Sustainable alternative options for open burning of corn residues : the case of Mae Chaem District, Chiang Mai Province | |
| Author | Jirapat Thola |
| Call Number | AIT Diss no.CC-22-01 |
| Subject(s) | Corn--Residues Prescribed burning--Thailand--Chiang Mai Air--Pollution--Thailand--Chiang Mai |
| Note | A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in climate change and sustainable development |
| Publisher | Asian Institute of Technology |
| Abstract | Thailand’s agriculture sector is its second largest source of greenhouse gas emissions after its energy sector. Population growth is a key driver of demand for food and the expansion of crop plantation areas. In the past decade, corn monoculture has sharply increased in the Mae Cheam District to satisfy the higher demand for food. Seventy percent of corn production in Chiang Mai is from Mae Cheam. After harvesting, corn residues were left in plantation areas without utilization, and they were usually burned by the farmers after harvesting. Although open burning in agricultural areas has been restricted since 2013, open burning in the corn plantation areas of Mae Chaem is the highest among Chiang Mai’s economic crops, such as rice and sugarcane. The 12th National Economic and Social Development Plan (2017-2021) and Strategies in Climate Change and Agriculture Plan of Thailand (2017-2021) highlighted the importance of finding a solution to open burning of corn residues for reducing GHG emissions, air pollution, and soil impacts. Moreover, among Thai economic crops, corn residues were found to be the highest open-burned residues in the field and the lowest utilized compared to other residues, such as rice and sugarcane residues. Although there are many technologies for the utilization of corn residues, the highest rejection rate of the technologies for reducing open burning was found among corn farmers. Currently, there are no sustainable options for utilization of corn residues that can reduce open burning. Therefore, reducing open burning of agricultural residues in the field is the second highest opportunity to mitigate greenhouse gas in Thais agricultural sector after rice cultivation. This study estimated GHG and pollutants emissions from open burning of corn residues. Data collection was based on a bottom-up approach using a questionnaire survey and ground observation with 374 corn farmers in Mae Chaem. The results showed that in 2020, corn plantation areas in Mae Chaem were 128,867 rai with production of 87,629,560 kg, which generated corn residues in the amount of 96,392,516 kg. The estimated Greenhouse Gases (GHG) emission from open burning of corn residues was 22,235.59t of Carbon dioxide (CO2), 35.82t of Methane (CH4), 1.63t of Nitrous oxide (N2O), and the estimated pollutants were 948.97t of Carbon monoxide (CO), 99.08t of Particulate Matter with the diameter of or less than 10 micron (PM10), 96.06t of Particulate Matter with the diameter of or less than 2.5 micron (PM2.5), 76.75t of Organic Carbon (OC) and 11.63t of Black Carbon (BC) in 2020. Identification of sustainable options for reducing open burning of corn residues was done by an Analytical Hierarchy Process-based multi-criteria decision-making approach with three main criteria, nine sub-criteria, and nine alternatives. Questionnaires with pair-wise comparison matrices were used for interviewing and weighting by 13 experts and policymakers. The results show that sustainable options for reducing open burning should be prioritized to achieve environmental benefits in reducing air pollution, economic benefits, and social acceptance by corn farmers. The most suitable technological and non technological alternatives were biomass for producing electricity and mixed cropping. The gaps in the existing policy and suggestions for a new policy framework for reducing open burning of corn residues were developed from qualitative data collection. Interviews were conducted with 13 experts and policymakers. The result showed that the gaps in the existing policies were from the top-down policies for the haze management. Those policies were not fit for all local administrative situations. The findings of this study could be useful for Mae Chaem, Thailand, and other corn producing countries to cope with the problem of open burning of corn residues and emission of greenhouse gases and pollutants from open burning of corn residues. |
| Year | 2022 |
| Type | Dissertation |
| School | School of Environment, Resources, and Development |
| Department | Department of Energy and Climate Change (Former title: Department of Energy, Environment, and Climate Change (DEECC)) |
| Academic Program/FoS | Climate Change and Sustainable Development (CC) |
| Chairperson(s) | Salam, P. Abdul; |
| Examination Committee(s) | Dhakal, Shobhakar;Ekbordin Winijkul; |
| Scholarship Donor(s) | Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives (MOAC), Thailand;Asian Institute of Technology Fellowship; |
| Degree | Thesis (Ph. D.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2022 |