Field notes from “Cambodia’s beating heart”

Conservation International – Nicknamed Cambodia’s “beating heart,” the vast Tonle Sap Lake is Southeast Asia’s largest. Now, the country is trying to stop the loss of its lifeblood: the fish that thrive in these waters. Each year, during the monsoon season, the Tonle Sap more than quadruples in size. For the 3 million people who call its floodplain home, those seasonal floods Read More…

Celebrating the lives and importance of migratory fish

Khmer Times – Not too many of us are aware of the important role of the migratory fish in our ecosystem and livelihood. And more often than not, we’re not too keen to know it at all. This is why the World Fish Migration Day is celebrated annually. The event serves as an active awareness campaign to improve the public’s understanding on the importance of migratory fish, the need for Read More…

More Irrawaddy dolphins found in Mekong River this year

Asia Times – The population of Irrawaddy dolphins in the Mekong River has risen for the first time in years, raising hope for the critically endangered species. Wildlife activists from WWF and the Cambodian government broke the good news on Monday, saying a new dolphin was born last week and there has now been three newborns this year. “Results from a WWF and Government of Cambodia Read More…

Reducing damages caused by salt intrusion in the Mekong Delta

Nhan Dan – The Mekong River Basin is currently in the mid-dry season of 2017-2018. The Mekong Delta is strongly affected by two different tidal regimes in the East Sea and the West Sea. During the tides, if winds (especially the East Sea wind) occur, they would increase the salinity intrusion on the main streams and canals. According to the meteorological and hydrography station in the Read More…

Urgent solutions needed to fight plastic waste ruining oceans and…

Viet Nam News – Land-based solutions are urgently needed to address the leakage of plastic waste into the ocean and other waterways, experts said on Thursday at a workshop held in HCM City. The workshop, organised by the US Consulate General in HCM City on the occasion of Earth Day on April 22, was attended by environmental experts, and representatives from NGOs and government Read More…

In Cambodia, payments to protect an endangered river bird are no…

Devex STUNG TRENG, Cambodia — At the tip of a small sandbar jutting into the Mekong, four fishermen unfurl a net, half an eye on the old man lecturing them. In a gravelly voice, 64-year-old Meak Phoeurn informs the group that this is a conservation area, that there is a rare bird nearby and they better stay away from her eggs. He spins around and points to the rolling dunes and high grass Read More…

Empty Nets Syndrome: How young fishing families on Cambodia’s…

Global Voices Two weeks ago, shortly after it turned 2am, Sami’s boat rolled over on the waves of the Mekong river and tipped all of her possessions into the water—including Lydie, her newborn daughter. ‘Just like that, she was gone,’ the 16-year-old remembers. Unable to sleep as the wind tore at the tarpaulin that served as a meagre shelter from the elements, Sami had spent the Read More…

Mekong leaders urged to act

Phnom Penh Post The future of the Mekong River – and potentially the food and economic security of Cambodia – is up for discussion this week, with Prime Minister Hun Sen and the leaders of Vietnam, Thailand and Laos expected to make a declaration on the development of the river basin on Thursday at the end of the four-day Mekong River Commission (MRC) summit in Siem Reap. The message Read More…

One dead, two ill after consuming poisonous puffer fish

Khmer Times Siem Reap police said yesterday that a military officer died while another two were hospitalised after eating poisonous puffer fish in the province of Siem Reap. Sok Chamoeun, deputy chief of Siem Reap city police, identified the deceased as Captain Sao Kimley, 44, based in the Siem Reap international airport, while the hospitalised were identified as Second Lieutenant Ngor Nga, Read More…

Mekong River dams ‘will harm food security’

The Nation Hydropower development on the Mekong River will aggravate food insecurity and poverty in the region and reverse the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a study says. Environmental and social specialists of Mekong River Commission (MRC) warned during the third MRC International Conference in Siem Reap, Cambodia, that hydropower dam development in the Mekong River was expected to Read More…