Wildfires in forest areas are a recurring issue in Thailand, primarily driven by human activities such as open burning and agricultural practices. Despite efforts to address the problem, the current wildfire management system is limited in scope and effectiveness. The Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP) and the Royal Forestry Department (RFD) face budget constraints and climate change impacts, making it critical to improve early warning systems and emergency responses.
To enhance wildfire management, the PROGREEN multi-donor trust fund, managed by the World Bank Group, is supporting a Technical Assistance to Improve Knowledge and Innovative Policy for Wildfire Reduction in Northern Thailand Project aimed at integrating environmental and socioeconomic indicators into a comprehensive wildfire risk map and developing a robust Fire Management Information System (FMIS). This workshop is part of the Activity I: Wildfire Risk Map and Management Information System of the Spatial Informatics Group (SIG).
The Royal Thai Government has sought this support to increase the effectiveness of wildfire management, particularly in early warning systems and emergency response. The key outputs include improving the accuracy of the wildfire risk map and the early warning system, as well as integrating DNP MIS information with other agencies’ MIS systems on wildfire reporting and emergency response in the nine northern provinces of Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Lamphun, Lampang, Payao, Phrae, Nan, Tak, and Mae Hong Son.