spots.

"The farm burning practice must be paused because it can lead to health hazardous dust that is detrimental to the health of small children, the elderly and those suffering respiratory diseases," Mr Narongsak said.

Before harvesting, it is normal for farmers to openly burn the farm land to clear waste. This slash-and-burning method, sometimes termed "open burning", is a major cause of the fine dust known as PM2.5.

In the western province of Ratchaburi, provincial governor Chayawut Jantorn yesterday boarded a helicopter looking for areas where smoke was being produced.

The province earlier banned people from burning their farms, rubbish and other materials. Thick smog was found above Pak Tho, Ban Kha, Suan Phung and Chom Bung districts, according to officers. Some spots were found to have been raged by forest fires.

In Chom Bung, officers found some residents burning wooden debris in a foothill, sending thick smoke into the air.

A rapid response unit in the province was contacted to inspect the site and douse the fire, the officers said.

Governor Chayawut said officers on Friday managed to arrest someone for setting an outdoor fire in Ban Pong district and gave a verbal warning to another in Photharam district.

Any violations of the order can be reported to Hotline 1567, according to the governor. People found burning scrub on farmland can be fined 2,000-14,000 baht or jailed for 1 month-7 years. Meanwhile, the Department of Royal Rainmaking and Agricultural Aviation has recently conducted rainmaking to ease smog in critically haze-hit provinces. Rainmaking aircraft have recently been deployed from bases in Nakhon Sawan and Rayong.