Songkhla Lake in Thailand is home to hundreds of fish, bird species

Songkhla Lake, Thailand’s only brackish water lagoon, hosts over 700 species of fish, crab, shellfish and prawn along with over 200 species of birds in the surrounding wetlands, making it one of the country’s most important biodiversity sites, Thai fisheries officials say.

The lake lies in three southern provinces: Songkhla, Phatthalung and Nakhon Si Thammarat. It is fed by small rivers and streams that empty into the lake and out into the Gulf of Thailand through a natural inlet. The lake has brackish water – a mix of fresh and salt water – and freshwater ecosystems.

Last week, the Thai cabinet passed a resolution to propose that Songkhla Lake and its associated lagoon settlements be included on the Tentative List of the UNESCO World Heritage Centre. This is the first step in declaring it a World Heritage Site.

The proposal “will bring many benefits to Thailand as it will stimulate the conservation of cultural heritage of Songkhla and promote tourism and economic growth in both the local and national level,” said Kenika Ounjit, deputy spokesperson for the Prime Minister’s Office.

“Songkhla Lake is considered a lagoon because it is a body of coastal brackish water lake that has an open inlet to the sea. These complex and diverse natural ecosystems of Songkhla Lake have created the distinctive cultural identity of the lagoon settlements,” she said.

Even as it becomes shallower because of sediment deposits, the lake has plentiful natural resources. Seventeen groups of farmers are raising nearly 5,000 buffalo in the freshwater wetlands of Phatthalung and Songkhla, according to the Thale Noi Wetland Foundation, an environmentalist NGO.

In addition, destructive fishing practices are a factor in damaging the ecosystem.

If approved, the lake would be the fifth World Heritage Site in Thailand. Already on the list are the Historic Town of Sukhothai and Associated Historic Towns, Historic City of Ayutthaya, Ban Chiang Archaeological Site and the Ancient Town of Si Thep and its Associated Dvaravati Monuments.