The Development of Forest Fire Control

 Thailand has been widely concerned about forest fire since 1970. Under the aid of the Government of Canada by the Canadian International Development Agency, Mr. J.C. Macleod, had visited and studied many forest fire situations in Thailand for approximately seven months, February to September, 1971. He gave both general and specific recommendations. In his general recommendations, he emphasized that: "even if no funds are budgeted for fire control, there need be no slackening of effort to provide protection against fire."

The specific recommendations can be summarized as follows:

1) The establishment of a forest fires Act is a primary requirement.

2) A Forest Fire Control Unit, or Section, should be set up now in the Royal Forest Department.

3) Training abroad for officers who are to provide initial leadership in fire control should begin as quickly as possible.

4) The information service of the Department should be provided with sufficient funds to greatly increase its forest conservation programme, particularly with respect to a fire education programme which should be started now.

5) Plans should be made and annouced within the Department, for the orderly application of organized protection to the various forested areas.
6) It is imperative that organized protection against fire be afforded the pine plantations at Bo-luang and Bokao, starting in 1972 if at all possible.

7) Improved methods of conducting prescribed burning should be developed.

8) A large measure of fire prevention and probably some fire suppression could be achieved in areas where the Department employs several labourers by assigning just one man to fire control during the fire season. This should be tried out.

9) Training of potential Fire Fighters should be started now in those areas first to receive protection against fire.

10) At least a little equipment for fire suppression should be prepared and set aside now in those areas to be given protection against fire in 1972.

11) Forest fire control and the possible effects of fire should be taken into account when planning most activities involving the forest in the north and northeast.

12) A much stronger effort should be made to achieve the active cooperation of the Highways Department and the rail roads in preventing forest fire.

13) The curricula of the Forest School at Prae and the Forest Workers School at Tak should include courses in forest fire control.

14) Operational fire control measures, rather than fire research, are required by the Forest Department during the next several years.

15) The practice of observing and recording daily fire weather should be started soon in all areas to be afforded protection in the next few years.


16) The present methods used by resin tappers in natural pine forests should be changed immediately to reduce fire risk and fire damage.

17) Better strategies are required to curtail the extreme fire risk caused by shifting cultivation.

18) Areas for plantations might best be selected well away from public roads.

19) Greater effort should be devoted to improving the public image of the Forest Department.

20) A system for the orderly filing of written material on forest fire control should now be put into cooperation.

During 1972-1974, some forest officers were sent to study and to be trained in modern forest fire control in Canada and the United States. Two years later, in 1976, the Forest Fire Control Section was established in the Forest Management Division for working in the Forest Fire Control Project of the Forest Conservation Centre. Thus, that was the first era of Forest Fire Control in Thailand. A few years later, the Forest Fire Control Section was upgraded to the Forest Fire Control Subdivision to undertake forest fire control activities nationwide. This is largely due to the cabinet resolution on Febuary,24 and November,3,1981 which intended to tackle forest fire problems.

Since then forest fire control activities have expanded quite dramatically. The fire-prone areas under fire control programme have been enlarged accordingly. Various fire prevention campaign techniques were initiated and practiced with different degrees of success. Fire suppression equipment was introduced, modified and applied. This included more sophisticated equipment such as high-technology fire tender, fixed-wing aircraft as well as helicopters. Suppression techniques and tactics have also gradually been developed in order to fit the current situation. This has been remarkably successful. However, due to the budget limitation, so far only 2.8 million hectares or 21% of the total forest land are placed under the intensive fire suppression programme.

The development promoting the fire control programme is the worldwide concern over environmental issues, especially the reduction of biodiversity and climatic changes caused by greenhouse effect. The consequences are recognized worldwide. In Thailand, unusual natural disasters such as drought, flood and wind storm are increasing. These circumstances led to the amendment of the forest fire control agency to an unofficial Office of Forest Fire Control and Rescue in late 1991. Later in 1993 the agency was promoted to a full Forest Fire Control Division. In 1999 the agency was upgraded to a Forest Fire Control Office.

In October,2002 there was a major restructuring of Bureaucracy System. The fire control agency was reorganized according to the Bureaucracy System’s restructuring Act 2002. Now the body designated to forest fire control is called “ The Forest Fire Control Division” under the National Park, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment. Fire suppression programme is able to cover 38% of the total forested land.
 

 [Background] [Early Practice] [Development]