I have decided to focus on the Tonle Sap Lake and Mekong River in Cambodia, both of which are extremely vital to the livelihoods of all Cambodians. I am interested in learning more about the ecology of these bodies of water, the communities on and around them, how they may be threatened, and the roles they have in supporting and allowing both the Khmer culture and the cultures of ethnic minorities and indigenous tribes to thrive. I think it will be fascinating to understand why Cambodia’s natural landscape is so important and how everything from the economy to government to the daily lives of the majority of Cambodians revolves around its very special resources. We plan to visit Kampong Phluk, a floating village on the Tonle Sap, and I am looking forward to seeing up close an example of a Tonle Sap-dependent community.
The Tonle Sap Great Lake is one of the largest freshwater lakes in Southeast Asia. It has an annual flow of water from the Mekong into the lake basin during the wet season, when the water levels in the Mekong rise. At the end of the wet season, the flow reverses and the lake empties again. This cycle maintains an incubator of biodiversity and productive fishing. Nearly half of the Cambodian population depends on the lake’s resources. It is believed that the Khmer Angkor civilization and many temples could not prosper without the rich natural resources of Tonle Sap Lake as sources of wealth.
Tonle Sap ecosystem has 8 major sub-ecosystems: the permanent water body or the Great Lake itself, rivers and streams, seasonally flooded forests, seasonally flooded shrublands, seasonally flooded grasslands, floating rice fields, seasonally flooded crop fields, and marshes and swamps.
The inland fisheries in Cambodia combined have an annual catch of an estimated 400,000 tons. Tonle Sap fisheries account for almost two-thirds of the total catch in Cambodia.
Found on and around the Tonle Sap are not only large Khmer communities but large Vietnamese ones as well. The Vietnamese are the most vulnerable of Cambodia's minorities, and the most prone to discrimination and violations of rights. Because they are not ethnically Khmer, authorities think they are illegal immigrants. Unless they have identity papers demonstrating their Cambodian nationality, they often lose their land or homes that they may have owned for many many years. There are reports of state officials kicking ethnic Vietnamese from their floating villages around Tonle Sap Lake, and even of seizing and destroying identity papers which might prove some of them to be legitimate Cambodian citizens.
I would also like to learn more about the flora and fauna of Cambodia in general. The Greater Mekong area, which includes Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Burma, and Vietnam is one of the world's most biodiverse regions. I am hoping to hone in on just Cambodia and look into some of the common trees, flowers, birds, mammals, reptiles, and colorful insects we may see during our trip, as well as learn about the many endangered species, such as the Mekong river dolphin, clouded leopard, and indochinese tiger. The illegal wildlife trade and deforestation in Cambodia would also be interesting to research.
