The Phnom Penh Post
In a statement last week, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature identified ongoing fires in flooded forests as a major threat to the Tonle Sap lake.
Described by the IUCN “as the heart of Cambodia’s freshwater fisheries, the largest freshwater lake in Southeast Asia and one of the most productive wetland areas in the world” as well as the source for over 75 per cent of the country’s protein intake, economic and population growth threaten the lake environment.
Record-low water levels, extreme heat and drought conditions exacerbated the burning.
“The clearing of flooded forest for rice has a direct impact on fish recruitment, as well as other wildlife”, it reads.
Beyond fires started accidentally, the group identifies rice-field conversion, hunting and the setting of fish nets as causes. Consequently, “the loss of flooded forest will lead to decreases in both fish and waterbirds.”