The Human Ecology of the Tonle Sap: The Human-Nature Conditions in the Context of Climate Change and Hydropower Development

Abstract

Tonle Sap Lake (TSL) is the largest freshwater lake in Southeast Asia. The flood pulse of TSL, characterized by the flow and volume of water from the Mekong River, shapes the inundation and the productivity of fishery and natural resources; and the human ecological system of (1) water-based, (2) land-based, (3) water-land-based communities. Climate change and hydropower development have altered the flood pulse and the hydrological regimes of the Mekong River and TSL. While a bulk of studies have focused on the impacts of climate change and hydropower development on Tonle Sap Lake as a whole physically, a few look at the impacts on different categories of communities in lake. In addressing this concern, the study examines how changes in flood pulse and hydrological regimes have impacted on different categories of communities. The study entails a comprehensive review of existing literature and an examination of impacts of climate change and hydropower on three different categories of communities in TSL. The study concludes that communities around the lake experience social and ecological changes. Fishing is no longer reliable, and fishing communities are shifting into farming by clearing the flooded forest areas. Some floating communities are no longer floating, but become water-land-based communities, while other water-land-based communities stay on land longer than on water throughout the year. More young people migrate to towns and overseas for employment in the non-fishing industry.