Come winter each year, local Chiang Mai residents are bombarded with guests, friends and relatives who want to feel (relatively) cold weather and witness the magnificent landscapes of the north. Even the media and the TV also make it their priority to report the temperature level of the higher altitudes for interested tourists. Alas, only a few know that Chiang Mai is currently threatened by quite a number of “chilling” factors throughout the year.

The most common tour program in Chiang Mai starts at Doi Suthep, the all important symbol of our city. It has been said that visitors haven’t really been to Chiang Mai unless they have been to Doi Suthep; up there, one can see a panoramic view of the city valley below; but how many people really know the true significance of this natural landmark? Perhaps only the elders and academics realize that Doi Suthep-both the mountain itself and the lush national park-is named after the revered Wasuthep hermit who had dwelled on the mountain long before Buddhism arrived in this land. Another anecdote tells us that the road to Doi Suthep was made by volunteers under the spiritual leadership of one Kruba Sriwichai monk.

Unfortunately, what most travellers are unaware of is that Doi Suthep is not just a tourist attraction; in fact, it is a symbol of faith, embodied by the famous road to the temple. The forest area on the mountain is also very important to Chiang Mai as a source of clean water and air-but less than a handful know how important the forest is is to the global ecological system and how it is being sacrificed in order to make way for tourism. The dwindling animal species, the water sources, and the forest itself are being raped by the hands of development, yet Mother Nature cannot protest against it.

On the hillside of this very mountain, many of us are so proud of the newly-made tourist attractions, such as the Night Safari and the Royal Flora Project, along with many other niches in the so called mega project scheme that has yet to start. In spite of that, not many people know what exactly these projects entail. Chiang Mai residents, of all people, are oblivious to how these two establishments are doing. Are they making money? What organization is overseeing them? And what about the Maetachang River, an important tributary of the beloved Ping River which runs through this area? Sadly, the Maetachang has been overexploited and the remaining amount of water has been scarcely ample for agriculture, households, and resorts in the Hangdong and Samoeng areas-let alone these two pet projects that consume a great amount of water.

Is that chilling enough?

Another heavy tourism site is Doi Inthanon. The all-too-famous facts about the highest mountain in Thailand abound. Tourists all want to come to see the rare, high-altitude-only Rhododendron and the Thai equivalent of Japanese sakura tree. Even during the coldest days, more tourists flock to see the beautiful frost decorating the grasslands of Inthanon. Popular photo-ops o the mountain include the sign “The Highest Point in Thailand” at 2,565 metres above sea level, as well as the magestic twin pagodas that were built to honor the present king and queen.

Behind all these glories, however, few can see through the li(n)es and realize the decline of the natural resources here. Unbeknownst to all, Inthanon is home to the naturally-significant Angka Wetland, the only high-altitude swamp forest in Thailand. This unique habitat is a refuge for a precious number of rare (or already extinct) flora and fauna. The forest, which has taken millions of years to flourish, may now be ripped apart on only one generation of mankind. Some keen observers will surely notice and worry about the increasing construction on this mountain, and others may have also heard that an observatory is being erected near the stupa where ashes of an old revered Lanna king are buried. Invariably, these developments use quite a lot of water, which inevitably will need to be pulled from the underneath the swamp forest area. What’s already severe may soon be beyond the means for Mother Nature to heal itself.

Isn’t that chilling?

Now within the city itself, it seems that the sheer number of hotels and guest houses have already exceeded the presence of temples. It has also been said that the hill tribes are to be blamed since they burn down their fields to make way for new crops, thus causing the severe smog last year-but no one has said a word about the exhaust from cars, tourist coaches, and the planes that land in the middle of the city. Chiang Mai is set in an air-trapping valley encircled by the mountainous walls, and so few folks realize how serious the air pollution inside the city has been for all these years; of course, one can always argue that Chiang Mai is lucky to have the plentiful forest of Doi Suthep to help clean the air… well, go back and read the above again.

Some tourists may be tempted to take a boat trip on the beautiful Ping River. For centuries, the river was the very heart of agricultural society and was precisely the reason why the king of yore chose this very location on which to build the city. Back then, an incredibly intricate web of irrigation system was developed for all farmers to share the supply of water-this system now receives far less priority than tourism. Although the prices of land alongside the riverbanks have been skyrocketing and speculated, no sooner than a plot of land becomes available does a new construction project commence for a restaurant, spa or hotel. If the land is small then truckloads of earth ca easily be bought in the increase the riverside. All these developments are supposed to create an impressive Chiang Mai for tourists who wow at the magnificent light displays on the river, especially during the major festivals. Of all the beauty to the eyes, little is known about the underlying damaged ecology in the river. Several tributaries bring not only water to the Ping, but also various brands of floating garbage and toxins.

Anything more chilling that that?

But even in the deepest abyss of environmental despair, there is still hope. Several netowrks of concerned citizens such as the Hug Chiang Mai Group, have started to gather and seriously discuss how to optimize people participation in taking care of our beloved city. At the dawn of a new year, Chiang Mai citizens should ask themselves how they like Chiang Mai to be situated in the implacable stream of tourism and capitalism. What kind of experience do we want tourists to get? Do we want their grandchildren to know Chiang Mai as we know it, or do we want to make haste and sell out everything we’ve got? Do we need to build more, or do we have enough resources to serve tourists? Look around us, and ask yourself, do we still have the flowers and the animals? Can we still see the tree’s amongst the buildings? Are the long-accumulated cultures still treasured?

So,before it gets any more chilling, if you really love Chiang Mai, consider this; can we still take care of what we have left? Just like when someone you love gets a cold, the easiest thing to do is to nourish and comfort them with just a bit of tender, loving care. Isn’t that better than building forever more?

Thanks to Compass Chiang Mai and the Hug Chiang Mai Group.