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p. 6 of 30 BACK | NEXT The Setting The Tonle Sap Basin The Tonle Sap Initiative Tonle Sap Environmental Management Why the Project is Needed Project Overview Special Features Tonle Sap Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Sector Tonle Sap Sustainable Livelihoods Tonle Sap Initiative Partnerships Project Administration Toolbox Tonle Sap Initiative Brochures News and Events Speeches Presentations Reports Gallery Links Contact Us

Why the Project is Needed

Owing to a unique hydrological phenomenon, the Tonle Sap River draining the lake reverses its course during the wet season when the waters of the Mekong River flow into the lake to inundate 1.0 to 1.6 million hectares for several months a year.

The extensive wetlands born of this cycle are home to a high biodiversity of fish, reptile, bird, mammal, and plant species. This biological richness is reflected in the enormous productivity of the Tonle Sap as a fishing area: the lake supports one of the most productive capture fisheries in the world, and provides 40-70% of the protein intake of Cambodia's population.

The fisheries, together with the flooded forest and agricultural lands of the inundated area, have underpinned human activity since ancient times. Indeed, the Tonle Sap and the associated cultural heritage of Angkor have defined Cambodia's national identity. Today, the land, water, and biotic resources of the Tonle Sap directly benefit 11% of the Cambodian population and, indirectly, many more in terms of food security. The lake also benefits the lower Mekong Basin as a feeding and spawning area for both migratory and nonmigratory fish. It is of global significance for biodiversity conservation.

In the last 20 years, transactions involving the Tonle Sap's natural resources, especially its fisheries, have been characterized by inequity, fraud, widespread corruption, environmental degradation from unsustainable patterns of exploitation, and escalating conflict.

The Tonle Sap is most likely being exploited beyond sustainable limits. Further deterioration may have unpredictable consequences because capture fisheries do not usually decline at regular linear rates; they can collapse suddenly due to irreversible damage to parts of the ecosystem or overfishing. Such a collapse would have serious social and welfare consequences. Fish provide most of the protein in the diet of Cambodians and its sales supplement income to buy rice, especially in times of distress brought about by drought, pest outbreaks, or floods.

Many of the large indigenous species of fish such as the giant Mekong River catfish (Pangasianodon gigas) and aquatic mammals such as the Irrawaddy dolphin (Orcaella brevirostris) are already endangered. Also, collection of eggs and chicks aggravates the threat to several species of waterfowl of global significance. The impact of introduced exotic species such as giant mimosa (Mimosa pigra), water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes), nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus), and some carps on the native flora and fauna of the Tonle Sap is unknown; however, their potential threat should be researched.

Further deterioration of the habitat could result in the collapse of the Cambodian population's main source of protein and the loss of a large number of indigenous species. Slowing down or reversing fish stock depletion and environmental damage will require a greater sense of ownership among communities, better self-regulation, and more effective national approaches, elements which are at the root of the project.