DESPITE repeated haze crises in recent years, several communities in the North are hoping the problem will be solved.

Their optimism stems from efforts by many to reduce common causes of smog such as agricultural fires.

“We are fighting the haze crisis with sustainable agriculture,” said Dr Kanit Tantisirivit, the chief of the Nan community.

He said several organisations from the government and private sector had come to Nan to educate residents about sustainable farming, which reduces the need to rely just on corn plantations, which results in discarded corncobs that are often burned as a means of disposal.

Multi-crop plantations, Kanit said, also offer hardworking farmers better income, which reduces pressure to expand cultivation by clearing land using controlled burns.

Last year, the Nan community announced that 169 farmers had already embraced the model and started growing other crops in place of corn.

“There is hope that the smog situation will improve on a sustainable basis,” Kanit said. The Nan community has played an active role in promoting sustainable agriculture, helping farmers to plan which crops they should cultivate to earn enough income without hurting the environment.

Also active in Nan is the Mae Fah Luang Foundation, which has conducted many projects to prevent forest encroachment.

Nan is one of the nine northern provinces affected by air pollution and haze almost every dry season in recent years.

The problem in the North has worsened to the point that the government approved a Bt154-million budget to fight haze in the nine northern provinces this year. The target provinces are Nan, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Lampang, Mae Hong Son, Lamphun, Phrae, Phayao and Tak.

When smog spreads, levels of small dust particles often rise beyond the safe limit of 120 micrograms per cubic metre of air. When the haze gets to that point, residents are at risk of developing health problems.

Aside from the threat to health, smog has also hurts tourism and the economy.

According to authorities, the haze risk is highest between February 15 and April 15. The problem is closely related to the number of fires in the area.

By reducing the number of “hotspots”, the risk of smog also decreases.

The government has several measures to minimise haze risks including efforts to reduce burning in target areas by fuel and area management. Patrols will also be conducted to ensure timely responses in the event of forest fires.

In Chiang Mai’s Mae Chaem district, which used to be afflicted with poor smog conditions, some measures have been implemented with remarkable results.

Between February 15 and April 15, the number of hotspots in Mae Chaem fell to just 30 from 384 in the same period a year earlier.

“We are continuing the successful measures. We use patrols and more,” said director Somkiat Meetham of the Or Phya Institute, a non-government group dedicated to solving land-related problems in the North.

Patrols target national parks as the Pollution Control Department records show about 46 per cent of hotspots occurred in national parks, with fires usually deliberately lit by area residents to clear the land for forming.

‘More land for communities’

Somkiat also highlighted the threat from burning discarded corncobs, adding that his institute had used two milling machines to crush the corncobs in Mae Chaem district.

“This is an eco-friendly solution. The crushed corncobs can be used to make organic fertiliser and moisture-retaining ground cover,” he said, adding that the institute had about 30,000 tonnes of corncobs to crush.

While he said he believed efforts in Mae Chaem would significantly lower the risk of haze, he added that government agencies should act faster in allocating community land plots for people to utilise.

“Allocating land would definitely reduce hotspots in forest zones,” Somkiat said.

The government allocated only 3,800 rai (608 hectares) of land last year with just 943 local residents as beneficiaries.

“There is about 200,000 more |rai of land for the government to allocate,” he said.