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Feature article on the crisis of the Tonle Sap, Cambodia's most important ecosystem.
The Tonle Sap is “doomed”.
1 August 2017
The ecosystem of the gigantic lake – whose annual flood cycle has been the pulse of Cambodia for millennia, and on which millions depend for food and irrigation – is set to spectacularly collapse, throwing into question everything from Cambodia’s food security, to its economy, to its demographics.

http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/c ... -no-return

Yeah, doesn't sound promising.

Cambodia's Aral Sea.

Hundreds of thousands of displaced peasant fishers will flood into the cities in search of work... and the Chinese factory owners will be guaranteed a cheap labour force for years to come.

It's a re-run of the decline of Angkor.

Head for the hills!

Sent from my SM-G570Y using Tapatalk

They could just fill it with sand and build a new satellite city with Chinese money.

Username Taken wrote: ↑Wed Aug 02, 2017 9:34 am They could just fill it with sand and build a new satellite city with Chinese money.

Well I wouldn't put it past the cunts! They have built the Dams in China and Laos that are the cause of this. Maybe already being talked about!

There is a photo exhibition on at Meta House, Phnom Penh from 13 October until 3 November, showing the Tonle Sap wetlands and the Prek Toal bird sanctuary before and after the 2016 fires.

Smoke on the Water: An ecological disaster along the Tonle Sap
Fri, 13 October 2017
Cambodia’s Tonle Sap lake has been the lifeblood of millions of people for centuries. But last year, climate change, deforestation and changing flood patterns – combined with a record-breaking drought linked to the 2015-2016 El Niño climate cycle – caused approximately 2,300 square kilometers of the wetlands surrounding it to burn. The fires caused an extraordinary ecological disaster, and the effects are only just being felt by those living along the river.

There has been practically no response to the crisis. While Environment Minister Say Samal has acknowledged the problem, solutions are beyond the scope of a single ministry, and even experts have been left wondering what can be done.

The Phnom Penh Post’s Alessandro Marazzi Sassoon has reported on the wetlands over the course of a year, and has also photographed some of the damage to the area on his reporting trips. An exhibit featuring pictures from two of his articles – Massive blaze threatens Battambang bird sanctuary and A Wetland Laid to Waste – will be on display at Meta House from 6pm on October 13 for three weeks. They show the heart of the Tonle Sap wetlands, the Prek Toal bird sanctuary, in two parts; first, during the attempts to control the fires when they reached their peak in May 2016, and then a year later, after limited efforts at recovery.
Phnom Penh Post.


Links to the articles mentioned above :
A Wetland Laid to Waste
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/post-weeke ... rest-fires
Massive blaze threatens Battambang Bird Sanctuary
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/m ... -sanctuary

Threats to Tonle Sap Lake outlined at start of Mekong River Commission summit
2 April 2018
SIEM REAP – A warning about the increasing threats to Tonle Sap lake, one of the world’s richest freshwater fisheries and a vital source of food for Cambodians, offered a sobering start to the third summit of the Mekong River Commission in Siem Reap on Monday.

Siem Reap Governor Khim Bun Song, in his opening remarks, focused heavily on the lake, which he said was vital to the Kingdom’s prosperity.

“The Tonle Sap Great Lake is recognized worldwide for being rich in fishery and biodiversity resources and it plays the important role, ecologically socially, economically and culturally for Cambodia,” he said.

The freshwater lake produces some 75 percent of the country’s protein, but depends on the annual flooding it receives from the Mekong River. The development of hydropower infrastructure, among other factors, so threatens the lake that some experts have warned of its impending doom.

During the two-day conference, government representatives, civil society and researchers were to discuss the latest data on the Mekong basin and submit recommendations to the MRC member states: Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and Thailand. Also present at the summit were two MRC "dialogue partners" – China and Myanmar. Earlier this year, China established the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation body which includes the sustainable management of the Mekong River, but it wasn't clear how this might challenge the MRC’s turf...
https://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/ ... ion-summit