Bangkok: "No Burning, No Income" incentivizes farmers to reduce burning, addressing PM2.5 at its source and continuing the mission to restore clean air after successfully reducing burning sites in Bangkok by 44%. Mr. Chatchart Sittipunt, Bangkok gubernatorial candidate number 9, along with his "Bangkok Works" team, campaigned in the Saphan Sung, Khlong Sam Wa, Nong Chok, and Min Buri districts. He presented policies aimed at addressing the PM2.5 problem by reducing agricultural burning. Data from the "Dust Detective Project" indicates that biomass burning is a major source of PM2.5 in Bangkok. At the Khao Klai Farmers' Rice Center in Nong Chok district, Chatchart stated that Bangkok has not been complacent and has actively controlled burning, reducing hotspots by 44%. He also mentioned monitoring agricultural areas in upstream provinces like Nakhon Nayok and incentivizing farmers to change their practices, such as providing free hay balers and conducting plant research. As a result, burning has been virtually eliminated.
According to Thai News Agency, going forward, the focus will be on addressing the root causes of the problem sustainably. This will involve cooperation with neighboring provinces to promote burn-free farming through a comprehensive farmer support plan. This includes providing tractor and baler loans, distributing and promoting the use of microorganisms to decompose rice straw and stubble (with free starter cultures provided by the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Land Development), and utilizing waterless microbial technologies for stubble disposal. Simultaneously, real-time monitoring of hotspots will be conducted using data from NASA Firm in collaboration with the Environmental Bureau. If burning is detected, district offices will immediately intervene to suppress the incident.
Furthermore, the initiative emphasizes fieldwork to educate farmers on making compost and microbial fertilizer from rice straw, while also promoting the Bangkok G standard to create a "No Burning in This Plot" product brand. This is achieved by providing Farmer Market spaces in public parks for farmers to sell their produce directly.
A key highlight of this field visit was the announcement of the establishment of the "Comprehensive Farmer Assistance and Burning Monitoring Center." This center will systematically oversee various aspects, from real-time monitoring and alerting of hotspots, to regulating burning times when necessary to minimize urban impact, coordinating personnel and equipment to suppress fires in high-risk areas, and gathering evidence to enforce the law against illegal burning. The center will also act as a liaison, connecting farmers with markets, adding value to burn-free agricultural products, coordinating the purchase of bales of straw for processing, providing farmers with income to offset costs, and ultimately promoting sustainable agricultural practices.
"Last year, this area saw a 50% reduction in the number of days with excessive air pollution. I believe our approach to managing PM2.5 among farmers is on the right track," Chatchart said.
In addition to addressing the PM 2.5 dust problem, this field visit also gathered feedback from residents in agricultural areas such as Nong Chok district regarding water management, a crucial aspect of agriculture. Chatchart stated that the water problem in the area manifests in two ways: water needed for farming during the dry season and water that needs to be drained during the rainy season. Previously, Bangkok has addressed the issue by constructing check dams to retain water for later use, which has proven effective. However, during the rainy season, drainage problems arise that fail to meet the needs of the residents, leading to water pollution.
A major obstacle to managing floodgates in the area is the problem of equipment loss, such as the "pulleys" of the weirs, which cannot be permanently installed because they are frequently stolen. This forces officials to remove and store them elsewhere, resulting in delays in managing the opening and closing of the floodgates. In addition, when water is dammed, it often becomes polluted, severely impacting residents in some areas where piped water is not available and who rely on natural water sources for consumption.
'One problem we encountered was with the dams. The pulleys couldn't be left installed permanently because they often got lost. Officials had to remove and store them, which meant that opening and closing the sluice gates might not be timely enough. At the same time, the public complained that when water was held back for too long, it became polluted, especially in areas without access to the water supply system, making it unusable for daily life. I think the key is to manage water resources in a way that aligns with the lifestyles and needs of the people in each area,' Chatchart said.
Under the "Bangkok and Beyond" concept, Chatchart's team's policies extend beyond the agricultural sector, encompassing dust management at other sources. This includes expanding Low Emission Zone (LEZ) measures to include 4-wheel pickup trucks and older diesel vehicles, collaborating with the Department of Industrial Works to establish a Warroom for real-time monitoring of emissions via CEMs (Common Emission Monitoring Systems), forming a "Dust Detective" team, and developing "Super Stations"-advanced air quality monitoring stations-to conduct in-depth real-time dust composition analysis for more accurate forecasting.
"Regarding vehicles, which are a major cause of PM2.5 dust, we need to tighten controls to include pickup trucks as well. Previously, the Low Emission Zone (no-entry zone) only affected 6-wheel trucks. In the future, we will extend this to pickup trucks and diesel vehicles that emit toxic fumes."
The Bangkok team has also prepared to support the Clean Air Act by immediately proceeding with its plans within 60 days of the law's enactment. This is being done concurrently with submitting a Clean Air Ordinance for Bangkok to the Bangkok City Council to implement the collection of fees from all types of polluters, including vehicles, industrial factories, and illegal burning, in order to provide clean air to Bangkok residents in a tangible way.