The Earth Institute at Columbia University

The Tonle Sap Great Lake in Cambodia is the largest freshwater lake in Southeast Asia, covering an area of approximately 250,000 hectares during the dry season. Owing to a unique hydrological phenomenon, the drainage to the lake reverses its flow during the monsoon season, with the waters of the Mekong River flowing upward into the lake to inundate some 1.25 million hectares of forest and agricultural land for a period of several months each year. The immense wetlands area resulting from this cycle is home to an extraordinarily high biodiversity. This biological richness is reflected in the enormous productivity of the Tonle Sap as a fishing area. The lake is the fourth most productive captive fishery in the world, providing at least 60 percent of the protein intake for the entire Cambodian population. These rich fisheries, together with the productive agricultural lands in the inundated area and the wider Tonle Sap Watershed, have provided the foundation for the Cambodian economy since the time of the ancient Khmer Empire at Angkor. Indeed, the Tonle Sap and the cultural heritage of Angkor together may be seen as defining aspects of Cambodian national identity.

Precisely because of their economic value, the natural resources of the Tonle Sap are also a source of conflict, at times violent, among individuals and groups competing for access to them. Extreme inequality of access rights, growing population pressures, severe poverty, insufficient or nonexistence rights of tenure, cultural, and ethnic divisions, and a badly weakened civil society have led to overexploitation of resources, placing the lake's ecosystems and the significant population of people who depend on them at risk.

As a response to these threats and in recognition of the biodiversity, economic, and cultural value of the Tonle Sap Watershed, the Cambodian government has designated the lake to become a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. The Tonle Sap Case Study (TSCS) is therefore devoted to a detailed examination of governance, conflict mediation, institution building, and environmental awareness issues in relation to the establishment of an implementable legal framework for the Tonle Sap Biosphere Reserve.

Multi-Stakeholder Workshops

A series of thematically oriented roundtable workshops have been conducted, culminating in a National Workshop, held in Phnom Penh on December 19, 2000. The National Workshop included participation of all provincial governors from the Tonle Sap region, as well as high-level representation all line agencies responsible for the protection of the lake and the management of its natural resources. The workshop resulted in a significant increase in awareness among Cambodian policy makers of the importance of developing an integrated strategy for the wise management of the Lake, as well as an improved understanding of the Biosphere Reserve Concept and its Cambodian legal embodiment (the Royal Decree on the Protection of the Tonle Sap Biosphere Reserve). In addition, significant progress was made in including provincial governors in the consultative process needed for the development of a management strategy.

Collaborators and Institutional Affiliates

The TSCS is being co-authored by Dr. Neou Bonheur, director of the Coordinating Unit for the Tonle Sap (Ministry of Environment) and Benjamin Lane, ICBS Secretariat. Active collaborators in the case study include the Minister of Environment, Dr. Mok Mareth, as well as senior officials and technical experts of the ministries of Water Resources and Agriculture (Fisheries Department), and non-governmental organizations. The team selected to present the case study at the New York conference will consist of the following people:

H.E. Dr. Mok Mareth, Minister of Environment
Dr. Neou Bonheur, Chief of TCU, Ministry of Environment,
H.E. Mr. Nao Thouk, Director, Department of Fisheries, Ministry of Agirculture Forestry and Fisheries
H.E. Mr. Veng Sakhon, Under-Secretary of State for Water Resources, Ministry of Water Resources and Meteorology
H.E. Mr. Chan Sarun, Undersecretary of State for Forestry, Ministry of Agriculture Forestry and Fisheries.

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