View: Has pollution destroyed firefly colony?

Thursday August 27, 2009

I AM delighted to read the letter from the Department of Wildlife and National Parks detailing efforts by the authorities to conserve wildlife, and I am curious if there is any action being taken by any party to protect our precious fireflies in Kuala Selangor.

I have heard about the dwindling firefly population in the reserve areas, but it was only recently that I had the opportunity to visit Kampung Kuantan, the home of the fireflies, with several friends.

We were surprised to see that while the infrastructure was well-maintained, the river was in a sorry state. Even in the dark we could see tree branches and some rubbish floating on it.

I read an Internet article that says the dam built upriver at Kuala Kubu Baru was blamed as the reason for the diminishing number of fireflies.

However, I believe the unsightly pollution could be the main contributing factor. We were so ashamed as there were several international tourists there at the time.

I could not help but question why the operators and the authorities are so negligent about it.

According to the boatman, there were efforts to replant pokok berembang (mangrove trees which produce nectar on its leaves for fireflies to feed) along the river banks but the river was too dirty for the trees to survive.

My initial search on the Internet has yielded no results on any firefly conservation projects in Malaysia. Have the operators and the authorities given up on our fireflies?

Please enlighten us that efforts are being taken to protect our fireflies.

How can we claim to be a developed nation and expect others to respect us when we ourselves don't care about such a priceless legacy?

AH KOW,
Kuala Lumpur.

This article was taken from: The Star Online: Opinion 27 August 2009