Because of its prime location in the heart of Bangkok, Lumpini Park is an oasis for everyone battling the heat, dust and grime of the city.
Children enjoy examining the lichen in the park during ‘Bangkok Wild Watch@Lumpini 2014’, held by the Green World Foundation. Weerawong Wongpreedee
The park is a rich resource, not only for urban residents but for all visitors to the inner city as it provides a variety of sports and recreational activities — be it jogging, cycling, yoga, bird watching, or picnicking. It is also a home for animals like birds, squirrels, monitor lizards, fish and even snakes.
But Lumpini Park's lush environment where biodiversity flourishes is now under threat, according to a recent field survey by Green World Foundation (GWF), called "Bangkok Wild Watch 2014".
“The air quality around the park was found to be worse than that of the previous year,” Kornwika Weerapantepa, a GWF member said, adding lichen surrounding the park was found to be resistant to pollution.
She was referring to a survey of the biodiversity of plants and animals conducted at the park in late December. She said lichen is an indicator of the quality of air around the park.
She said sucker fish in the park are on the increase, suggesting a deterioration in water quality. The sucker fish is the only species that can tolerate polluted water.
Bangkok Wild Watch 2014 was carried out at Lumpini Park by GWF environmentalists and staffers along with academics from Ramkhamhaeng University’s faculty of science and the ECA group from Mahidol University.
It was the third biodiversity survey of animals and plants at the park since 2012.
This survey was designed to determine the concentrations of plants and animals in the park and importantly to determine whether the quality of air and water is getting better or worse.
According to Ms Kornwika, the survey discovered 207 fauna and flora species; 31 species of birds, 31 species of plants, 10 species of lichen, 15 species of freshwater animals, 15 species of plankton, eight species of reptiles, five species of mammals and a species of amphibian.
The survey began in the morning on Dec 18. Academics and researchers gave a course in basic ecological knowledge to the volunteers, covering each type of fauna and flora species expected to be discovered.
The participants were divided into different groups to survey species they were interested in. They were allowed to study species for a couple hours and then reported what they found.
Ms Kornwika said some 22 species of birds native to the city and nine migrant species were found. Lumpini Park is home to many species of birds including the Black-capped Kingfisher, Common Kingfisher and Taiga Flycatcher.
Surprisingly, she said, thick-billed green pigeons that usually live in forests were found at the park. Rare species like the Javan Pond Heron and Ashy Drongo were also seen.
Discovering the thick-billed green pigeons for the first time in the park, she said, it was assumed Lumpini was still abundant in natural resources. With a plentiful supply of natural food and big trees, it is a sanctuary for birds in the city.
About 31 species of plants were also found. Some 20 local species, including 13 native to the city were discovered, while 11 alien plants were reported.
Plant families such as bean, banyan tree, fibre crops, agasta tree, fern Wrightia religiosa Benth (Mok), Phyllanthus acidus and cananga were also found.
The most common plants were banyan trees and fibre crops, she said, adding banyan trees are a food source for birds.
In terms of aquatic life, fewer pelagic fish that are more adapted to open water were found.
This implied that the level of oxygen in the water had dropped, she said.
Fewer plankton species were found due to less sunlight, she added.
Eight species of mammals were discovered. They included lizards, snail-eating turtles, box turtles, golden tree snake. Only one species of amphibian — a toad — was found.
“Some species were found in lesser numbers than in the past, but that was due to a shorter time period for the survey. The time period might not have been when the animals emerge to search for food,” she said, adding the survey was conducted between 8am and 11am.
Meanwhile, there was a decline in silver barb, while no glass goby were found. That suggested oxygen in the water was continually being depleted.
Ms Kornwika said the drop in the number of animals and lichen was indirectly caused by several factors including a surge in vehicles following the first-car tax rebate in 2012, and directly by more park users, particularly protesters recently.
The more often events are held at the park, the more flora and fauna are affected. She said electrical generators used for events in the park had affected the lichen more than expected.
A generator is equivalent to a car, she explained. "Once it's turned on, it's like you are parking a car, with the engine on, in the park for hours."
The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration's Environmental Department is responsible for the upkeep of Lumpini Park, including the trees, fields and open spaces.
Acting director Suwanna Jungrungrueng said maintenance programmes focus on sanitation concerns and the health of the animals and plant population.
The park is equipped with a water management system supplied from Chong Nonsi’s water treatment plant, she said. Waste is discharged from the park every day.
The water treatment programme, fountains and water turbines were installed to help increase the amount of oxygen in the swampy areas and ponds. Effective microorganism made from naturally occurring beneficial microorganisms is also used to manage water pollution and improve the quality of water.
But more needs to be done, Ms Kornwika said. For example, dykes made of mud should replace ones made of cement to make the environment friendlier to city animals.
She urged City Hall to pay more attention to the welfare of the animals by providing a better physical and social environment for them.
The city administration needs to step up its efforts to ensure that noise and light do not disturb the natural environment and the animals. It also needs to implement more stringent measures to deal with garbage and waste.
“Most importantly the authorities need to come up with a plan to improve air quality in the park. The cleaner the air we get, the better health we have,” Ms Kornwika said.
Too little green
Developed in the 1920s by King Rama VI on royal property, Lumpini Park is dotted with trees and a green lush environment intertwined with paths around it that total 2.5km in length, ideal for jogging and walking. Cycling is allowed only between 10am and 3pm.
The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration controls 31 public parks which have a combined area of 2,796 rai of land, while there are 6,882 areas called green spaces, accounting for 19,408 rai.
The ratio of green space per Bangkok resident is 5.46 square metres, far below the minimum of 9sqm suggested by the World Health Organisation.
Some of the plants discovered and studied during the Bangkok Wild Watch 2014. Photo courtesy of Green World Foundation.