Speaking on April 14, Natural Resources and Environment Minister Suchart Chomklin said the ministry was acting in line with Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul’s policy to intensify wildfire prevention and haze control, with the key objective of stopping fires from the very start.
He said the Royal Forest Department and the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation had been instructed to close reserved forests and protected forest areas in risk-prone zones across the country.
Under the new measures, outsiders will be strictly barred from entering these areas in order to reduce the risk of human-caused fires.
Authorities have also been ordered to enforce the law to the fullest extent against anyone who illegally enters forest areas or starts fires, with no exceptions.
Suchart said the ministry was strengthening ground operations with modern technology to make fire control faster and more effective.
Satellite imagery is being used to detect hotspots in real time and pinpoint locations more accurately.
Helicopters carrying water are being deployed to tackle fires in steep and hard-to-reach areas, while rapid-response vehicles are being positioned to help officers reach affected sites without delay.
“We are not just putting out fires. We are protecting the air that every Thai person breathes. The use of technology will help us work faster and more accurately,” Suchart said.
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