Yonok Wetlands, Conservation Chiang Saen Lake North Thailand

I have been prompted to right this article as I consider that little is being done to protect Chiang Sean Lake from the ever increasing height of the dam at the out flow of the lake.

The dam was raised by 70cm, in November 2007. The height was again increased by a further 30cm a few months ago.

The recent heavy rain that has continued for the past two months has resulted in the lake being 1.5 meters above normal. This
has had the effect of reducing the wetland areas by 95% and the area is best described now as a Reservoir.

Non Bong Khai Headquarters is currently underwater, including the visitor facilities of the picnic areas and car park, yet nothing has been done to reduce the height of the water. The walkway is now dangerous to use as the planking is rotten, I nearly fell through it the other day. The jetty on the north side has been demolished, I assume it had become too dangerous to use.

The Dam is possibly an illegal construction. As it is made from sandbags and is continually strengthened with more sand bagging. The more recent raising by 30cm has again, been re strengthened with wooden props.

At the very least, it is unpopular with many people in the community as those upstream have their land underwater. It seems to me that now is the time for consultation.

The dam is a basic structure and dose not contain a sluice or any means of allowing water to escape other than by the removal of sand bags. The sandbags are placed in front of the original brick dam.

We were told back in November that the sand bags were a temporary measure to enable the harvesting of rice. This was clearly
untrue, as not only has the dam not been removed, the height has been increased.

There would also appear to be a total disregard for Non Bong Khai Headquarters and the Ramsar agreement here.

The following is fairly factual account, with some hearsay. Broadly speaking it is close to the truth and I apologized for any miss quotes. However I feel it is necessary to put all information that I am aware of in the public eye.

This matter was first brought to my attention by the staff off Nong Bong kai (Non hunting area), in November 2007, who asked for our help as they said they were worried about this dam and another at Yonok. The concern were that the water birds would loose all of the wetland fringes and that the lake will become too deep, making it difficult for many birds to feed.

An interesting point I noted last winter is that the Pintail; a duck has resorted to diving for food, I have never seen this before and I believe it is that the water is so high that the birds have to dive.

I asked Dowroong as to why they are not dealing with this themselves and she replied that they have no power and words fall on deaf ears.

I have to say that we have done our best by speaking directly to the BCST, Ramsar. Lanna Bird Group and anyone that we meet who is involved in conservation in the Chiang Sean area.

Rajapat University organized the so called “stakeholder meeting” on February 28th, 2008. This was a joint meeting with the BCST and other conservation bodies and was I believe designed to bring together conservation minded people and groups. This meeting was a direct result of conservation work and advice to conservation groups in Thailand by Yonok Wetlands project; however we only received a belated invitation and were not introduced at the meeting.

I am grateful to Phil Round who took it upon himself to explain to Rajapat University that we were the very reason behind this meeting. However the serious concerns of Chiang Sean Lake water levels remain.

Feedback to Dowroong who spoke to a number of people who attended the stakeholder meeting said; The general feeling is that, as there was no follow up by the organizers (Rajapat University), that interest has died a death.

Chiang Sean lake Dam – as you can see the water is just below the road – this is another project in the pipeline that will raise the level of the road – THIS WILL ELIMINATE ALL THE WETLAND FRINGES – The Lake has now been artificially high for nearly a year and there is now, only tiny areas remaining for birds to feed. What do you think has happened to the breeding population of ground nesting birds???.

Just an Idea: You can see from the photograph and the diagram, that this problem can be easy to managed.

The height of the existing old dam is set to overflow at Zero. If sandbags of better a sluice was constructed the water levels could be adjusted; with a + or - 40 cm. I do not see a problem with this. The lake and wildlife could likely benefit from lower water levels.

The Ideal will be to keep the level at zero, however in times of expected water shortage the level can be raised to a maximum of 40cm. A raising for a few months to 40cm will not cause great harm the the wildlife of Chiang saen Lake. However the present height of a 100cm is the ruination of Chiang saen Lake as a wildlife sanctuary.

The Chiang Saen area often has seriously high levels of rain. There is no point to saving all this water. The underground streams will replenish Chiang saen Lake. I checked this myself; as when the dam was raised the water level of the lake was rising slowly, given that it had not rained for several months in dry season.

We also here; RAMSAR; payments to Nong Bong Kai have been withdrawn and the money is paid to the Obador (Local Government) to administer funds. This would suggest to me that Ramsar could have direct talks with the people who have placed this dam.

I was told by the BCST and Mr. Simba Chan of Bird life International and Ramsar that it is difficult to interfere, with issues related to water management. Local elections were held recently, with a change to the Obador who is responsible for funds supplied by Ramsar.

I see this as an opportunity to have talks. I would also be happy to advise and gather information on local people’s current
feelings with regard to this. Mr. Jamrong was the previous Obador and I found him to be easy to talk to. I don't really see a problem in talking. However it is no my job or Dowroong's to do this. We cannot take responsibility for other peoples duty.

The concerns for the wetland status of Chiang Sean lake is this. no one that works of lives in Chiang Sean understands Ramsar
policy and involvement here.

A lot of people must have invested in Ramsar Projects, like that of Chiang Sean lake and there is a responsibility to protect the lake for the very reasons it was protected in the first place.

Chiang Sean Lake is fast becoming a reservoir. I recently met with Dr Mong of the BCST; he described Chiang Sean lake as a sterile body of water. This suggest to me that Dr Mong at least is very concerned with the future of Chiang Sean lake.

Why waste your money on creating a reservoir as the local government would have done that themselves.

Seems Ramsar may be unwittingly supporting the destruction of Chiang Sean lake as a wildfowl refuge.

I would say this; Yonok Wetlands Project has gained great respect in the Chiang Saen area. Local people do have consideration
for wetland conservation. If one talks to people with regard to issues affecting the wetland community; they do listen and may well affect a change. Thais are not insensitive to others problems, talk to them and you may get a good result.

We recently stopped the sale of wild birds in Wat Pra Thaat Jom Gitti: Initially we were not too popular in doing this. However the Abbott telephoned Dowroong to say that he was very pleased and that it has been very successful and no further problems have arisen.

In our dealings with hunters, trappers and local people over the past two years, I have not had any resentment towards me. In fact quite the reverse, we feel a great warmth and friendship with local communities.

As I keep saying; “It is a waste of time setting up projects and walking away” one has to be on site, advising and making sure that the project is in keeping with it’s original intentions.

Both Yonok and Chiang Sean lake have temporary dams that have no means of controlling water levels.

Yonok wetlands project is a way to assure a future for Yonok and Chiang Sean Lake. Dowroong woman’s conservation group and
our Schools in the Temples of Wat Yonok and Wat Pamak No; focus on conservation and combined with various events all help
with keeping peoples interest keen.

Yonok and Chiang Sean lake could pay dividends in tourism and this would help communities to have an interest in conservation. Yonok can and must be used for diversity and not water storage.

I first visited Chiang Sean lake in spring 2001, a brief visit and I returned later that year in November. It was here that I first met Dowroong and we used to watch the birds from a small observation hut. It was a magical place, as the birds were so tame.

No need for binoculars, the snipe shuffled around in the grass gullies, many sandpipers, kingfishers, chats, pipits and wagtails, all at close range. Painted snipe could be seen with young. The diversity of wetland habitat was a joy to see, few areas in Thailand support this type of wetland fringed short grass with gullies. The sundew is, I should say was common. Probably extinct now due to the high water levels.

Even in those days the local government were busy filling in the valuable wetland, adjacent to the observation hut. A massive
waste of money and a serious blot on the landscape. This area is used once a year for the “welcoming of the bird” fair (shortly to be renamed “bye-bye birds”

We camped on the lawn of the headquarters and were treated kindly and given the key to the executive toilet. I remember
meeting Mr. Boompop and others at the time. All were most helpful.

More recently we as Yonok Wetlands Project had to step in and stop yet another project to fill in the wetland. It was stopped
all too late; however the idea was to put a stop to future filling in of the wetland by people who are only interest in personal financial gain at the expense of the wetland. This time is was a toilet block, maybe not such a bad idea? you may think. However a huge amount of soil was imported in the construction / destruction of the wetland habitat for a car park that rarely receives any visitors.

Thai birding (Nick Upton) has also highlighted problems with Chiang Sean lake with regard to habitat shrinkage. Well “Nick” its all just water now!

1st December 2007 A pictorial view of Chiang Saen Lake: One off only the two remaining areas for waders, much reduced due to the rising water levels. Huts and pier are now below the water line.

The water level is now overflowing the perimeter track and close to the road, difficult for birds to live in a thin strip of wetland that is so close to areas of daily access by people.

Jo Tong Dam, underwater - rice fields cut off buy the water and difficult to harvest. The culprit is that the south western outlet from the lake that has been sand bagged to raise the water level by 70cm. We have learned that it is intended to change the rice growing period from one crop per year to two. This will mean, if true, that Chiang Saen Lake and Yonok, which we here has a 60 million baht project to dam the wetland will perhaps cause disaster for both migratory and wetland birds.

The rice is cut from late November and into December, and so it is likely that the water levels will remain high for some time. Put simply water levels will be high during the period when birds would normally be here.

We checked the whole area this morning and could not find any waders, except for a few lapwing.

Our project is fast becoming a Newspaper for conservation, with headlines we have no wish to write.

The rumored dam became a reality on the 18th of April when a JCB and 20 oil drums arrived a Wat Yonok.

This was not welcomed by the village of Tung Far Ham and an argument has resulted, which has put a temporary halt to the Dam Project.

We first heard rumors of this project from the staff of Nong Bong Khai (Non Hunting Area), in November 2007. They expressed concerns about this dam and the sand bag damming of Chiang Saen Lake.

Actually Yonok north has a dam and it is very effective and cost little money.The present dam actually dams the area of the proposed dam. So what is the point of it?

This small Dam at the northern end of Yonok is very effective as at times of heavy rain water flows into Yonok and during the dry season water is retained in Yonok, whereas in previous years the north of Yonok dries out during the dry season. The small dam has had a beneficial result for wader and water birds. There is no need at all for large scale development here.

Why put at risk the Worlds largest roost of Pied and Eastern Marsh Harriers, the result could be the loss of one of the wonders of nature in Thailand.

Dowroong and I had the pleasure of meeting His Excellency The British Ambassador to Thailand - H E Quinton Quayle.

Mr Quayle was accompanied by his wife on a short holiday to Northern Thailand. They expressed a keen interest in the future of Yonok Wetlands and will lend support. Dowroong and I would like to thank them for their kindness shown to us, it is a day that will be forever remembered by s both.

Yonok has many dams; land reclamation and it will eventually reduce Yonok to a series of fish pond reservoirs. I have noticed a number of survey teams in Yonok and sections of this dam have been constructed out of the sight of the road.

This is the result of a new dam to the east of Yonok north. The area was tree lined and had a track which passed through the center of Yonok. It is now a total and impassable mess.

This has been constructed with out any care for the natural environment what so ever.

Surely some consideration for local people and wildlife could have easily be done.

Dowroong believes that much of this system of reclamation is for personal farming interests and it not beneficial to the community as a whole.

It has been difficult to find details of this project. That we believe will seriously damage this wetland.

There is another serious issue here. The rumor of a road linked with this new dam at Yonok north. This proposed road would be detrimental to the local wildlife and the charm of Yonok. Yonok is a wilderness and as such could be used for tourism in a sympathetic way they ensures the future of it's wildlife.

A point that is often missed is the local community, who are mostly passed by. Our ideas for Yonok are to help the community as a whole to benefit from Yonok.

The area as a has limited access and this is an excellent advantage for local people to gain from tourism.

The community of Tung Far Ham has responded very well to Yonok Wetlands project.

We asked that they stop hunters from killing birds in they’re section of Yonok and to release some captive birds. They have erected non hunting signs and this area of Yonok is now a 100% free from hunting.

The bird population with regard to White-browed Crake & Pheasant-tailed Jacana has increased in just one year. Two River Terns attempted to breed earlier this year. River Tern is extinct as a breeding species in Thailand and Yonok is the only area where this species survives in Thailand. A River Tern article is in preparation and will be published ASAP.

For our part we have taught the village children English on Saturday afternoons at Wat Yonok. Hendrik Jacobs and Candice Fitzsimons have assisted us greatly and Dr Mong gave a talk on birds.

We have setup a home stay student scheme and the first group will arrive at the end of May. It is hoped that the students will interact with the village and looking at ways of improving that chances of benefiting from tourism.

The access for Yonok North is through the village and you turn on to a tree lined dirt track. This makes for a most beautiful walk.

The tracks meander through the Yonok and the visitor passes through Wat Yonok and a buffalo camp, as one continues on you will arrive a Wat Viangcum. Here you may meet with Abbott Ajan Sane a passionate support of Yonok and its wildlife conservation.

A circular tour (more a figure of eight) will lead you through a variety of habitats containing large sections of woodland and wetland. Many waterbirds and one of the two large Harrier will be seen.

It is our dream to allow all people to benefit from Yonok. We are pledge to take care of Yonok.

We also have a strong bond with Wat Pa Mak No and the villages to the south. Dowroong's woman conservation group is benefiting from community events and we hope to do much more.

It all takes time and we are just two people. The road and dam project are a disaster for Thailand as I believe with some care and consideration Yonok will become an area of beauty that the world as a whole will want to see. Don’t miss this chance. The world is full of lost opportunities.

Yonok Wetland Project - Bird Conservation Society of Thailand - Lanna Bird Group - Rajabhat University.

The initial meeting was chaired by Rajabhat University and the second jointly with the BCST, although the BCST imput was limited to the latter stages of that meeting.

I would like to ask: Why was the matter of this dam not discussed at these two stake holder meeting. After all this meeting was about conservation YONOK.

I was surprised that "minutes" were not taken at these two meetings and no agenda was sent in advance to participating groups. Surely it is paramount that everyone is clear as to what is the agenda for the future and what was discussed.

I have to say that Rajabhat University was aware of the Dam Project as early as December 2007.

The map Left details the wetland as it is now. The Map Right details the possible consequences.

I heard this story from Nong Bong Kai, who asked for our help and we passed this information on.

We had no idea as to where a dam would be located, but it was explained to Dowroong a few days ago by one of the village bosses.

He said that the dam will cross the wetland from the Buffalo camp to a large bamboo on the other side. This is a 60 million baht project and they put in for 200 million.

At first I thought that it may not be so bad, but after talking to Phil Round and BCST, I realized that this will be for water storage and fish farming.

On Tuesday December 4th an event is planned at Pa Mak No which is the stocking of the wetland with fish and will be declared a no fishing area, a number of TV stations have been invited.

My first concern is for the Harrier roost. But as I thought it over, you have to ask the question "what is the need for a dam as big as this. We were told that they need the water for the farmer. My guess is that this is a major land reclamation scheme to extend the rice fields and the result will be at the very least damaging to Yonok Wetland.

Update December, we now hear that the rice season may doubled to two crops a year. This could be a very serious problem for Thai wetlands in the North and any region that has just the one annual crop.

A very large area of the wetland there is now orange groves. These are on the flood plain and the land is reclaimed by the building of dams. The amount of pesticides used in this area is great and I feel sorry when are pass the workers who have to spray this stuff. Spraying seems to go on at times for months.

If you look at the map, you will see a long strip of water in the north east corner, this is a fish lake, in two years I have never seen a bird on it.

Others spoke to Dowroong yesterday also requesting our help with regard to the water levels on CS Lake.

We were told a month ago that this damming was a short term measure to allow the farmers to get the rice cut. It now seems that the period of damming CS Lake is for two more months. Maybe this will be permanent, who knows?

I was informed by Nong Bong Kai, that the high water level is affecting the duck, it has certainly drastically reduced the fringes and many wetland areas have gone. A wader count on the north and west side, revealed only a few lapwing.

Snipe and other fresh water shorebirds are normally common at this time and none were seen, this is also affecting the Crake and Rail populations.

I believe we may have a serious problem here, I saw the damage at first hand when we lived on our Island in Yang Chum lake. The damage to the local wintering and breeding populations of birds was a disaster.

The photographs above were taken in 2004 when the lake was still a magical place full of waterbirds and reed dwelling species.

The recent 2 photographs 2008 show that the vegetaion and particuly the Reed Beds are compleatly destroyed. The water level is just too high.

Yang Chum Lake was one of the most beautiful Lakes in Thailand we had dreams of protecting the furture for all by the making of a wild life Sanctuary.

The lake was first drained; this had the effect of drying out the reed bed and wetlands. The result was that the bitterns, crakes etc were forced to feed in the open, and too follow the reseeding water line. A day later there were no bitterns, crakes left on Yang Chum Lake. Who knows what happened to them. Yang Chum Lake was dammed 20 years ago and had evolved a good variety of wetland habitat and a good population of birds; this was completely destroyed by the raising of the dam. I doubt if Yang Chum Lake can ever recover as the entire inlet streams are below the new water level and so it is better renamed as Yang Chum Reservoir.

The reed bed was so affected that the wintering population of reed dwelling warblers was finished. To dry. The firefly was reduced from 2000 in our garden to ZERO.

Yonok and CSL is by far the largest wetland complex in the north of Thailand. So much of the world’s wetlands are being wrecked by self seeking business men, who have no care for the environment. The massive local destruction of secondary growth to the south of Pa Mak No for cultivation of some 1000,s of rai is a prime example.

The land owners of this vast area do not live here, they live in Phuket and Bangkok, and I doubt they employ local people as labor from across the border is far cheaper. I believe there will be little advantaged to local people.

The Yonok project is a dream to give back local people a decent country side to live in.

And so we have to find out quick the ideas behind the dam, how much will the water level be raised and for what purpose and what are the long term aims.

THE MAP I have drawn is a guess on my part. We were also told of a cement road that will be built, have to wait and see about that. I have hurriedly written this, please forgive any errors, I will amend as information becomes available.

Dams have been created all over Yonok and Chiang Saen Lake, they are easy to construct with a mechanical digger and are simply a raised track. As each new dam is created it is connected to a previous dam and thus encloses the area, useful for a number of reasons. When drained they are converted to rice fields of worse orange groves. The orange require a lot of water and pesticides and seriously pollute the wetlands, often killing large numbers of fish, we are told this by local fishermen.

When flooded fish ponds are created, however these ponds are poor for birds. The possible reason being that as they are dug out with a "digger" the ponds are steep sided and so when the water level lowers it does not create feeding margins. A further point that I have noticed is that the Plant Mimosa (introduced) has a liking for disturbed ground, this plant is rapidly become a problem and some of the sand bars on the Mekong have be over run by mimosa.

I am not a Botanist, more of an observer. I have noticed that mimosa thrives in sunshine and in areas with tall reed it appears that the reed is winning. I wonder if the marginal areas of Yonok were seeded with reed, the mimosa can be reduced. The planting of Trees or in the short term Bamboo is also a good way of limiting the spread of mimosa. I have noted that in an area of woodland that I regularly watch, that the mimosa has moved in due to excavation of a reservoir. However this invasive plant is halted by extreme shade and doses not penetrate the woodland. Of course it is a painful job getting in there as the multiple spines stick into you.

One more point with regard to water levels in Chiang Saen Lake. This is just an idea and may be worth consideration. The lake is now flooded, 70cm above normal. If the lake is returned to normal and at times when water is required for the rice farmer, could it be taken from Chiang Saen Lake? The water would then be below normal. This would create more temporary wetland. The lake I believe must have an underground source as water is filtering in as the lake is still rising and it has not rained for a month.

Further the summer rains start in May and so the lake would be blow normal from and I'm guessing as am not a farmer, from January - May. This, if manage with care could be an advantage to water birds, maybe not, but I think it would be well worth looking into.

These agricultural projects will continue, it is far better we learn fast and try to work together, in the end the business men always wins in this world, we have to find our place to fit in. Better to be friends than enemies.

Yonok would seem to me to be a much more difficult problem with regard to the dam, however if we can find some common ground where the Temple wetlands can be controlled and portion preserved, maybe there is some hope.

We urgently need people to come to Yonok and look into water and wetland conservation and to provide ideas on improving dammed areas for wildlife and to how the area could be effectively managed for all.

We are often ahead of up and coming situations. The responsibility lies with those who are in a position to do something.

I have to ask what do they need all this water for. I never see it used, just stored "for a rainy day"