Well…this article supposed to end at the above paragraph but with sometime left and some light that still shined. We stopped at U-long Stream which we had to pass on our way back. I first visited this medium size stream 5 years back with Chaiwut. That time, we found that the bio-diversity was so rich that I dubbed it “Miracle Stream”. For in U-long, we found 3 species of Garra sp., 5 species of Schistura, 4 species of Kryptotorax and many more fishes packed in one stretch of rapid no longer than 5 meters. But with the boom of tourism industry in this area, U-long which was one of the easily access stream, was obviously effected. Along the way, we saw many part of the forest along the stream being cut and transformed into resort, parking lot and orchard. We saw that some part of the stream was blocked by small dam to raise the water level for tourists to swim. We even saw drainage pipe from the resort’s kitchen that went directly into the U-long. As expected, we found only a Garra, 2 species of Schistura, a Glyptothorax and a few other fishes. U-long was obviously affected by all these transformations. While we were very happy with our successful expedition to the most difficult and virgin rivers in the country, while we were happy to see all those fish living in one of the most pristine water in the world, there were so many other less fortunate body of water and fishes in the country. U-long was so miserable that I felt so bad seeing my miracle stream being turned into sewage canal before my eyes in so short a time.
When I started writing this report, I planned to end it with our happy and success story from Kasa and Suriya, but I obviously failed miserably.
siamensis.org & TWS team
Siamensis.org
Siamensis.org is a non-profit nature conservation group that has their main focus on fresh water fishes, reptiles and its surrounding of Thailand –formerly known as Siam. The group, which formed in 2001, comprises of people from diverse background, from hobby aquarist to professional Ichthyologist, from NGOs to Government officers. Our goal is to learn as much as possible about our nature and educate the public to create awareness and sense of belonging, so that long term conservation is possible.
Our achievements included the discovery of many species of faunas and floras formerly unknown to science, which bring about a better understanding of our nature. We also have a website that promotes the conservation awareness to the people. Please visit us at http://www.siamensis.org
Nonn Panitvong
About the Author
Nonn Panitvong is a founding member of Siamensis.org conservation group. He is an Editor in Chief of AQUA magazine, a leading Aquarium and Nature conservation magazine in Thailand. He is also an award winning photographer and writer who has his works published in may parts of the world. He is now working on his Ph.D. in Environmental Science at Kasetsart University. The Eco-journalist, as he loves to call himself, lives in Bangkok with his wife, a daughter and many fishes.
h.m.rm
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