Malaysia’s Tasik Chini risks being stripped of its Unesco status unless decades of damage to ‘dragon god lake’ is undone
- The freshwater lake in Pahang, rumoured home to a mythical ‘dragon god’, was recognised as Malaysia’s first Unesco ‘biosphere reserve’ in 2009
- But its heritage status is now in danger, after rampant mining and logging along its shores have poisoned the water and ravaged the natural habitat
The freshwater lake, Malaysia’s second largest, and its surrounding wetlands were recognised by Unesco in 2009 as the country’s first “biosphere reserve” – sites where sustainable development is supposed to be practised to protect their fragile ecosystems.
But Tasik Chini is now in danger of losing that status, after years of rampant mining and logging along its shores have poisoned the water and stripped away swathes of natural habitat.
For the 500 or so Jakun people who have lived by the lake for generations, its destruction is undeniable – having taken place before their very eyes.
One indigenous man in his 50s recalled to anthropologist Sara Ashencaen Crabtree that Tasik Chini used to be “so full of lilies that there were only paths for the boats”, as she recorded in her 2016 book Death of the Dragon God Lake: Voices from Tasik Chini, Malaysia. Nowadays, the water lilies that were once a major tourist draw have all but disappeared.
Nashita Dewi, a local community leader, said she remembered catching translucent fish in the cold, clear waters of the lake when she was young. But a far less alluring sight greeted her when she returned from her studies elsewhere.
“When I came back the water was all brownish, the water lilies were gone,” she said.
