Volume 22, Issue 3

September 2005

Special Issue: Integrated Water Resources Management on the Tonle Sap Lake, Cambodia

ONLINE ACCESS TO THIS ISSUE

EDITORIAL


THE GOVERNANCE OF THE TONLE SAP LAKE, CAMBODIA: INTEGRATION OF LOCAL, NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL LEVELS (pp. 399-416)

Pech Sokhem and Kengo Sunada, Japan Science and Technology Agency, University of Yamanashi, Kofu, Japan

Contact: Pech Sokhem and Kengo Sunada, e-mails: pech@ccn.yamanashi.ac.jp, sunada@yamanashi.ac.jp

Abstract: The Tonle Sap water-related crisis mainly concerns governance, and at both the local and cross-boundary levels the crisis requires a more integrated and comprehensive solution than is the case at present. This paper addresses the institutional challenges of this basin from three levels: international collaborative facilitation and resource mobilization toward sustainable development of the Mekong region; national and local institutional matters; and participatory issues. The results show that new governance principles such as a holistic institutional approach and upstream–downstream relationship, transparency and accountability, public participation and decentralization, gender and equity, and separation of incompatible administrative functions, etc., are much needed in the Mekong and Tonle Sap Basins. The governance should have a greater emphasis on broader policy and planning, and more strategic approaches and attention to equity, sustainability and poverty alleviation.


POLICY ANALYSIS FOR THE TONLE SAP LAKE, CAMBODIA: A BAYESIAN NETWORK MODEL APPROACH (pp. 417-341)

Olli Varis and Marko Keskinen, Helsinki University of Technology, Water Resources Laboratory

Contact: Olli Varis, e-mail: olli.varis@tkk.fi

Abstract: The starting point of the policy analysis of the Tonle Sap Area in Cambodia was the Mekong Agreement of 1995. 1t specifies three development goals for the Mekong Basin: economic growth, poverty reduction and environmental sustainability. The possibilities to find combinations of sector policies for achieving these often conflicting goals were analysed systematically using a probabilistic, Bayesian network model. Four policy scenarios were constructed, one promoting each of the three development goals separately and one integrated, compromise scenario. The results indicate that a compromise policy is possible, being radically more balanced and acceptable than any of the policies that target only one of the three goals at a time.


RULES, ROLES AND RIGHTS: GENDER, PARTICIPATION AND COMMUNITY FISHERIES MANAGEMENT IN CAMBODIA’S TONLE SAP REGION (pp. 433-447)

Bernadette P. Resurreccion, Asian Institute of Technology, School of Environment, Resources & Development, Pathumthani, Thailand

E-mail: babette@ait.ac.th

Abstract: In the Tonle Sap Region, Community Fisheries (CFs) have been recently constituted by the Cambodian Government to address the needs for local and sustainable management of fisheries resources. Local women are being urged to participate in these institutions by various state and non-state programmes. However, actual social conditions and practices of people demonstrate that women are not actively involved in de facto fisheries management with its complex mosaic of rules, rights and roles. Inserting women into this programme by only addressing poverty reduction and conservation goals without recognizing actual gender/social inequalities, may inadvertently reproduce existing gender hierarchies instead of actually transforming them.


ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ON MIGRATION IN CAMBODIA: WATER-RELATED MIGRATION FROM THE TONIE SAP LAKE REGION (pp. 499-462)

Ulla Heinonen, Helsinki University of Technology, Water Resources Laboratory, Finland

E-mail: ulla.heinonen@tkk.fi

Abstract: In the Tonle Sap Lake Region, Cambodia, the interconnections between migration, environment and all water resources are apparent. These interconnections have not been widely studied in Cambodia, even though the study of water related migration could yield important socio-economic information for the development aims of the Mekong Basin, the urbanization trends, and the future problems in the poor settlements of Phnom Penh. Due to the knowledge gap, this paper explores the push that drives population from the Tonle Sap Lake and its linkages with environment and water. This study examines water-related migration from the major lake in Cambodia by literature reviews and participatory field studies.


THE LAKE WITH FLOATING VILLAGES: SOCIO-ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF THE TONLE SAP LAKE (pp. 463-480)

Marko Keskinen, Helsinki University of Technology, Water Resources Laboratory, Finland

E-mail: marko.keskinen@tkk.fi

Abstract: Increasing complexity and multidisciplinarity of water management has resulted in the development of broader approaches such as Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM). This paper discusses the IWRM and particularly its social and participatory dimensions based on the practical experience gained from the socio-economic analysis within a modelling project in Cambodia’s Tonle Sap Lake. It is argued that water-related socio-economic analysis can significantly contribute to water modelling and impact analysis work because it helps to link modelling with the most relevant social and economic issues. This way modelling is also better able to answer to the needs of integrated water resources management.


THE TONLE SAP LAKE AS A PRODUCTIVE ECOSYSTEM (pp. 481-495)

Dirk Lamberts, Laboratory of Aquatic Ecology, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Leuven, Belgium

E-mail: dirk.lamberts@student.kuleuven.be

Abstract: The Tonle Sap Lake ecosystem is considered by many to be the prodigious source of sustenance of the lower Mekong River Basin. Its productivity is one of the principle arguments in the integrated water resources management (IWRM) process. The productivity is most conspicuous in the fish catches and the large number of livelihoods that are sustained. A review of the data that are widely used to quantify the TonIe Sap’s productivity has shown that these are problematic and do not provide an unambiguous indication of the level of ecosystem productivity. Ecosystem productivity in IWRM in the Mekong River Basin has a more prominent role than in most other river basins, and the process is compromised by the use of inadequate indicators. A practical, integrated indicator for ecosystem productivity is proposed.


ECOSYSTEM MANAGEMENT OF THE TONLE SAP LAKE: AN INTEGRATED MODELLING APPROACH (pp. 497-519)

Matti Kummua, Juha Sarkkulab, Jorma Koponentc and Jussi Nikulaa

aHelsinki University of Technology, Water Resources Laboratory, Finland; bFinnish Environment Institute (SYKE), Helsinki, Finland; cEnvironmental Impact Assessment Centre of Finland Ltd (EIA Ltd), Espoo, Finland

Contact: Matti Kummu, e-mail: matti.kummu@iki.fi

Abstract: The monsoon floods of the Mekong River are a key driver of the Tonle Sap Lake ecosystem. This pulsing system together with a large floodplain, rich biodiversity and high annual sedimentation and nutrient fluxes from the Mekong makes the lake one of the most productive fresh water ecosystems in the world. The livelihoods of people living in and around the Tonle Sap are strongly dependent on the lake’s natural resources. An integrated modelling system, supported with primary data collection and analysis, has been developed for the Tonle Sap to assess the impacts of planned developments on the lake’s ecosystem and riparian communities. Understanding the ecosystem processes and tools for predicting the development impacts are essential for Integrated Water Resources Management, as well as for sustainable basin-wide planning, and national and regional policy-making.