Development Plan for Tonle Sap and Chakdomuk
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DEVELOPMENT PLAN FOR TüNLE SAP AND CHAKDOMUK PHASE 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY PREPARt:D FOI~ THE MEKONG SECRETARIAT BY ORS TOM IN ASSOCIATION WITH B C E 0 M OCTOBER 1993 BCEOM DEVELOPMENT PLAN FOR TONLE SAP AND CHAKDOMUK PHASE 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY prepared for The Mekong Secretariat by ORSTOM in association with BCEOM October 1993 SCOPE Of THE STUDY The Great Lake of Cambodia is the largest permanent freshwater lake in Southeast Asia, covering areas between 2 500 km 2 during the dry season and more than 13 000 km 2 at the end of the rainy season. The Great Lake is connected to the Mekong by the Tonlé Sap River. The confluence is at Chakdomuk in Phnom Penh city, some 120 km to the south-west of the outlet of the lake. The study area (éomprising the Great Lake, the Tonlé Sap River and their surrounding wetlands and agricultural fields) constitutes a highly productive ecosystem for the country. However, several reports have indicated that environmental conditions have changed during the last years. The siltation of the Tonlé Sap, especially at the confluence with the Mekong and at the entrance of the lake (near Snoc Trou) was reported as being an obstacle to the flow in the Tonlé Sap River. It was also alleged that sedimentation has significantly reduced the depth of the lake. Serious reduction in fish catches have also been reported. Sedimentation and uncontrolled fishing practices are thought to be major causes for this reduction. The Interim Committee for Coordination of Investigations of the Lower Mekong Basin resolved to address these problems, including inland navigation aspects and river morphology problems in the confluence area of Chakdomuk, through a comprehensive integrated development plan of the area. The ultimate objective of the project is to develop the Tonlé Sap's resources in a sustainable and environmentally sound way, the immediate objectives being : (i) to identify and examine the environmental changes, the present use of the natural resources and the development possibilities ; and (ii) to propose specific actions for preserving the environment and to select and implement priority projects for short and long-term development of the area. BCEOM, in association with ORSTOM (the French Institute for Scientific Research and Cooperation for Development) was entrusted with the study. The project was financed by the Government of France and by ORSTOM, which granted 3 man months of international expertise to the project. Phase 1 of the project was an identification and fact-finding phase. The objectives were the following : (i) to review available reports and data related to the Great Lake, Tonlé Sap, and surrounding areas ; (ii) to undertake an inception mission in Cambodia, including field reconnaissance and collection of ail information available in Cambodia and meetings with the development agencies, including the technical departments of the ministries of Agriculture and Transport & Communication, the Cambodian National Mekong Committee, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and several UN executing agencies (FAO, UNESCO), the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC), the French Embassy in Cambodia, several NGOs (GRET, SAWA, PADEK, etc.) ; (iii) to conduct relevant data interpretation and studies, and to select priority projects for management and development of the resources of the project area, including a programme of data collection and investigation. ii Eight experts, including two nationalJregional staff were assigned by BCEOM and ORSTOM to provide expertise in the various fields of hydrology, river morphology and sedimentology, environment, aquatic biology, fishery, agriculture, socio-economy and navigation. Ali staff carried out a joint inception mission in Cambodia from 10 to 23 March 1993. An inception report of the mission was drafted and submitted to the Mekong Committee on 26 March 1993. The draft final report was presented and discussed with the national authorities and the international and regional organisations concerned during a workshop held in Phnom Penh on 24 August 1993. The final version of this report was submitted in October 1993. The Consultants wish to express their thanks to the Mekong Secretariat's officiais, to the Cambodia National Mekong Committee who ensured coordination of the project and generally to ail authorities who kindly extended their assistance to the team of experts and made the implementation of this study possible. GENERAL CONCLUSIONS AND JUSTIFICATION OF AN INTEGRATED DEVELOPMENT PLAN Phase 1 of the Development Plan for Tonlé Sap and Chakdomuk provided the forum for a preliminary assessment of existing conditions which has been carried out mainly on the basis of a review of existing available data. "The Jack of quantitative and reliable data, especial/y during the past 15 years, is the more generaJ finding of each sectoral assessment" (Inception Report p.22). This situation has severely restricted the certainty of the conclusions given in the sectoral assessments of the Report. As an example, two crucial issues could not be solved : - Does the sedimentation rate occur with its natural and normal magnitude or is there any recent and on-going significant increase of this rate which could threaten the sustainability of the physical and biological environment in the wetland area, and hamper its economic exploitation (fish, navigation, etc.) ? This question applies especially to the Great Lake, and to some extent to the Tonlé Sap river, where it appears that Mekong sediment deposit at both end of the stream (Snoc Trou and Chakdomuk) has been a natural and long lasting process. - Is the current pressure of the fisheries sustainable for the bio-ecological environment ? As discussed in the technical section on fisheries, a definite answer would require accurate information on the actual level of the catches and the composition of the catches by size and specie. The socio-economical conditions in Cambodia are changing at an unusual high rate which will undoubtedly urge the fishermen on higher fish production. Thus, recent data on catches and on fish marketing conditions are absolutely necessary, but as it has been shown in the analyses of fisheries and fish production (Section C), the available data are patchy and most of them have been collected several decades ago. It is a long term objective for any country to access accurately the situation of its renewable resources (water, fish, forests, etc.,) and the conditions of their exploitation. This implies the set up of efficient technical departments, having strong scientific back-up. Institutional building, training of staff, availability of field equipment and data processing facilities are the required components to achieve such objectives. High priority should be given by the National Authorities to such iii programmes, even if the Nation's priorities have to be focused on more urgent and day-to-day issues. Regional institutions such as the Mekong Committee can play a key role in promoting such long term investigations and data collection. Therefore, additional data collection, surveys and investigations are c1early one of the objectives of the coming phase Il and should be undertaken as soon as possible. - But as the indicative duration of phase Il is 2 years only, it is clear that most results and analysis of long term "strategic" data collection will not be available before the end of phase II. Therefore during this phase, priority should be given to small scale surveys and data collection programmes, aiming at the verification of the tentative conclusions presented during phase 1of the project. On the other hand, the implementation of a development plan of the area, which is a long term and a permanent process, will require long term data bases, permanently updated, to take into account the natural fluctuations and the socio economic trends. As such, the project must stress the needs for long term data collection programmes in different sectors (water, fish, wild-life, land use, transport infrastructure, etc.), even if these activities are not carried out within the institutional and financial framework of the project. It would however be unrealistic as weil as unacceptable for the Country to delay the formulation of a development plan of the area until ail above mentioned data and information have been collected and analysed. Currently a dynamic and mostly informai development process is taking place in the whole country, and especially in the project area. The fringes of the Great Lake and of Tonlé Sap River are target areas for the returning refugees and displaced persons. Most of them are believed to be farmers and therefore pressure on agricultural land and possibly on forests will increase. Some of the newcomers mayas weil undertake activities providing higher and more immediate income than agriculture such as fishing, fish processing, wood processing (charcoal, construction wood), wildlife poaching, etc. Under such specific conditions, even without ail desirable information on environmental characterisation, the basics of an environmentally sound development plan can be formulated and implemented, on the basis of the few available data, general expertise and common sense. It is expected also that aside from the required data collection programmes previously mentioned, large quantities of information will be available in the very near future, as several sectoral reviews are currently in progress, such as the review of the fishery sector by FAO; the review of the irrigation sector by UNDP, the review of the agricultural sector by FAO, etc. Information on population has already been collected for the purpose of the May general elections. The immediate tasks of the proposed Integrated Development Plan project will include: - to centralise and analyse ail relevant information on the area ; - to advise the Government in the decisions concerning the development of the area; - to set up an institutional framework which will be able to formulate a plan for an integrated and sustainable development of the area. This will include the definition of rules and of working procedures between the identified stakeholders (national, regional, international, bilateral).