Eradicating slash-and-burn farming needs ‘blue-sky’ thinking
In a quest for blue sky and clean air, the United Nations Environment Programme (Unep) has called on the governments of Asian countries to take a tougher stance on open burning, one of the major causes of air pollution in the region.
“Governments need to push the right regulations, because in developing countries the private sector in cities continue to push their own agenda through government agencies and sometimes it’s not what the city truly needs,” Burt Fabian, programme officer of UN Environment, said at the 2018 Asia-Pacific Clean Air Partnership (Apcap) Joint Forum, held in Bangkok last week.
The forum focused on initiatives listed under the Global Fuel Economy Initiative (GFEI).
Apart from discussions on how to promote fuel efficiency and electric cars, the forum also examined the emerging problem of open burning — the practice of clearing farm land for new harvesting.
In 2015, the World Bank estimated the total economic cost of the haze and fires
caused by clearing forests for palm oil harvesting accounted for 2% of Indonesia’s gross domestic product (GDP), and more than twice the cost of the 2004 tsunami.
Northern parts of Thailand, such as Chiang Rai, Chiang Mai, Payao and Lampang, frequently suffer from seasonal air pollution caused by the practice.
Similar problems with air quality have also been reported in India and Nepal.
Harjeet Singh Dhaliwal, director of the Punjab Agricultural Management and Extension Training Institute in India, said at the forum that countries must find new solutions that are relatively simple to implement.
“Rice is the main crop for Himalayan countries, and India alone produces 39 million tonnes of rice residue which farmers burn to get rid of. Only 20% is handled in a sustainable way. Such a backward method releases an immense amount of carbon dioxide, sulphur and methane into the atmosphere. We need cost-effective solutions that can be implemented over a short period of time,” he said of the openburning problem that is faced by Himalayan countries.
Andreas Köck, managing director of Scheuch, a company which sells air-pollution prevention technology, said there are solutions to open burning and other air pollution related issues. What has been lacking, explained Mr Koch, is political will.
“It costs between 0.5 and four million euros (19-154 million baht) for pollutioncontrol systems in a variety of industries that cause a lot of emissions through activities such as dry-cleaning, brick disposal, and open burning. But it is hard to enforce their use without drafting strict policies,” Mr Köck said.
For Thailand, environmental minister Surasak Kanjanarat has mandated seven measures to reduce open burning and curtail haze. Most are focused on enforcing laws to deter farmers from the custom, rather than on innovations to help them find new ways to deal with clearing waste.
The non-profit sector in Thailand has introduced technology to address the issue. In 2016, the Rotary Club of Lampang developed a portable biomass shredder with 60 blades. The club donated two of these machines to local farming communities, according to Boonkoom Boonyasopath, an energy engineer and member of the board.
The club is currently in talks with the Lampang administration to produce another 20 biomass shredders for local communities in Lampang and Chiang Mai, Mr Boonkoom told the Bangkok Post.
He said the best way to solve open burning is to offer farmers realistic alternatives. After receiving the free shredders, villagers are taught how to make organic fertiliser from the waste which they can also sell at markets.