Government takes action to protect Tonle Sap Lake
Samdech Prime Minister Hun Sen on August 12 appealed to local authorities to save the Tonle Sap , the largest fresh lake in southeast east region, which is suffering from activities of local people through destroying flooded forest and building basin reservoirs to store water for planting rice crops during dry season.
“I call on local authorities and people to join actively to take actions in protection, and conservation of our great fresh lake,” he told the closing ceremony of working group of measures and protection of Tonle Sap Lake .
He added that some parts of Tonle Sap are affecting from the nature and activities of people. And our Tonle Sap Lake needs to save immediately because it has been destroyed and reached to disaster one day if we don’t have proper measures in protection of this lake.
“We got many negative impacts on Tonle Sap through the building of reservoir for storing water illegally for growing rice and it will cut off the natural trends of fish and make fish have difficulties in seeking shelters to lay egg and spawning, and hybrid,” he said, adding that fish will lay egg different manners of nature that will affect our fish products. And number of fish will decrease its products.
He stresses, “The illegal destroying of flooded forest in Tonel Sap occurred anarchically and building reservoir for storing water for growing rice in dry season will make the level of water of Tonle Sap lowered. It will be shallower and shallower. The next generation will blame us if we do not act this time,”he said, adding the government will face the blame in history.
He noted , “All these things are affecting the environment of Tonle Sap as whole. And currently too many floating structures on Tonel Sap lake adversely have affected to the nature of lake,”.
“Actually, the disaster and threats for Tonle Sap need the government to take action aggressively and urgently to protect the sustainability of environment of the lake. And it needs people and local authorities to join in hands to save our lake,” he said. 6 provinces around Tonle Sap including Battambang, Pursat, Siem Reap, Kompong Thom, and Kompong Chhang, Banteay Mean Chey provinces has been suffering from the illegal activities in grabbing land with small and large scale as well as to cut off flooded forests which is shelter for fish and protection the ecological system of environment of lake. H.E Lim Kean Hor, minister of water resources said from 2005-2010, over 48,170 hectares of flooded forest of lake was destroyed and that acts is led to disaster immediately and it affected subsequently to social, economic and ecological systems, fish products in the lake,’ he said, adding that in July this year the government issued directives to destroy illegal basins around Tonle Sap lake.
According to the order, the ministry of water resources and meteorology destroyed 120, 54 square km of basin, facilitate 10 reservoirs, destroyed 35 basins, and 47, 40 square km of canal, and the ministry planted 167 posts of protection areas. From 1970- 2010, over 354,175 hectares of flooded forest in Tonle Sap lake was damaged and ruined. In average each year about 9,000 hectares of flooded forests destroyed.
Deputy Prime Minister Yim Chay Ly said event that in dry season, Tonle Sap covered with size of 27,000 Square km with depth pf 1-2 m and in rainy season it enlarged to 160,000 square km with depth of 9m. Over one million people around provinces are fishermen and they depend on fish product to support living condition. Over four million people of Cambodians are supported their living conditions form Tonel Sap lake. This lake is biggest freshwater lake in the region. It provided 75 per cent of fish product in the country, benefiting about 230,000 tons of fish products in each year. It is the habitat for more than 200 species of fish, 42 types of reptiles, 225 species of birds and 46 kinds of mammals. ###
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