Tonle Sap Lake, Cambodia: A perspective on its transborder hydrological and resources governance

Abstract

AbstractTonle Sap Lake is the largest freshwater lake in South East Asia, being situated at the heart of the Mekong River Basin. Governance of the lake over the recent past has been weak and overly complex, and the basin governance structure has changed over time in terms of its fisheries management framework. The governance framework initially focused on the commercial exploitation of fish resources, but has more recently switched to a community‐based fisheries management, biodiversity conservation and open access model. This study discusses how the water flows occurring between the Mekong River and Tonle Sap Lake complicate the governance of the lake, and particularly its fisheries, biodiversity, land and water management activities. The establishment of the Tonle Sap Authority (TSA) in 2007 sought to address the governance challenges facing the lake. The current study concludes, however, that the TSA alone is not sufficient and that global, regional and national stakeholders must make an effort to ensure the water flows between the lake and the Mekong River are themselves considered a core governance issue for the Tonle Sap.