Mekong River Commission Secretariat Environmental Program
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Mekong River Commission Secretariat Environmental Program (Final Draft) A Review of Biological Assessment of Freshwater Ecosystems A Collaborative Work By: Srum Lim Song Neou Bonheur Uy Ching Date of Submission: 02 January 2002 MRC, January 2002 2 Table of Contents 1. Introduction………………………………………………………………… 3 2. Purpose and Methodology………………………………………………… 4 2.1. Principles and Methods …………………………………………………… 4 2.2. Objectives and Methods of This Paper …..………………………………… 5 3. Institutional Arrangement For Biological Assessment ……………….…… 5 3.1. Ministry of Environment……………………………………………….……. 5 3.2. Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries………………………..……. 6 3.2.1. Department of Fisheries ………………………………………………… 6 3.2.2. Department of Forestry ………………………………………………… 7 3.2.3. Department of Agronomy ……………………………………………… 7 3.3. Ministry of land Management, Urbanization and Construction………..…… 7 3.4. Ministry of Water Resources and Meteorology……………………………… 7 3.5. Cambodian National Mekong Committee…………………………………… 8 3.6. Mekong River Commission Secretariat …………………………………….. 8 4. Biodiversity Status……………………………………………………..……. 8 4.1. Ecosystem Diversity………………………………………………………… 9 4.2. Species Diversity……………………………………………………………. 11 4.2.1 Flooded Forest…………………………………………………………… 11 4.2.2 Fish……………………………………………………………………… 12 4.2.3 Waterbirds……………………………………………………………… 13 4.2.4 Mammal ……………………………………………………………… 14 4.2.5 Reptiles………………………………………………………………… 14 4.2.6 Invertebrate ……………………………………………………………. 15 4.3. Genetic Diversity…………………………………………………………… 16 5. Biological Use………………………………………………………………. 16 5.1. Agriculture………………………………………………………………….. 16 5.2. Animal Husbandry………………………………………………………….. 17 5.3. Fishery………………………………………………………………………. 17 5.4. Forestry……………………………………………………………………… 17 5.5. Wildlife Hunting……………………………………………………………. 18 6. Threats………………………………………………………………………. 18 6.1. Overfishing………………………………………………………………….. 18 6.2. Degradation of Flooded Forest……………………………………………… 18 6.3. Bird and Egg Collection…………………………………………………….. 19 6.4. Harvesting of Snake and Turtles……………………………………………. 19 6.5. Habitat Fragmentation……………………………………………………… 19 6.6. Degradation of Watershed…………………………………………………… 19 6.7. Urbanization………………………………………………………………… 19 6.8. Water Development Project on the Mekong River System………………… 20 7. Biodiversity Conservation…………………………………………………… 20 8. Data Gap assessment………………………………………………………… 20 8.1. Research and Study ………………………………………………………… 20 8.2. Sampling Methods and Techniques ………………………………………… 22 9. Conclusion……………………………………………………………………. 22 3 Tables Table 1 Cambodian aquatic ecosystems…………………………………………....9 Table 2 Landuse of Tonle Sap watershed 1991…...……………………………….10 Table 3 Landuse of Tonle sap watershed 1997…………………………………….10 Table 4 Species diversity in Tonle Sap…………………………………………….16 Table 5 Data gap assessment……………………………………………………….21 Table 6 Major Biological Research and Studies …………………………… 24 Table 7 List of Literature and Reports for Biological Assessment…………. 28 Table 8 List of Cambodian Specialists and Experts Involved in BA……………...36 4 1. Introduction Cambodia is situated in the Indochinese Peninsula adjacent to the gulf of Thailand with a land area of 181,035 km2. The territory is characterized by a central floodplain surrounded by Cardamom mountains in the southwest, Dangrek mountains in the north, and the coastal-marine ecosystem in the southwest. The climate is dominated by the monsoon season with rainfall varying from 1400mm in the central territory up to 3800mm in the mountain range. The Mekong River and the Tonle Sap Lake are the most important freshwater features of Cambodia central floodplains, which form a unique and complex ecological system containing rich natural resources base for Cambodian economy and its population. Cambodia is a constitutional monarchy with population of 11.4 million as of 1998 (UNFPA 1998). The Mekong River is the largest river in Southeast Asia and is one of the great rivers of the world. Beginning with its headwaters on the Tibetan Plateau of China, the Mekong River passes about 4,200 km through Yunnan province of China, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and ends in the South Vietnam. It has a drainage basin covering an area of 795,000 km2 with annual debit of 475 billion m3 pouring to the South China Sea (John Hoskin 1995). Geographically, the Mekong Basin encompasses rich ecological system and diverse cultural assets and is home to 60 million people (ADB 2001). These all together constitute a complex regional freshwater biological resources, which are evolved for thousands year. Cambodian freshwater ecosystems are dominated by the Tonle Sap Lake, the Mekong river and Bassac river, and the central floodplain which are the vital lifeline of Cambodian population, as they provide lots of water, fertile land, extensive flooded vegetation and thousands of biological species. Tonle Sap Lake is the most productive lake in Southeast Asia in terms of fish, flooded forest, and wildlife. Although precise data is not available, annual fish production is estimated around 300-400 thousands tons or about 160 kg per ha (MRC, 2000). Rice farming is mainly concentrated in this area. The Lake is home to hundreds of waterfowls, a dozen of mammals, several dozen of reptiles, and a number of invertebrates. Nearly 200 plant species form diverse flooded vegetation such as floating herbs, grasses, shrub, and flooded forest. Many globally significant species including large waterbirds, turtles, snakes, mammals are found in the Tonle Sap Lake. All these represent important resources base for fishery, agriculture, hunting, firewood, transportation and water supply (Bonheur N. et al., 2001). The upper Mekong in the northeast region also harbors significant habitats and wildlife. Endangered mammals such as Dolphin and Water buffaloes are spotted. Some part of the upper Mekong such as Stoeng Treng is believed to contain spawning habitats for catfish species and others. The lower Mekong from Phnom Penh down to Vietnam is characterized by seasonal flooding which supports a variety of rice farming, especially recession rice. 5 The significance of freshwater biological resources is reflected by the scale of exploitation and benefits accruing to the country economy and Cambodian people. Their ecological functions and service of these aquatic ecosystems are fully known due to several reasons, including the lack of systematic and continuous surveys, deficient skills and expertise, uncoordinated research and development, poor data management and information sharing. Most of past works are devoted mainly to enforcement and management. The biological researches have just begun with the arrival of international NGOs such as WWF, WI, IUCN, WCS. MRCS also makes a significant contribution to the freshwater biological assessment in the Mekong Basin by focusing on fish ecology, land cover mapping, and hydrological modeling. These combined efforts have gradually improved our understanding of biological resources though much work need to be done. 2. Purpose and methodology 2.1 Principles and Methods There is no such strict definition on biological assessment. Even the Convention on Biological Diversity, one of the most significant environmental treaties ever developed, does not provide any clauses linking with scientific assessment of biological resources. The contracting parties are aware of the lack of information and knowledge regarding biological diversity (stated in the Preamble), but biological assessment has not been part of the Convention process. Actually, various aspects of biological assessment have been developed and practiced by many scientists and experts before CBD, which may vary from country to country. The first global biological assessment was initiated by UNEP in 1993 with the contributions of about 1,500 experts from all over the World. As a result the first extensive compilation of methods and knowledge for biological assessment was then published by UNEP in 1998 (Global Biological Assessment, UNEP 1998). Apparently, biological assessment is still a new phenomenon and is gradually improved. To capture the meaning of biological assessment it is essential to first understand what constitute biological diversity. Biological diversity usually refers to three elements: (1) the number of different ecosystems (communities of plants and animals and the environments that sustain them) and their relative frequencies in a country or in the world; (2) the number of species of animals and plants and their relative frequencies; and (3) the genetic variation within each species (Brown Weiss et al., International Environmental Law and Policy, 1998). According to UNEP, the objective of global biological assessment is “to assess the current state of knowledge, identify gaps in knowledge and critical scientific issues, and draws attention to those issues where scientists have reached a consensus of view and those where uncertainty has led to conflicting viewpoints and therefore a need for further research”. The assessment is a compendium of knowledge which can be drawn upon by decision-makers, officials, scientists and any others who are involved in the follow-up and implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity (UNEP, 1998). 6 In general, biological assessment is the process of understanding of the status of biological diversity, the interactions between biodiversity and human society, and the techniques, resources and strategies by which biological resources may be conserved and used sustainably. Biodiversity research, inventory and monitoring are the most