Forest Fire in the North

Background Information :

Lampang is one of the provinces in the North of Thailand where it is abundant with natural resource. The province is like a basin because it is surrounded by high mountains.

Since February this year, the Northern Provinces, espacially Lampang, have encountered problems about smoke from forest fire all over the provinces. Lampang had the highest smoke percentage in the North. This happened because the people set the forests on fire in preparation for the next planting season which is considered their traditional way of framing. Forest fires do not only cause air pollution but also releases greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, such as carbon dioxide and nitrogen contributing to global warming. Some side-effects of air pollution from forest fires include car accidents because smoke obscures visibility and respiratory problem among the villagers.

To help solve the existing problems, the Nation park, Wildlife and Plant Conservation department organized two working committees, one committee is responsible to survey the surrounding areas that are fire-hazards and the other group to stand-by for emergency fire accidents.

Rationale :

Due to the increasing negative impact of forest fire which is hazardous to the environment and health of consequently contributing to climatic changes, this topic was highly considered. This is also to enable people to realize the importance of saving natural resources and the environment in general.

Identified cause of the problem :

This identified cause of the problem was the lack of preparation and cooperation on the part of the Ministry of Nature Resources and Environment. It should have to increase the number of forest guards and rangers to protect and extinguish fires on time. The guards and rangers can also train the people on how to put fire in the forest so that they can do it in the correct way and eventually saving the environment.