Local communities key to tackling forest fires: Thai researcher

Bangkok (ANTARA) - Local communities should be involved in strengthening government efforts to tackle forest fires because residents live closest to affected areas and can serve as key partners, Thai climate researcher Atsamon Limsakul said.

“I think local communities are very important in addressing this problem because they live there. They can monitor what is happening and provide information about the situation,” Limsakul said in Bangkok on Monday.

Limsakul, Director of the Climate Change Adaptation Research Section at Thailand’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MNRE), spoke on the sidelines of the HERA Extreme Heat Reporting Training and Fellowship.

According to Limsakul, residents can monitor local conditions and share information quickly, enabling the government to respond as soon as reports arrive from the field.

Limsakul said local networks are crucial, and called for mechanisms to involve residents, since the problem often stems from community-level activities such as land clearing and crop-residue management.

He also highlighted the private sector’s resources and ability to act, saying close cooperation between businesses and the government could accelerate firefighting efforts on the ground.

Limsakul said Thailand faces similar challenges, with agricultural burning in the north from March to May. He described the issue as a shared challenge requiring collective action.

Smoke from forest fires affects the wider region, reaching Singapore, Malaysia and southern Thailand, he said, adding that neighboring countries could meet and learn from one another to find effective responses.

Limsakul stressed that approaches taking residents’ activities and needs into account would pave the way for more sustainable solutions, complementing government efforts across the region.

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Translator: Cindy FO, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Bayu Prasetyo
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