Second Dhamma Walk Around Songkhla Lake Second Dhamma Walk Around Songkhla Lake
Since ancient times up until quite recently, Songkhla Lake was renowned as a healthy, complex, and balanced ecosystem. Because it is connected with the Gulf of Siam, there has always been salt water coming in, and as a result, some of its waters are very salty, some are brackish, while some are fresh. This allowed for a great diversity of wildlife, from aquatic vegetation such as squirrel's tail algae and a variety of reeds, to shrimp, fish, and birds of all description. Species of aquatic fauna alone once numbered over 200. Animals living on the surrounding land were abundant and even included a species of small elephant.
Songkhla Lake has given more than just this rich and complex biodiversity. It has also provided liberally for the people who lived on and near its shores. In 1987, an estimated 20% of the population in Southern Thailand depended on the lake for their livelihood. And particularly noteworthy is the fact that although their livelihoods were quite varied, the surrounding villages co-existed rather harmoniously. Farmers who needed fresh water for their fields, fisherfolk who worked brackish waters, and salt water fishing villages could live in close proximity -exist because the lake system exists as a continuum from fresh to salt-water.
The people who for so long have depended on the lake naturally found artistic inspiration in it as well, creating a wealth of song and poetry. Furthermore, the lake was once the primary way of traveling for its residents. Regular ferries hauled people and goods between various villages and ports.
Changes Affecting the Lake
The abundance and richness of Songkhla Lake depends on the balance of nature. Historically, the weather was predictable; changes followed the seasons. But today, nature is out of balance. One important reason for this imbalance is lack of rain, which has resulted from local and regional deforestation. With less rainfall, the amount of fresh water flowing into the lake from streams and rivers has decreased. The force of fresh water flowing through channels and underground from the lake to the Gulf of Thailand used to limit the amount of sea water entering the lake each year. Now, however, because of this decrease in fresh water moving through the system, salt water flows in unchecked for longer periods of time each year. The increased salinity means that much water is no longer available for irrigation. At the same time, the vegetation and wildlife populations are severely reduced as their water becomes too salty. This in turn effects the fisherfolk. There is also the problem of pollution from industry, tiger prawn farms, villages, municipalities and large cities surrounding the lake. Deforestation of the watershed for monoculture cash crops and road construction is rapidly making the lake more and more shallow, while the destruction of the coastal mangroves for prawn farms and charcoal is depriving many aquatic fauna of critical breeding and nursery grounds.
At the same time as (and in most cases causal to) the environmental changes, various economic changes have damaged communities and the lake. As Thailand continues industrializing, more and more people (particularly the young) are being drawn away from fishing the lake and farming, and into the towns and cities where factory, construction and service jobs await. The homogenized, marketable, materialist culture oozing its way into all other corners of the globe and which is part and parcel of the drive to industrialize, is rapidly displacing the lake’s local culture as well. Increasing numbers of people look down on their traditional ways of life, and wish for the urban lifestyle and all that is for sale there. Now, the lake is often seen as an obstacle to getting to the urban areas, rather than a means of travel. While these changes have resulted in greater incomes and material wealth for some villagers, they have also lead to problems of debt, break-up of families, increased stress and anxiety about the future, and an infusion of drug and health problems. Sadly, the lake is no longer the complex ecosystem or bountiful source of food and culture that it once was.
Hence, The Dhammayatra
Despite the efforts of various local organizations, NGO’s, scientists, and
government agencies, the situation continues to worsen. In 1996, in an attempt to unify
efforts and provide a forum for all concerned people to work together on solutions, the Phra
Sekkhiyadhamma organized the first Dhamma-Yatra For Songkhla Lake. (See the article
about the 1996 Dhamma-Yatra.) Inspired by Samdech Mahaghosanada’s Dhamma-Yeitras in
war-torn Cambodia, the three-week walk was successful in bringing Thailand and the
world’s attention to the plight of the lake, and in laying the foundation for a
people’s network around the lake.
Because of these small but notable successes, and the potential for more cooperative efforts, there will be another Dhamma-Yatra for Songkhla Lake in 1997, from April 20 - May 20. Whereas last year’s route never strayed far from the shoreline but stuck to the small lake-side villages, this year’s walk will include activities in the larger urban areas near the lake: Had Yai, and Songkhla and Phattalung towns. This will bring the situation to the attention of city-dwellers, and will help highlight the often overlooked relationship between urban lifestyles and the surrounding villages and environment. This year will also see more involvement from Islamic and Christian communities.
How will these aims be accomplished? Primarily through walking together. Each day we will cover between 5 and 15 kilometers, gathering information and talking informally. There will also be special speakers, group discussions and other activities about ecology, history, economics, and culture, which will allow everyone to discuss and exchange ideas, and to learn together on the individual and organizational levels. Activities include meditation and spiritual ceremonies appropriate to the particular locality and to the faiths of those joining the walk.
- By joining part or all of the walk.
- Through donations.
- By spreading the news! Tell other people.
e-mail: santikaro@suanmokkh.org or DY Office
Dhamma-Yatra
c/o The Coordinating Committee for
Southern NGO’s
2/44 Soi Ratuthit 22, Tambol Kawhong
Amphur Haad Yai, Songkhla 90100
tel: (66-74) 230685, 239594 ... fax: (66-74) 230592
