The response of the government to the PM2.5 crisis in the northern region has been slow and woefully inadequate. Confidence in our leadership, both local and national, has been shaken to the core.
But what would make our Thai brothers and sisters set the forests on fire and cause such harm to so many? And why has this problem become so much worse in recent years?
Poverty and severe income inequality are at the root of this tragedy. For decades, central government policies have favoured urban centres, especially Bangkok, at the expense of rural Thailand. Mountain villagers have remained poor, often desperately so, while expanding cities have become wealthy. In many areas of rural northern Thailand, populations are declining and poverty is worsening. Economic opportunities are few and the future for their children is bleak, so the people look to the forests for income. In recent years, two such opportunities have appeared that give them a strong incentive to cut the forest and burn it.
First, in their pursuit of cheap animal feed for factory farming operations, multibillion-dollar agribusinesses began making cash contracts with mountain villagers to grow corn. The agreement is simple; the companies provide the seeds and chemical fertilisers, and the villagers do the work. However, most of these villagers are landless, and so they turn to public forests. In thousands of small patches on steep mountainsides in remote areas, the trees are cut down, and the undergrowth is burned, so corn can be planted before the rains arrive. In the dry hot season, these small fires spread rapidly. Because the topsoil is already poor and thin, it can only be used for one or two crop cycles, and so this environmental and public health nightmare is repeated endlessly across vast regions by thousands of people every year. A recent study found that Nan province has lost almost 10% of its forests since 2001, and nearly a quarter of this deforestation occurred inside national parks. As the price of corn increases, so does the deforestation and burning.
Second, the booming Chinese middle class has a taste for wild mushrooms. In recent years, this has become a multibillion-dollar market with consumers paying handsomely to consume these delicacies. The supply of wild mushrooms inside China cannot meet demand and the penalties for lighting forest fires are severe, so Chinese traders look to Thailand and other Southeast Asian countries where enforcement is almost non-existent. Again, the calculus is quite simple: when the forest floor is covered with dried leaves, grass and bushes, mushrooms are difficult to find. When it has been burned to a morbid blackness, it is much easier. Chinese traders pay in cash and then transport the mushrooms to huge markets in Yunnan province for distribution to restaurants across China.
So then, what can be done?
First, the incentive structures must be changed. Poor mountain villagers must be given other options to earn much-needed income. Social support systems must be rapidly strengthened to provide affordable and decent housing, educational opportunities, low-interest loans, better healthcare and jobs that are environmentally sound. Seasonal, conditional direct cash transfers would enable these citizens to construct better futures and reduce the incentives to destroy the forest and light fires.
Second, enforcement and mitigation efforts must be dramatically expanded. Clearly, current prohibitions and burning bans have been completely ineffective. Very few fire-starters are ever caught and the penalties are mild for those who are. Severe penalties, including prison time and large fines for starting fires, must be established and enforced.
The Forest Department is grossly under-funded and under-equipped to deal with the scale of this problem. Department budgets must be increased, and new staff hired to monitor and protect the health of mountain communities and the forests year-round.
Third, agribusiness must be held fully accountable for their business model. In short, they must stop paying villagers to grow corn in public forests and national parks. As with tropical hardwoods, a transparent regulatory framework must be implemented to verify the precise geographic origin of corn crops. Satellite and digital technologies are available to implement such a system. Until they stop this practice, consumers should consider their own contribution to this problem when they choose to purchase meat and dairy produced by these companies.
Finally, the collection, transport and sale of wild mushrooms must come under formal regulation. All exports of mushrooms should be banned until an effective regulatory structure with careful monitoring can be put in place. Penalties including prison time and large fines for mushroom trafficking must be established and enforced.
This problem is deadly serious, widely distributed and complex, but it can be resolved if there is sustained political will and adequate resources are marshalled and intelligently directed.
When the rains finally come, the skies will clear, and it will be easy for Thai people and our leaders to forget about this critical challenge.
If we do so, this catastrophe will surely be repeated again year after year. We must not allow that to happen.
Mark Simmerman, PhD, is public health scientist and long time resident of Thailand.