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https://flipgrid.com/fcc05381

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will cause there to be even less fish in the water
food and water production will become low
Water that is polluted is killing off sea animals and soon will harm us more than it already has since we drink filtered ocean water.
Children under 5 have high prevalence at 74% for water-borne diseases.
87% still reported having a shortage of water.
83% without access to an improved latrine and still practicing open defecation.

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Hun Sotharith recalls when he moved to Cambodia's Tonle Sap to become a fisherman. It was the early 1990s, and the lake's freshwater swamp forest where he fished was so dense that it could take Sotharith, a former soldier, a day and a half to find the way back to his floating village.

Back then, during the six-month rainy season, the vast wetland became a place to feed, breed, and hide for a wide diversity of fish, including the critically endangered Mekong giant catfish. "Everywhere was forest, and fish was abundant," says Sotharith.

Today, only remnants of that forested water world remain in Koh Chivang, the five-village district on the northwestern end of the lake where Sotharith is now deputy chief. A fire in the 2016 dry season burned 80 percent of the district's flooded forest, destroying critical fish habitat and causing many of the 13,000 residents, who live in floating houses, to abandon fishing; they now grow chili and other crops.

A similar story plays out around Tonle Sap, Southeast Asia's largest lake and the center of the world's most productive inland fishery. In many places, where native forest once grew from the lakebed, drab, dry, treeless farmland-yet to be inundated by the floodwaters that in recent years have arrived late-now stretches as far as the eye can see. Fires, often lit deliberately to clear land for agriculture, has further reduced the flooded forest.

Many conservationists now warn that Tonle Sap, a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, faces an existential threat. Further deforestation and environmental degradation have the potential to inflict devastating economic damage to the nearly one million Cambodians living around the lake and the many millions more who depend on it for fish-the country's primary source of protein.

While other areas, such as Prey Lang, a nature reserve in central Cambodia and one of Southeast Asia's last remaining lowland evergreen woodlands, have suffered high deforestation-often because of illegal logging underpinned by government corruption-the greatest loss proportionally has occurred in the Tonle Sap floodplain forest, according to a study published recently in the journal Water. It shows a 31 percent loss of flooded forest since 1993.

Other studies have shown that flooded forests hold more potential for carbon absorption than dry forests, meaning they could help mitigate the impacts of climate change by removing large amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and storing it.

"This is concerning, because there is so little flooded forest" in Cambodia compared to other types of forest, and "the flooded forest plays such a strong role in aquatic system health," says the Water study's lead author, Sapana Lohani, an environmental scientist who is affiliated with a USAID research project called Wonders of the Mekong.

Zeb Hogan, a fish biologist at the University of Nevada, Reno, and a National Geographic Explorer who has worked in the region for decades and leads the USAID project, says: "We're seeing the destruction of a unique ecosystem, with the tragic loss of wildlife, loss of fisheries, and loss of livelihoods for a huge number of people."

Ecological riches

Before the mid-twentieth-century, Cambodia was prized for its lush interior. Although smaller in land area than neighboring Thailand and Vietnam, the nation had more intact forest. But as the country emerged from its civil war and the economy began to grow in the early 2000s, so did deforestation rates. A government scheme that turned more than 10 percent of the nation's territory over to foreign-owned companies, mostly rubber plantations, led to widespread environmental destruction.

Even after that program was suspended in 2012, deforestation in Cambodia continued to rise. According to Global Forest Watch, an online monitoring initiative of the World Resources Institute, Cambodia lost a quarter of its total tree cover-more than five million acres of forest-between 2001 and 2019, the highest rate of any Asian country and much higher than Brazil, for example.

The ecological richness of Tonle Sap is sustained by an annual pulse of water that enters the lake during the June-November rainy season from the Mekong and other rivers. When the surrounding forests are inundated, Tonle Sap can expand more than five times its dry-season size. So productive is the fishery that more fish are caught here annually than in all of North America's rivers and lakes combined.

But things are no longer normal in the Tonle Sap area. Years of overfishing have dramatically reduced catch sizes, though it's impossible to know exactly by how much since the Cambodian government is reluctant to release reliable figures.

And now, the whole system appears to be running dry. Since last year, water levels throughout the Lower Mekong River Basin have dropped to historical lows, the result of drought and water being withheld by Chinese-built hydropower dams far upstream. This year, the flood pulse that should have arrived by now has not. The water level in Tonle Sap is lower than it was last year at this time, according to the sole recording station that the Mekong River Commission monitors (it is located where the Tonle Sap River flows into the lake).

The dry conditions leave the normally flooded forest exposed to further logging and human-caused fires, both accidental and intentional. In 2016, massive fires burned as much as a third of the 750,000 acres of flooded forest in the Tonle Sap region. This year, the fires began in February. Although not nearly as extensive as in 2016, they burned through large swaths of previously untouched forest, and continued to burn in some places even after the first rains arrived some two months ago.

Losing everything

It's not just fish that are threatened by the loss of the flooded forest, but also turtles, reptiles, and an array of critically endangered species, including the hairy-nosed otter, one of the least known otter species in the world. Many of these animals have been burned out of their habitats, such as Germain's langurs, a threatened monkey species, several of which were seen hanging entangled in the charred trees.

Prek Toal is an internationally recognized bird sanctuary in the northwestern corner of Tonle Sap. Home to the largest water bird colony in Southeast Asia, with an estimated 100,000 breeding pairs, it protects many species of egrets, ibises, and cormorants, a small population of extremely rare greater adjutant storks, and the only colony of spot-billed pelicans in Southeast Asia.

The fires in 2016 burned almost 20,000 acres in Prek Toal, a third of the reserve. They did not, however, kill a significant number of birds, which were able to move into safe habitat. This year, the site appears unscathed by fire, but conservationists worry that future fires may wipe out more of it.

"We stand to lose everything," says Simon Mahood, an ecologist with the Wildlife Conservation Society, which helped set up the reserve in the 1990s. "Prek Toal is probably one of the greatest conservation success stories in Southeast Asia."

Tensions

The COVID-19 pandemic has wiped out any income that people used to earn from tourists visiting Prek Toal and the famous temples of Angkor, which stand north of the lake. It has also pulled many migrants back from Thailand, a development that observers worry will put extra pressure on the land around the Tonle Sap as more people grow crops.

Already, there appears to be brewing tensions between water-based communities and people living further upland, with reports of "outsiders" coming into flooded forest areas and starting fires-sometimes by dropping smoldering cigarette butts-to clear land for farming or to scare out wild animals that they can kill.

"The upland residents are not easy to talk to," says Sotharith. "They come with swords and knives, and they can do violence on us."

In the Koh Chivang, which lies adjacent to Prek Toal, Sotharith estimates that 70 percent of residents, most of whom formerly relied on fishing, have now turned to farming on small plots next to their stilt houses. Chili, which recently has been fetching unusually high prices, is a preferred crop.

"Our people don't go farming away from home, and we have urged them not to cut any forest," says Sotharith. "We have learned our lesson."

Still, conservationists are hopeful that the flooded forest will not be lost. "As a tropical ecosystem, the Tonle Sap is very productive and things grow quickly, so there is potential for some recovery, if the pressures are released," says Nick Souter, an ecologist with Conservation International. That organization is helping Tonle Sap communities replant their sections of the flooded forest and establish local fire brigades to manage wildfires.

But for some, including Nai Sina, a 24-year-old fisherman in the village of Kampong Prohoc, it may be too late. Sina, who has been fishing for the past eight years, says he plans to move abroad to work. If the water rises up as normal, he says, he will come back home to fish. But everything depends on the forest.

"When we have forest," he says, "we have fish, we have other wild animals, and our natural resources are abundant. When you do deforestation, you have to think about the future."
Get more on Wonders of the Mekong on Facebook, Instagram @mekongwonders, and YouTube.

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Cambodia's Tonle Sap Lake is running dry, taking forests and fish with it

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Hun Sotharith recalls when he moved to Cambodia's Tonle Sap to become a fisherman. It was the early 1990s, and the lake's freshwater swamp forest where he fished was so dense that it could take Sotharith, a former soldier, a day and a half to find the way back to his floating village.

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The Tonle Sap

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Ways to help the population is by reducing the amount of plastic the world uses.
The amount of trash that is thrown into the water .
Inventions can be made to help underwater animals and limit the amount of trash kept in the ocean.
According to sources, there is an increasing number of water treatment plants. We believe we can invest in this to further promote the cleaning of water.
Source: https://investincambodia-eu.org/water-treatment/

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The forests have not been flooded which will cause other disasters to occur like dry/hot conditions. Which it could make worse for its animals and its people.
This has happened because of climate change
water people drink is filtered from the ocean and sadly its getting more and more polluted

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The Tonle Sap Lake is facing overfishing with illegal fishing methods, which include: poison, explosives, electro-fishing, small mesh-size of the nets.

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Community members participate in forest planting and conservation.

"Without flooded forests, our community will be hit by floods, droughts, and other disasters. We know that when there is no more flooded forest, there will be no more fish in the water too," said Yorm Sreynich, a villager from Sosor Sdam commune.

The Tonle Sap is the largest lake in Southeast Asia and is known for being a key habitat for freshwater fish and numerous endangered species. Nearly half of all fish eaten by Cambodians are from this lake, making it critical to food security and nutrition.

During the rainy season, the Tonle Sap provides water to more than 85 percent of Cambodian farmers, ensuring fertile land for rice production and other tropical crops. Its floodplain, in particular the seasonally flooded forest scrub and grassland, is a vital habitat for fish and wildlife, making it one of the most productive freshwater ecosystems in the world.

The Tonle Sap is the largest lake in Southeast Asia and is known for being a key habitat for freshwater fish and numerous endangered species. Nearly half of all fish eaten by Cambodians are from this lake, making it critical to food security and nutrition. Photo: UNDP Cambodia/Manuth Buth

The Tonle Sap Lake.

Despite the richness of natural resources, the Tonle Sap is threatened by a number of challenges, particularly from climate change and mismanagement. In the last decade, land-use changes in and around the Tonle Sap Lake have noticeably brought many vexing problems. Now more than ever, urgent action is needed to protect the remaining resources. In response to the evolving challenges in the Tonle Sap, since July 2019, UNDP has supported the Royal Government of Cambodia to protect and restore the flooded forest within the lake area to improve fishing productivity, reduce carbon emissions and prevent erosion. More sustainable management practices, including forest rehabilitation, capacity building for local authorities, awareness-raising, and community engagement. Funded by The Forest Carbon Partnership Facilityand implemented by the Fisheries Administration of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries, these steps have led to the successful replanting of 40,000 native species in three flooded forest areas north of the lake.

"I have never seen any activity like this happen in my community before. I am so glad as now I have seen so many people, including monks, students, and villagers participate in forest planting and conservation," said Mr. Ki Lay Commune Chief of Sorsor Sdam, Siem Reap Province.

"I have never seen any activity like this happen in my community before. I am so glad as now I have seen so many people, including monks, students, and villagers participate in forest planting and conservation," said Mr. Ki Lay Commune Chief of Sorsor Sdam, Siem Reap Province

According to H.E. Chea Sam Ang, Secretary of State at the Ministry of Environment and Head of the National REDD + programme, this project was designed to rehabilitate and to mitigate the loss of the flooded forest. He added that through this project, the local communities learned a great deal about the benefits of the flooded forest, which motivates them to actively participate in forest replanting and conservation.

To ensure that reforestation activities do not have any negative social or environmental impacts in the proposed reforestation sites, the local community has been trained under the project to conduct a rapid potential risk assessment of re-forestation on biodiversity, gender, tenure, and indigenous people and to utilize management measures that mitigate potential impacts.

As part of this assessment, communities have successfully identified seven native tree species to replant, which will contribute to the restoration of biodiversity and improvement of the habitats of fish and other endangered species.

Communities have also received training to conduct effective monitoring and management of tree plantations, as well as the surrounding flooded forest conservation areas. To ensure that women's unique needs are understood and that they benefit from the project, the assessment helps to further build community awareness, highlighting the importance of women taking a leading role in flooded forest protection. This approach ensures the active participation of men and women in reforestation and other conservation activities.

"Without flood forests, our community will be affected by floods, droughts, and other disasters," said Yorm Sreynich, a villager from Sosor Sdam commune.

Written by: Ratha Soy, UNV Communications Officer Photos by: UNDP Cambodia/Ratha Soy, except where noted
"Without flood forests, our community will be affected by floods, droughts, and other disasters. We know that when there is no more flooded forest, there will be no more fish in the water too. We are glad that we can participate in conservation-related work so our people in the community can still rely on the natural resources, and so can our next generations," said Yorm Sreynich, a villager from Sosor Sdam commune.

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Improving the health of Southeast Asia's largest lake

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"Without flooded forests, our community will be hit by floods, droughts, and other disasters. We know that when there is no more flooded forest, there will be no more fish in the water too," said Yorm Sreynich, a villager from Sosor Sdam commune.

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over three billion people depend on the water on marine and coastal biodiversity for their lives.
30 percent of fish stock has overexploited below the reaching water level.

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Animals in the sea have their population decrease by a lot.

The water is getting more and more dirty/polluted to the point where ocean life is dying.