Tonle Sap: The Great Lake
Audio Slideshow | Posted Feb 26, 2009
Program: Exposure
Nick Dynan
Along Tonle Sap Lake, villages dotting the shore survive upon a timeless tradition of fishing. Both a source of income and nourishment, the lake’s flowing water functions as vital lifeblood for millions within Cambodia. However, the lake’s ecological and economic wealth has come under threat from a myriad of sources. Increases in population, upstream damming, deforestation, pesticides, and extensive overfishing are threatening the future of the water system. While structures have been implemented in order to curb these hazards, they face their own internal challenges, ones that must be alleviated if the prosperous future of the lake is to be ensured.
Along Tonle Sap Lake, villages dotting the shore survive upon a timeless tradition of fishing. Both a source of income and nourishment, the lake’s flowing water functions as vital lifeblood for millions within Cambodia. However, the lake’s ecological and economic wealth has come under threat from a myriad of sources. Increases in population, upstream damming, deforestation, pesticides, and extensive overfishing are threatening the future of the water system. While structures have been implemented in order to curb these hazards, they face their own internal challenges, ones that must be alleviated if the prosperous future of the lake is to be ensured.