Wildfires destroy over 100 forests in Dadeldhura
Wildfires destroy over 100 forests in Dadeldhura
26 April 2016
published by http://kathmandupost.ekantipur.com
Nepal– Wildfires engulfing more than 100 forests including community and leasehold in the district continue to destroy the forests.
The District Forest Office (DFO) said that the wildfires were yet to be doused due to various reasons.
Incidents of wildfire are widespread across the country during summer.
Assistant forest officer at the DFO Laxmi Joshi said that out of the total 455 community forests in the district, more than 100 have been destroyed completely or partially in the infernos.
Chairman of Samaiji Salleri Community Forest User’s Group Datti Singh Bhandari said that the wildfires are yet to be extinguished due to long spell of droughtThe National Research Council of Thailand (NRCT) has joined hands with Chiang Mai University (CMU) to launch the Haze Free Thailand campaign, encouraging cooperation among related agencies to strengthen communities and dissipate haze conditions.
NRCTs Acting Secretary-General Sukunya Theerakullert today presided over the launching ceremony of Haze Free Thailand campaign held at Chiang Mai University.
She said that the haze disaster is a persisting issue which happens regularly while becoming more severe, especially during dry and still weather conditions which suspends airborne particulate matters in the air for a prolonged period of time, and thus amplifying the effect it has on the general public.
The haze situation has affected the transport, tourism, society, and the economy in the affected areas causing the number of tourists to drop while threatening the health of the general public who are forced to continue their daily lives under such an unhealthy environment, with heightened health risks to people with low immunity such as elders and children.
The NRCT acting secretary-general has said the NRCT and its network agencies have been supporting research that will help mitigate the haze disaster, and agreed to support large-scale project that will enhance cooperation between government agencies, private companies, and the local public to strengthen the affected communities under the name Haze Free Thailand.
The Haze Free Thailand project will be run by Chiang Mai University as the main responsible agency, due to the fact that the university is located in the affected area. The NRCT expects that this campaign will gradually help reduce the severity of the Kingdom’s haze issues in the future. – See more at: http://thainews.prd.go.th/CenterWeb/NewsEN/NewsDetail?NT01_NewsID=WNEVN5904260010018#sthash.UcDzyC0u.dpuf
