Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09CHIANGMAI73
2009-06-04 07:38:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Consulate Chiang Mai
Cable title:
GOVERNMENT MUM ON ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS DURING BURNING
how-toVZCZCXRO0142 PP RUEHCN RUEHDT RUEHGH RUEHHM RUEHVC DE RUEHCHI #0073/01 1550738 ZNR UUUUU ZZH P 040738Z JUN 09 FM AMCONSUL CHIANG MAI TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1053 INFO RUEHZS/ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS RUEHOO/CHINA POSTS COLLECTIVE RUEAEPA/EPA WASHINGTON DC RUEHCHI/AMCONSUL CHIANG MAI 1135
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 CHIANG MAI 000073
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: SENV ECON EAGR CH LA BM TH
SUBJECT: GOVERNMENT MUM ON ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS DURING BURNING
SEASON
REF: A. CHIANG MAI 38 (DOCTORS ON AIR POLLUTION)
B. 08 CHIANG MAI 50 (HARZARDOUS AIR QUALITY)
C. 08 CHIANG MAI 91 (REDUCED BURNING)
CHIANG MAI 00000073 001.2 OF 002
-------------------
Summary and Comment
-------------------
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 CHIANG MAI 000073
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: SENV ECON EAGR CH LA BM TH
SUBJECT: GOVERNMENT MUM ON ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS DURING BURNING
SEASON
REF: A. CHIANG MAI 38 (DOCTORS ON AIR POLLUTION)
B. 08 CHIANG MAI 50 (HARZARDOUS AIR QUALITY)
C. 08 CHIANG MAI 91 (REDUCED BURNING)
CHIANG MAI 00000073 001.2 OF 002
--------------
Summary and Comment
--------------
1. (U) Despite seasonal air pollution in northern Thailand
reaching hazardous levels well above last year's, local Thai
government bodies remained quiet, issuing no public
announcements during the peak periods of the burning season.
The highest daily PM10 measurements for the burning season
(February to April) reached a level nearly double that
determined safe by the U.S. EPA, while PM2.5 measurements, which
gauge the smaller, more hazardous particulate matter in the air,
reached levels more than triple what the EPA considers safe.
Despite the dangerous northern Thai air in the first quarter of
the year, local government agencies avoided any enforcement of
anti-burn laws and refrained from clear public warnings against
hazardous air quality.
2. (SBU) Comment: After years of pressure from the Chiang Mai
academic and medical communities to enforce anti-burn laws,
local law enforcement agencies remain unwilling to take
widespread action, often defending their lethargy on the grounds
that burning is a way of life for local farmers. At the same
time, farmers continue to complain that alternative grazing
methods, such as plowing, are too costly. For farmers,
therefore, the decision not to burn their crop fields is an
economic one. If local government is incapable of enforcing
anti-burning, subsidizing alternative methods would be the best
bet. But such a costly program is unlikely to come to fruition;
thus it is probable that the seasonal air pollution of northern
Thailand will be a problem for years to come. End Summary and
Comment.
--------------
Seasonal Pollution Exceeds Hazard Thresholds
--------------
3. (U) An overall review of 2009 pollution indicators for the
annual burning season in northern Thailand (as well as in Burma,
Laos, and southern China) shows that the population faced higher
levels of more hazardous air quality for longer periods of time
than compared to last year. From February through March, the
number of days that PM10, a measure of particulate matter
smaller than ten micrograms per cubic meter (mg/cm),exceeded
the EPA's safety standard of 150 mg/cm was 20, compared to only
six days last year. March was the most polluted month by PM10
measurements, which are taken daily, peaking at 238 mg/cm,
compared to the 206 mg/cm peak last year. (Note: Ref A provides
more details on the PM10 measurements during the 2009 burning
season. Three monitoring centers in and around Chiang Mai
collect PM10 data daily, and daily averages are posted on a
public website.)
-------------- --------------
Government Keeps Close Hold on Hazardous Measurements
-------------- --------------
4. (SBU) The RTG's Department of Pollution of Control (DPC) also
collects but does not publicize PM2.5 measurements, which,
according to the U.S. EPA, are better indicators of truly
hazardous particulate matter since such matter smaller than 2.5
mg/cm can penetrate the lungs and have long-term health
consequences. The DPC measured PM2.5 on a monthly basis, taking
two random days' measurements from each month, then computing
the PM2.5 level for those two days only. Although this data is
not released to the public, post requested that the DPC provide
the data to us.
CHIANG MAI 00000073 002.2 OF 002
5. (SBU) The DPC's PM2.5 measurements indicate that air
pollution reached levels above the U.S. EPA's safety standard of
35 mg/cm on several occasions during the burning season. March
was the worst month, recording a peak PM2.5 reading of 126
mg/cm, over three times as high as the EPA safety standard.
January and February measurements were both above the EPA safety
standard as well, reaching 50 and 114 mg/cm, respectively. In
April, the PM2.5 peak reached 75 mg/cm. The DPC told us that
the reason it is not permitted to release this data to the
public is because the RTG has not yet determined what it
considers to be the safety standard for PM2.5 in Thailand.
--------------
Old Habits Die Hard...
--------------
6. (U) The main cause of seasonal air pollution in northern
Thailand (as well as Burma and Laos) is agricultural burning, an
outdated "slash and burn" method of preparing crop fields for
the new rainy season (May-October). The bad habit is one that
northern Thai farmers are reluctant to give up and that law
enforcement agencies are unwilling to eradicate. One farmer in
the Hang Dong district of Chiang Mai (where post's housing
compound is located) said that he has about two acres of farm
land, which he can burn and clear of its harvested rice husks in
only ten minutes. He said, "If I don't burn, I have to rent a
tractor and buy fuel." Although one government official in the
Hang Dong district who specializes in agricultural issues said
local authorities have tried to show that plowed plots of land
produce higher yields than burnt plots, farmers remain unwilling
to take on the initial high costs of plowing on the chance of a
higher crop yield.
7. (U) "There will not be any effort to stop burning and improve
air quality until the public sector stops being flexible with
farmers," said a representative of a local environmental group.
She said that local government agencies, including ones in the
Hang Dong district, have been uncooperative in joining
environmental groups to denounce burning and enforce anti-burn
laws. She said that government officials have brushed off her
environmental groups' calls for action, arguing that burning is
"a livelihood and traditional way of life of the local people."
8. (SBU) Although the Chiang Mai Governor chairs a committee to
combat agricultural burning, government officials from the
provincial to the municipal to the sub-district level remain
flexible in allowing farmers to continue burning. During the
burning season this year, no Thai authority in Chiang Mai made
any public health warnings. Our contacts in the public and
private sectors admitted that government agencies try to keep
seasonal air pollution a low-profile issue out of fear that
drawing attention to it would damage local tourism. (Note:
Medical officials were uncharacteristically vocal about air
pollution this year. See ref A.)
--------------
...And People Die from Old Habits
--------------
9. (U) The bad news of a dangerous burning season is coupled
with recent news about poor health among northern Thais from a
recent report issued by the National Economic and Social
Development Board (NESDB). According to the NESDB, the
"northern region" of Thailand was ranked highest in the country
in terms of illness, with over 27% of the northern population
falling ill during the year, though the report does not define
what is considered "ill." Of those who reported an illness, 40%
were reported as respiratory illness, a likely consequence of
the seasonal air pollution.
MORROW
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: SENV ECON EAGR CH LA BM TH
SUBJECT: GOVERNMENT MUM ON ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS DURING BURNING
SEASON
REF: A. CHIANG MAI 38 (DOCTORS ON AIR POLLUTION)
B. 08 CHIANG MAI 50 (HARZARDOUS AIR QUALITY)
C. 08 CHIANG MAI 91 (REDUCED BURNING)
CHIANG MAI 00000073 001.2 OF 002
--------------
Summary and Comment
--------------
1. (U) Despite seasonal air pollution in northern Thailand
reaching hazardous levels well above last year's, local Thai
government bodies remained quiet, issuing no public
announcements during the peak periods of the burning season.
The highest daily PM10 measurements for the burning season
(February to April) reached a level nearly double that
determined safe by the U.S. EPA, while PM2.5 measurements, which
gauge the smaller, more hazardous particulate matter in the air,
reached levels more than triple what the EPA considers safe.
Despite the dangerous northern Thai air in the first quarter of
the year, local government agencies avoided any enforcement of
anti-burn laws and refrained from clear public warnings against
hazardous air quality.
2. (SBU) Comment: After years of pressure from the Chiang Mai
academic and medical communities to enforce anti-burn laws,
local law enforcement agencies remain unwilling to take
widespread action, often defending their lethargy on the grounds
that burning is a way of life for local farmers. At the same
time, farmers continue to complain that alternative grazing
methods, such as plowing, are too costly. For farmers,
therefore, the decision not to burn their crop fields is an
economic one. If local government is incapable of enforcing
anti-burning, subsidizing alternative methods would be the best
bet. But such a costly program is unlikely to come to fruition;
thus it is probable that the seasonal air pollution of northern
Thailand will be a problem for years to come. End Summary and
Comment.
--------------
Seasonal Pollution Exceeds Hazard Thresholds
--------------
3. (U) An overall review of 2009 pollution indicators for the
annual burning season in northern Thailand (as well as in Burma,
Laos, and southern China) shows that the population faced higher
levels of more hazardous air quality for longer periods of time
than compared to last year. From February through March, the
number of days that PM10, a measure of particulate matter
smaller than ten micrograms per cubic meter (mg/cm),exceeded
the EPA's safety standard of 150 mg/cm was 20, compared to only
six days last year. March was the most polluted month by PM10
measurements, which are taken daily, peaking at 238 mg/cm,
compared to the 206 mg/cm peak last year. (Note: Ref A provides
more details on the PM10 measurements during the 2009 burning
season. Three monitoring centers in and around Chiang Mai
collect PM10 data daily, and daily averages are posted on a
public website.)
-------------- --------------
Government Keeps Close Hold on Hazardous Measurements
-------------- --------------
4. (SBU) The RTG's Department of Pollution of Control (DPC) also
collects but does not publicize PM2.5 measurements, which,
according to the U.S. EPA, are better indicators of truly
hazardous particulate matter since such matter smaller than 2.5
mg/cm can penetrate the lungs and have long-term health
consequences. The DPC measured PM2.5 on a monthly basis, taking
two random days' measurements from each month, then computing
the PM2.5 level for those two days only. Although this data is
not released to the public, post requested that the DPC provide
the data to us.
CHIANG MAI 00000073 002.2 OF 002
5. (SBU) The DPC's PM2.5 measurements indicate that air
pollution reached levels above the U.S. EPA's safety standard of
35 mg/cm on several occasions during the burning season. March
was the worst month, recording a peak PM2.5 reading of 126
mg/cm, over three times as high as the EPA safety standard.
January and February measurements were both above the EPA safety
standard as well, reaching 50 and 114 mg/cm, respectively. In
April, the PM2.5 peak reached 75 mg/cm. The DPC told us that
the reason it is not permitted to release this data to the
public is because the RTG has not yet determined what it
considers to be the safety standard for PM2.5 in Thailand.
--------------
Old Habits Die Hard...
--------------
6. (U) The main cause of seasonal air pollution in northern
Thailand (as well as Burma and Laos) is agricultural burning, an
outdated "slash and burn" method of preparing crop fields for
the new rainy season (May-October). The bad habit is one that
northern Thai farmers are reluctant to give up and that law
enforcement agencies are unwilling to eradicate. One farmer in
the Hang Dong district of Chiang Mai (where post's housing
compound is located) said that he has about two acres of farm
land, which he can burn and clear of its harvested rice husks in
only ten minutes. He said, "If I don't burn, I have to rent a
tractor and buy fuel." Although one government official in the
Hang Dong district who specializes in agricultural issues said
local authorities have tried to show that plowed plots of land
produce higher yields than burnt plots, farmers remain unwilling
to take on the initial high costs of plowing on the chance of a
higher crop yield.
7. (U) "There will not be any effort to stop burning and improve
air quality until the public sector stops being flexible with
farmers," said a representative of a local environmental group.
She said that local government agencies, including ones in the
Hang Dong district, have been uncooperative in joining
environmental groups to denounce burning and enforce anti-burn
laws. She said that government officials have brushed off her
environmental groups' calls for action, arguing that burning is
"a livelihood and traditional way of life of the local people."
8. (SBU) Although the Chiang Mai Governor chairs a committee to
combat agricultural burning, government officials from the
provincial to the municipal to the sub-district level remain
flexible in allowing farmers to continue burning. During the
burning season this year, no Thai authority in Chiang Mai made
any public health warnings. Our contacts in the public and
private sectors admitted that government agencies try to keep
seasonal air pollution a low-profile issue out of fear that
drawing attention to it would damage local tourism. (Note:
Medical officials were uncharacteristically vocal about air
pollution this year. See ref A.)
--------------
...And People Die from Old Habits
--------------
9. (U) The bad news of a dangerous burning season is coupled
with recent news about poor health among northern Thais from a
recent report issued by the National Economic and Social
Development Board (NESDB). According to the NESDB, the
"northern region" of Thailand was ranked highest in the country
in terms of illness, with over 27% of the northern population
falling ill during the year, though the report does not define
what is considered "ill." Of those who reported an illness, 40%
were reported as respiratory illness, a likely consequence of
the seasonal air pollution.
MORROW