Adaptation of the Mon Community with Biodiversity in Wetland

Abstract

The Mon is a group of native people who live in South-East Asia. Their settlements are in the wetland environment—low-lying areas, saturated with water, and on the estuaries of brackish water ecosystems. Therefore, they have developed specific abilities in agriculture and irrigation which have resulted in stable communities and the development of their communities into a kingdom. For thousands of years, the Mon have adapted their lives well to the wetland habitat which has high biodiversity, especially in the Irawadee basin. In Thailand, the Mon are located mostly along the waters of the Chao Praya watershed, as the oldest evidence shows. The Mon Pak-Lad live on the Chao Praya estuary in Amphoe Phra Pradang of the Samut Prakan province. A survey of plants around the community identified 166 species and 70 families. The plants were classified into three use categories: 1) used as a part of individuals’ daily activities, 2) used in the relationship between the environment and the community, and 3) used in relation to beliefs and the supernatural. The plants were used as symbols in communicating and keeping groups of people together. The rapid changes in nature and society in our world today suggest we should look back to the past to learn about the relationship between our lives and our habitat. Maybe we can use such reflection to discover ways to cope with these issues in the future.

Keywords: adaptation, Mon, wetland, plants, Phra  Pradang