MAE CHAM/OMKOI, Thailand — Rain lashed down in the northern Thai village of Nong Krating as Sawattiphon Wongkasettakon described the worsening air pollution that sweeps in through the mountains here each year. “It didn’t used to be so bad, but in the last three years it’s become impossible to ignore,” Sawattiphon, a former deputy chief of […]

cross-posted from: https://slrpnk.net/post/29901160

  • Northern Thailand is trapped in a cycle of air pollution driven by maize cultivation for the animal feed industry, with field burning each year choking the region in hazardous haze.
  • Government crackdowns and “zero-burn” policies have failed because impoverished farmers see no viable alternative to burning amid falling yields and mounting debt.
  • Deforestation, soil erosion and flooding linked to maize farming have devastated ecosystems and rural livelihoods across Chiang Mai province.
  • Even as some communities ban maize cultivation to fight haze, new coal projects threaten to undo their gains, revealing Thailand’s conflicting approach to environmental governance.

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  • solrize@lemmy.ml
    2·
    1 month ago

    “Farmers in Omkoi district, many of which are ethnically Karen, eschewed farming maize in favor of more sustainable vegetables. Image by Gerald Flynn / Mongabay.”

    I.e. Karen here is a Thai ethnic group, not a sociological label.