Stories tagged with fireflies
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World’s First Symposium on Fireflies to be Held in Chiang Mai
Highlighting the importance of the firefly, Chiang Mai will host the world’s first international conference on this glowing insect in late August. Experts from 20 countries will discuss conservation measures and its potential role in tourism exemplified by Thailand’s own Samut Songkhram province.
The International Symposium on Diversity and Conservation of Fireflies will take place at Chiang Mai’s Botanical Garden Organisation with the goal of strengthening the global network of firefly conservationists. The event comes on the heels of Her Majesty the Queen’s birthday on August 12. The Queen is a dedicated firefly conservationist, and has established a number of projects to preserve their natural habitats.
This insect has particular importance for tourism in Thailand’s Samut Songkhram province, as firefly-watching cruises are a major attraction for visitors. Locals in Samut Songkhram blame the tour operators for using noisy boats that disturb both the fireflies and local residents.
The annoyance is such that some locals have cut down the firefly’s native lamphu trees to stop tour boats from stopping at their homes. The symposium group will visit Samut Songkhram to study the impact of tourism on the firefly and offer their ideas.
Posted by: Andrew on 05 Aug 2008, 05:22