To end the chronic haze problem in the North, the government must make a decision. What will it choose — people's health, the tourism industry, the environment or the agro-giants behind the animal feed industry?
March marks the beginning of schools' annual summer recess when millions of families normally head to the scenic North for family holidays. Tourism money is now more critical than ever to rescue the region from a slowing economy and plunging commodity prices. But the toxic haze has killed that chance.
Thick smog makes it it difficult, if not impossible, for planes to land. Flights have been cancelled. Hotels report drastic drops in bookings from both domestic and foreign tourists. Residents wear masks to protect themselves. Children stay indoors. Many locals have posted warnings on social media advising visitors not to come to their provinces until the air is clear.
Air situation updates from the Pollution Control Department continue to be worrying. The levels of harmful particles exceed safety standards by many times over in most provinces in the upper North, including the tourism magnets of Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai.
Meanwhile, thousands of people are flocking to hospitals complaining of respiratory problems. Authorities have responded by ordering a crackdown on slash-and-burn farming activities in forests. In a desperate measure, Gen Dapong Ratanasuwan, the Minister for Natural Resources and the Environment, prohibited villagers from entering forests until next month. Without special permission, they face fines and arrest.
But these measures are bound to fail because they miss the real culprit - the corn plantations supported by the agro-giants' animal feed industry. Poachers who set forests on fire to kill wildlife and steal forest products must be stopped, no question about it. The same for slash-and-burn cultivators. But in the larger context of the haze crisis, they are only small fry. The big fish are the vast corn plantations under the feed industry's contract farming system.
Right or wrong, farm burning to prepare land for planting has been a part of agricultural practices in the North for decades. Hilltribes, such as the Karen and the Lua, have even developed farm rotation systems proven to be ecological and sustainable.
Farm burning did not cause massive deforestation and grave public harm until the rapid expansion of corn plantations on the highlands over a decade ago.
A study in Nan, which is reflective of the situation in much of the North, reveals 60% of corn plantations came from forest clearings. The agro-industry receives cheap material for their animal feed factories while the country suffers from deforestation, soil erosion, water contamination from toxic farm chemicals and toxic haze from February to April.
Every year, authorities respond to the haze crisis by overlooking the big businesses behind the haze. This cannot go on. If villagers who clear forests are treated as criminals, so should the businesses that hire them to do it by selling them seeds and buying their products at guaranteed prices.
Consumers must also realise they are part of the problem if they continue to buy from businesses destroying the environment. Better still, they can use their purchasing power to force businesses to change their harmful ways.
In many Western countries, labelling systems inform consumers if their foods come from eco-friendly, sustainable supply chains. Here, consumers also need to know if their eggs, chicken, or meat have origins in forest destruction and harmful farming methods that cause haze pollution.
Unless authorities and consumers confront the agro-industry head on, the haze problem will only get worse.