The Threat For Polluted Elephants Zones

Recently, as the haze covers the sky and palm trees in zones like Chiang Mai (Thailand), the elephants -brilliant and majestic - have been seen in danger under the black cloak of pollution.

Chiang Mai, a cultural epicenter where elephants, temples, and mountain tribes coexist; has become the event of forest fires that threaten stability in the region, the produced smoke floods the streets of the city, and a path will be made through the forest.

The north of Thailand suffocates with toxic air, dangerous levels of pollutants have deteriorated the quality of the air and affected the health of thousands of people, only hospital reports inform about 30,000 people in the last three months of respiratory diseases; at the same time, the situation has degraded the forest and endangered the lives of animals.

Forest fires are mainly due to the result of open burning on the border of Myanmar's forests and locally around farms in northern Thailand; the burning by the native and illegal population, often causes uncontrolled fires that devastate everything in their path. On the other hand, dry conditions, worsened by global warming; have started wildfires, ravaging large swaths of northern Thailand and posing additional threats to elephants foraging for food.

Some people have complained about arson and dry spells, which have allowed the fire to take over much of the forest land in and around Chiang Mai; by destroying the elephants' food and health, the result is homeless, but the real damage they may be causing is intriguing. The 2020 pandemic has also caused a marked decrease in the region's economic income, with the absence of tourism money is tight, reflected in the decrease in attention to elephants.

Image 1: Elephants in these areas fight daily for their conservation.

What's going on?

Once a natural paradise where elephant sanctuaries and communities are shared under the wild, it is now covered by a toxic gray cloud; among the most polluted cities in the world, nowadays Chiang Mai has surpassed the level of 200 micrograms of particulate material per cubic meter. Pollution has spread throughout this area bringing the voice of death to the elephants that previously lived as in paradise.

“To compound the situation, it is Thailand’s hottest period, driest the year and in some areas, the forest’s supply of natural foliage is completely depleted,” the expert on elephants Schmidt-Burbach said. “Without incoming funds to source supplementary food, elephants are unable to graze and forage adequately.

See Image 2, A (above) shows the nature reserves and the places where there is a greater concentration of elephants; Image B (Below) shows the air quality report for the early morning (3 am) of March 19, 2021, in Chiang May. Regions with elephant populations are clearly in places that indicate the worst air quality.

Image 2: Chiang Mai forest fires.

Many international organizations such as Save Elephant Foundation and World Animal Protection are working to bring food and other resources to as many elephants in need as possible, as the situation is critical.

Contamination is not limited to air pollution, recently 7 of these animals fought hard for their lives caused by ingesting the herbicide paraquat while searching for food sources in urban areas due to the destruction of their habitat. Also, poaching has not allowed them to have a safe place; the authorities are worried and powerless. Some natural sanctuaries move feelings on with the actions taken to give elephants the support they deserve.

Economic crisis and other facts

According to a report by World Animal Protection (WAP), In Thailand, there are approximately 2,500 captive elephants that are used for commercial purposes, to feed a single elephant for a month requires around $ 200 and $ 400.

The COVID-19 crisis has brought tourism to a halt in Thailand, leading to the closure of at least 85 elephant camps in northern Thailand and the layoff of more than 5,000 employees. Some 3,000 domesticated elephants in Thailand have been made unemployed and released to wildlife, but their presence runs the risk of creating problems in villages where food is limited.

the economic situation has led to the enhancement of the population's needs, consequently increasing the number of intentional fires to dispose of garbage waste in a traditional way and as a hunting method for the broad biodiversity of animals that populate these areas.

 

This is what do the locals say

The villagers expressed themselves with the appearance of these fires:

"Royal Forest Department (RFD) units start fires themselves because if a fire breaks out, they will get a bigger budget." "Every year, fires spread from RFD plantations. I think the RFD staff does the fire themselves because in the years without fire, they receive little money, but in the years with fire, they earn a lot of money."

These accusations are difficult to confirm; the secrecy caused by the state's monopoly on resources, the population does not know what is happening. The villagers also start the forest fires on state-owned lands in retaliation against officials. Discontent with the way RFD staff use power to control resources reflects the conflict between the government and the community.

Although the state claims ownership of all-natural resources, in practice, it has limited staff and budget to implement proper management, see Image 3. For example, in Doi Luang National Park, the number of forest fires increased after the RFD relocated people from their forest village.

Image 3: Forest fires occur near the city and elephants.

“Outsiders always start the fire to hunt at the base of a hill and then go up to the top, so RFD staff cannot take care of all of them. When the villagers were there, the outsiders were wary of the villagers. If the villagers saw a fire anywhere, they would help put it out immediately. In the past, villagers led livestock to graze in the forest, and this also reduced the risk of a dry grass fire on the forest floor“.

“After the villagers moved in, the officials did not have enough people to put out the fires. We have only nine people per unit in nine units. In 1988, wildfires occurred frequently and destroyed large areas of the forest“. - An official of the Management Unit in Doi Luang National Park

The RFD encourages local people to participate in forest protection but does not grant them any rights. As a result, the local people feel that they have no interest in the land and are not motivated to conserve the forest.

A time ago, the Director of the Regional Community Forestry Training Center (RECOFTC) commented: “If we want the villagers to cultivate the forest and protect it from forest fires, it is not difficult, just to allow the villagers to manage the forest themselves. We do not use 100 percent of the potential of the forestry community. If the villagers manage the forest, they will use its full potential themselves." Exposing the commitment to its citizens and natural resources.

References

• World Air Quality Index. Air Pollution in Chiang Mai: Real-time Air Quality Index Visual Map. AQICN. March 11, 2021. Link https://aqicn.org/city/chiang-mai/.

• Pardthaisong, Liwa & Sin-ampol, Phaothai & Suwanprasit, Chanida & Charoenpanyanet, Arisara. (2018). Haze Pollution in Chiang Mai, Thailand: A Road to Resilience. Procedia Engineering. 212. 85-92. 10.1016/j.proeng.2018.01.012. 

• New Asia. Pichayada Promchertchoo. Chiang Mai among world’s most polluted cities as forest fires rage in northern Thailand. 11 Mar 2021 06:09 PM. Link https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asia/thailand-chiang-mai-forest-fire-hazardous-14383174.

• Ann Carter. Brush fires rage on in Chiang Mai while air pollution soars. March 12, 2021. The Thaiger. Link https://thethaiger.com/hot-news/pollution/brush-fires-rage-on-in-chiang-mai-while-air-pollution-soar.

• Elizabeth Claire Alberts. Mongabay. Thailand’s captive elephants face starvation amid COVID-19 tourism freeze. 21 April 2020. Link https://news.mongabay.com/2020/04/thailands-captive-elephants-face-starvation-amid-covid-19-tourism-freeze/.

• CTN News. Elephants Poisoned after Eating Grass Contaminated with Paraquat. March 6, 2021. Link https://www.chiangraitimes.com/thailand-national-news/northen-thailand/elephants-poisoned-after-eating-grass-contaminated-with-paraquat/.

• Stella Levante. Lifegate. A thousand elephants in Thailand risk starvation due to the pandemic. 27 July 2020. Link https://www.lifegate.com/elephants-thailand-starvation-coronavirus.

• National Geographic. Natasha Daly. The world responded to this captive elephant’s plight. Now he has a new life.  8 aug 2019, 11:42 BST. Link https://www.nationalgeographic.co.uk/animals/2019/08/world-responded-captive-elephants-plight-now-he-has-new-life.

• FAO. Atchara Rakyutidharm. Forest fire in the context of territorial rights in northern Thailand. Link http://www.fao.org/3/ac798e/ac798e0h.htm.