Future Solutions Now - The Tonle Sap Initiative May 2006

ADB SOUTHEAST ASIA DEPARTMENT 1

Reconciling Multiple Demandswith Basin ManagementOrganizationsThe Government of Cambodia is looking atbasin-wide management of the largestfreshwater lake in Southeast Asia. Bymeans of extensive investigations, it hasnurtured agreement in principle onorganizational form and function in theTonle Sap basin.1 The intention is to betterdrive, coordinate, and streamline infra-structure development and naturalresource management to benefit all. Sincethe structure being formulated alsopreserves connection to Cambodia’sinvolvement in efforts to manage theMekong River Basin, the steps now beingtaken can inform other basin-wide ap-proaches.

The Great LakeThe Tonle Sap is fed by 12 main tributariesdraining higher ground on all sides of abasin enclosing 44% of Cambodia’s landarea. Discharge is through a southeast-ward gateway via the Tonle Sap River,which joins the Mekong River about110 kilometers (km) away near PhnomPenh.

In the dry season (December–April),the Tonle Sap is 160 km long and 35 km

wide, has a depth of 1–2 meters (m), andextends over 250,000–300,000 hectares(ha). Each year, however, flow in theMekong River rises as the large riveraccepts melting runoff in its distant upperreaches. With further swelling that followsthe onset of the rainy season (May–November), the Mekong River’s surfaceelevation at the confluence near PhnomPenh rises until it blocks and then reversesthe Tonle Sap’s southeastward flow. Waterflows back into the Tonle Sap, submergingthe surrounding swamp forest and shrublands to provide seasonal breeding andnursery grounds and forage areas for fishthat subsequently migrate to the MekongRiver. Remarkably, the inundation in atypical year raises the Tonle Sap’s surfaceby about 10 m and spreads the lake inflood over about 1.2 million ha, almost fivetimes the dry season’s coverage. Floodingover up to 1.6 million ha has been re-corded.

The inrush of nutrient-rich water fromthe Mekong River and slow flushing asthe flood recedes each year is a gift ofnature that has set rhythm for life overmany centuries. The yearly cycle makesthe Tonle Sap and its floodplains an

Future Solutions Now

THE TONLE SAPINITIATIVE

CONTENTS

The Great Lake 1

The Tonle Sap Initiative 3

The Tonle SapBiosphere Reserve 5

Basin-Wide Management 5

Form and Function 7

Tonle Sap Sub-Basins 11

Community Participation 14

Turning Point 14

Pilot Testing 15

1 The Tonle Sap basin is, strictly speaking, a sub-basin of the Mekong River basin. However, in conformity withinternational practice for a watershed system of such a large size, the term Tonle Sap basin is used here.

2 ADB SOUTHEAST ASIA DEPARTMENT

amazingly rich ecological system thatsupports fertile agriculture and a freshwa-ter fishery of grand scale, both refreshedevery year.

The Tonle Sap and its floodplains arehome to about 10% of Cambodia’spopulation.2 Many plant and harvest onthe floodplains in dry months, but all joinin pursuit of the fishing bounty when thelake rises in flood each year. The fishery isa high-value resource, producing threequarters of the animal protein consumedeach day, year-round, by the nationalpopulation of about 13.0 million. Itoccupies a deep-rooted place in life andculture, reflecting the lake’s long-termeconomic importance, but springing fromwhat remains today a powerful act ofnature.

But fisheries the world over are a fragileresource that has not fared well over thelast 150 years. The forces that militateagainst them include• rising populations and growing demand

for animal protein;• escalating extraction capability and

scale, tracing technological change thatserves primarily the harvester groupsand ignores the need to conserve;

• unrestrained pursuit of narrowlydefined interests, in the chase for largerand more frequent catches;

• environmental degradation associatedwith casual waste disposal practices ina crowding world;

• lack of appreciation of the many waysin which uninformed development with-in or near a fishery can also degrade itsperformance and prospects; and

Floodplain Fish Productivity(kilograms/hectare/year)

Tonle Sap floodplains 139–230Nam Ngum Reservoir, Lao PDR 40–173Bangladeshi natural floodplains 104–130Indonesian floodplains 72–118Bangladeshi modified floodplains 51–81Thai floodplains 25–52Amazonian floodplains 24

Source: Lieng Sopha and N. Van Zalinge, 2001. Fish Yield Estimation in the Floodplains ofthe Tonle Sap Great Lake and River, Cambodia. In IFREDI (ed.) Cambodia FisheriesTechnical Paper Series, Volume III, MRC and Department of Fisheries. Phnom Penh.

2 About 35% of Cambodia’s people live within theTonle Sap basin, some 4.5 million inhabitants byrecent estimate. Almost 30% of them live on thelake and its floodplains.

Tonle Sap Basin Profile

Gross land area 8.0 million hectaresAgricultural land 1.8 million hectares

Available water 46 billion cubic metersUtilized water 17 billion cubic meters

Agricultural 61.0%Industrial 4.0%Domestic 18.0%

Population 4.5 millionPopulation growth 2.9%Population below the 40.0%–60.0%

poverty lineSafe access to water 24.0%Access to sanitation facilities 9.0%

Forest area 4.2 million hectaresProtected forest 1.5 million hectares

Irrigable area 1.6 million hectaresIrrigated area 0.3 million hectares

Hydropower generation nilPlanned capacity

Schemes 7Capacity 158 megawatts

Source: Asian Development Bank.


• ineffective cooperative efforts to seea fishery as a single resource requiringconcerted action at many levels forcontinued use by present and futuregenerations.Ecological systems such as the Tonle

Sap are surprisingly adaptable andresilient but they do have limits beyondwhich irreversible damage can be caused.The annual total yield has shown slowdecline, so far, but the catch per fishereach year has fallen fast and contains anincreasing share of smaller fish. Theswamp forest and shrub lands, whichpromote biodiversity of many aquaticorganisms besides fish, are being deci-mated by conversion to agriculture andcollection of fuel wood. The conse-quences for Cambodia and its people of anabrupt contraction of the lake’s mostvaluable resource are not easy to contem-plate and have led policy makers to thewisdom of trying to manage the Tonle SapBasin as a whole.

The Tonle Sap InitiativeEfforts to meet the threats to the Tonle Sapbegan 5 years ago, when the Governmentand the Asian Development Bank (ADB)agreed that their long-standing collabora-tion should be intensified. This led to jointannouncement of the Tonle Sap Initiativein 2002.

The Tonle Sap Initiative is a partnershipof organizations and people working tomeet the poverty and environmentchallenges of the Tonle Sap. The partner-ship rests on three propositions. First, itaffirms that progress can best be ad-dressed by recognizing the importance ofthe Tonle Sap Basin for what it has alwaysbeen. Next, the linked interests of the

millions of people living in the basinrequire that it be recognized as an organicwhole. Then, unless this occurs, there canbe no confidence that any forward pathwill lead to sustainable gains.

In 2003, the Tonle Sap Basin Strategygave a geographical focus to ADB’s

Tonle Sap Initiative Assistance Trajectory

Completed Assistance

1998 Protection and Management of Critical Wetlands in the LowerMekong Basin

2002 Improving the Regulatory and Management Framework forInland Fisheries

Chong Kneas Environmental ImprovementCapacity Building of the Inland Fisheries Research and

Development Institute

2003 Establishment of the Tonle Sap Basin Management OrganizationLiving with Floods on the Tonle SapTonle Sap Sustainable Livelihoods

2004 Developing and Testing Methodologies and Tools forEnvironmental Education and Awareness

Establishment of the Tonle Sap Basin Management Organization II

2005 Sustainable Rural Water Supply and Sanitation

Ongoing Assistance

2002 Tonle Sap Environmental Management

2003 Participatory Poverty Assessment of the Tonle Sap

2004 Capacity Building for the Tonle Sap Poverty Reduction Initiative

2005 Improving the Access of Poor Floating Communities on the TonleSap to Social Infrastructure and Livelihood Activities

Tonle Sap Rural Water Supply and Sanitation SectorTonle Sap Sustainable LivelihoodsCapacity Building of the Inland Fisheries Research and

Development Institute IIStudy of the Influence of Built Structures on the Fisheries of the

Tonle SapTonle Sap Lowland Stabilization

2006 Enhancing the Role of Women in Inland Fisheries in Cambodia


Country Strategy and Program, 2005–2009and its annual updates. It marked theintroduction of basin-level strategicplanning in Cambodia to foster, promote,and facilitate pro-poor, sustainableeconomic growth; access to assets; andmanagement of natural resources and theenvironment. Because the threats to thelake cannot all be tackled at the same time,the Tonle Sap Basin Strategy favoredgeographical and temporal phasing ofinterventions, working on the core areas ofthe lake to the upper catchments over an8-year period, aiming to repeat this cycleas may be needed to build on accomplish-ments and embed lessons learned from thefirst iteration.

The Tonle Sap Basin Strategy identifiedearly the imperative to develop betterinstitutional arrangements for basinmanagement. It specified that naturalresource management plans developed inpartnership by communities and theGovernment would outline a transparentand equitable process of resource manage-ment over the next 10 years. The plans

would incorporate community aspirationsregarding natural resources and containthe necessary rules relating to theirmanagement. They would need to provideboth a period of security to naturalresource users, such as fishers, and permitchanges in planning over time to adapt asinformation becomes available. Individualplans might include water managementplans, regional vegetation managementplans, and fisheries management plans.There would be regular reporting betweenthe Government and communities on theextent to which the plans are beingeffective in achieving their objectives. Inthis way, there would be more accountabil-ity to communities to ensure that all effortsand investments are best placed to deliveron results. A Tonle Sap Basin blueprintwould incorporate and integrate individualnatural resource management plans.

The Tonle Sap Basin Strategy con-tended also that responsibility for prepa-ring basin blueprints is usually given to abasin management organization consti-tuted to take on this role or to play a majorpart in it. Such organizations transcendadministrative boundaries and are bestplaced to understand the implications ofcompeting or conflicting use of a basin’snatural resources.

And so investigations identified thatprogress would require modes of delibera-tion allowing the 4.5 million inhabitants ofthe basin to take part in its management.They should have the opportunity to doso both as a means of preserving theirlivelihoods and as an opportunity toescape from poverty. This called for newlinks that span distances separatingcommunities from governmental struc-tures.

Tonle Sap Initiative Assistance Projection

Planned Assistance

2006 Establishment of the Tonle Sap Basin Management Organization IIIStudy of Inland Aquatic Resource Trade Patterns

2007 Capacity Building for the Tonle Sap Poverty Reduction Initiative IIEstablishment of the Tonle Sap Basin Management Organization IV

2008 Tonle Sap Watershed ManagementEstablishment of the Tonle Sap Basin Management Organization V

2009 Inland Fisheries Fish Processing Enterprise Development

Note: All assistance is indicative and subject to the approval of authorities in ADB.


The Tonle Sap Biosphere ReserveHow to protect the ecological base of theTonle Sap was put to investigations aslong ago as 1993, when a royal decreedesignated the Tonle Sap as a multiple-useprotected area. Furthermore, the lake wasnominated as a biosphere reserve in 1997under the Man and the Biosphere Programof the United Nations Educational,Scientific, and Cultural Organization,when it joined other wonders of the worldholding that status. Nomination led to thedefinition of ecological zones that weresusceptible to current or foreseeable threatand that justifiably should be protectedfrom certain forms of neglect or intrusion.3

This action stands as a first recognition ofthe critical importance of the Tonle Sapand a rare major step to protect its at-tributes.

Accountability for the Tonle SapBiosphere Reserve was lodged with theCambodia National Mekong Committeeand a small secretariat to support thecommittee was created and placed withinit. In 2002, ADB extended support toestablish a coordination framework andinformation dissemination mechanisms.Support to provide the committee and thenew secretariat with the tools needed tomake biosphere reserve management moreeffective continues today and the systemsand their application improve every year.

Basin-wide ManagementAs management of the Tonle Sap Bio-sphere Reserve was being made moreeffective, the Government continued tosearch for an organizational model for

basin management. Although the designof organizations must rely on carefulassessment, the process remains an artand is not a science. Matters of existingcontext must always be taken into accountand the object is to tie what new forms areneeded to what exists, in ways thataccount for what is possible. This consid-eration is especially important where theexercise applies to the public sector.

But organizational design for basinmanagement can also be particularlycomplicated. This is so because basinsare ecological, communal, commercial, andpolitical realities that shape events wellbeyond their boundaries. Like it or not,basins react—to neglect, exploitation,policy, as well as natural events andtrends. With these concerns in mind,several things became clear.

The first of these was the requirementto involve communities in shaping andapplying methods to address the threatsto the Tonle Sap. Communities would haveto be linked to district, provincial, andnational agencies. Between and amongthese levels, channels of communicationwould be needed.

The second was the need to assure thatorganizational design can both enableresponse to the need to protect the TonleSap and promise the delivery of sustain-able development. In simple terms, thechoice lay between two options: onewould be to establish an organizationempowered to prepare and execute naturalresource management plans; the otherwould be to make it possible to relyinstead on existing institutions to carry thecourse forward under current legislativemandates, while complying with the

3 The Tonle Sap Biosphere Reserve stretches over 1.5 million ha, not far off the maximum extent of flooding. Itis made up of three core areas, a buffer zone, and a transition area.

Integrated river basinmanagement is the processof coordinating conservation,management, and develop-ment of water and relatedresources across sectorswithin a basin to maximizethe economic and socialbenefits derived from theresources equitably whilepreserving and, wherenecessary, restoring fresh-water ecosystems


imperative of treating the Tonle Sap Basinas an organic whole.

The alternatives were fleshed out anddebated with due reference to organiza-tional models in use elsewhere in theworld. The existing institutions had notshown themselves as inattentive to themissions mandated to them, even thoughby observing mandate boundaries theywere leaving problems within the basinunaddressed and, in some cases, allowednew harm. An entirely new organization,on the other hand, might cause duplicationand competition or distort and weaken

budget allocations. Its establishmentwould also call for financial resources. Inthe end, the existing institutions were leftwith their current missions—subject,however, to the requirement in the futureto adjust plans as necessary to complywith needs arising from basin-wideassessments that, up to that time, has beenleft out of consideration.

The organizational innovation wouldthus be limited to introducing coordinativemechanisms to work both laterally andvertically in ways respectful of basinmanagement. Planning methods and

Models for integrated riverbasin management oftenbreak down when trans-ferred to the contexts ofdeveloping countries. Theyshould be made morecongruent with physicalconditions, cultural traditions,and the stage of develop-ment reached, both generallyand in terms of the level andmanner of exploitation ofwater and related resources

Source: Adapted from International Water Management Institute. 2006. The Challenges of Integrated River Basin Management in India.Available: www.iwmi.cgiar.org/home/integrated_river_basin.htm

Developed Countries

Temperate climates; higher river-stream densities

Population is concentrated in valleys

Water rights are based on riparian doctrine and priorappropriation

The focus is on blue surface water: water is found inrivers and lakes

Most water users obtain water from service providers;most water provision is in the formal sector, makingwater resources governance feasible

Small numbers of large-scale stakeholders

Low transaction costs for monitoring water use andcollecting water charges

Developing Countries

Low rainfall; climatic extremes; higher meantemperatures; lower river-stream densities;water scarcity is an emerging constraint

High population densities in both valleys and uplands;high population densities both upstream and down-stream of dams

Water rights are based on rights to rainfall or ground-water; notions of ownership relate more easily to rainthan to large-scale public diversions

The focus is on green water: water is stored in the soilprofile; blue water is stored in aquifers

Most water users obtain water directly from rainfall andfrom private or community storage without muchmediation from public agencies or organized serviceproviders; most water provision is in the informal sector,making it difficult to pass enforceable legislation

Large numbers of small-scale stakeholders

High transaction costs for monitoring water use andcollecting water charges

A Comparison of Basin Realities


instruments would be the means to thisend. The staff assembling and disseminat-ing information would also measuresubsequent progress, report on thedirection and pace of changes in the basin,and apply persuasive recommendation togood effect wherever required.

Form and FunctionThe inclination to look first to coordinativemechanisms is a thoroughly Cambodianturn. This approach avoids the play of thedivisive influences that might arise if anew organization were attempted. Instead,the adopted approach leaves existingauthorities, mandates, and programs inplace but requires their modulation. Only apeople comfortably sure of its place andits ways would act on the perceivedadvantage of doing less rather than moreto achieve equal or even better net resultwith less potential disruption, delay, andcost.

Other advantages are also peculiar toCambodia, for those who might want totransfer the knowledge and experiencebeing acquired in this instance to anothersetting. Cambodia is a small country,without significant differentiation ofclimate, land forms, culture, or economicprospect, and having few people. Publicadministrative practice there spansrelatively small lateral distances within andbetween line agencies and much businesscan be, and is, resolved face-to-face inmeetings. The chance to work throughcoordinated modulations can be effectivebecause the country’s characteristicsconduce to this.

After discussion of practicable options

and the arguments for and against them,determinations were reached that the mainvehicle for basin-wide management of theTonle Sap should not be a new special-purpose organization. Neither should it bethe assignment of new authority to anexisting institution. Instead it would be acommittee, established through newlegislation requiring that it exercise broadvision and accept formal obligations andmandates.

The Tonle Sap Basin CoordinationCommittee to be set up would havepermanent ex-officio membership compris-ing heads of all existing line agencies ofthe Government touching or likely totouch the basin and the Governors of theprovinces lying entirely or partially withinit.4 Other stakeholders invited as neededto join in discussions would provide adhoc representation for donors, communityleaders, project investors, and othergroups. The committee would thus havethe strong virtues of committees anywherethat are given formal establishment andauthority, as well as the flexibility to adjustmembership and agenda to meet changingneeds.

The intended functions of the TonleSap Basin Coordination Committee, to berecognized in legislation, include• measurement of conditions and needs

in the basin for baseline definition;• assembly and organized consolidation

of data describing the basin for use bythe committee, line agencies, andothers;

• general planning at the regional scale,to encourage protective action anddirected development supporting thebasin by others, and to measure

4 The provinces are Banteay Meanchey, Oddar Meanchey, Siem Reap, Preah Vihear, Kompong Thom,Kompong Chhnang, Pursat, and Battambang.


Tonle Sap BasinManagement Organization

Tonle Sap BasinCoordination Committee

National Line Agencies

Provincial Governors

Others by Nomination

Camb

Deput

Tonle S

Tonle Sap Basin Coordination

Shared Sub-BasinCommittee

Tonle Sap BasinCoordination

Committee Secretariat

Other SharedSub-Basin Committees

Provincial CommitteesProvincial Governors

Provincial Departments

Municipal Entities

District Task ForcesDistrict Executives

District Bureaus

Community Leaders

Tonle Sap Sub-Basin

Water Users Community Leaders Land Ho

StakeholdersAdvisory

Committee

ProvincialCommittee

DistrictTask Forces

ProvincialCommittee

DistrictTask Forces


bodia National Mekong Committee

Secretary General

DeputySecretaryGeneral

Policy andPlanning

Department


ProjectsDevelopmentDepartment


Finance andAdministration

Department

ty Secretary General

Sap Basin Secretariats

n Committee

t

Tonle Sap BiosphereReserve Secretariat

Other ProvincialSub-Basin Committees

Provincial Committees secretariat functions by ProvincialDepartments of Water Resources and Meteorology

District Task Forces secretariat functions by DistrictBureaus of Water Resources and Meteorology

Shared Sub-BasinsStung Mongkol BoreiStung SrengStung ChinitStung Boribo

Provincial Sub-BasinsStung Siem ReapStung ChikrengStung StaungStung SenStung PursatStung DauntriStung Sangker

olders . . . Others . . .

ProvincialSub-Basin Committee

District Task Forces


foreseeable net public benefit fromimprovement in basin managementeffectiveness;

• continuing measurement and transpar-ent public reporting on the progress ofefforts to redress undesirable trendsand bring new basin improvements;

• persuasive defense of and support forbasin-wide management in all decisionsaffecting the basin, at every level,public or private; and

• preservation of effective communica-tions everywhere, to facilitate thefunctions recited here above.In fact, the listed functions do presage

a writ of broad scope for the Tonle SapBasin Coordination Committee, whichwould meet only at intervals and relyinitially on modest staff support. Impor-tantly, however, none of these functionswould have the committee monitoringshort-term uses of the basin’s naturalresources or enforcing protective policy.Neither would the committee take ondevelopment program execution, site oralignment planning, project or systemdesign, construction, operation andmaintenance, or financing of new facilitiesin the basin. These activities would remainwhere they are today, newly subject to thecommittee’s imperatives and cognizance.

To facilitate this, the Tonle Sap BasinCoordination Committee should beproperly placed in relation to otherelements of the Government, especiallythose sharing concern for management ofnatural resources. After deliberation, therecommended placement for the committeeis one beneath and reporting to theCambodia National Mekong Committee, asimilar body created to coordinateCambodia’s contributions and response tomatters arising from the international

collaboration addressing the MekongRiver Basin. With similar outlooks andsizeable overlap of ex-officio composition,the reporting relationship between the twocommittees can be easily managed to goodeffect for both.

The Cambodia National MekongCommittee plays a coordinative role inmany ways similar to what is needed forthe Tonle Sap basin, except that it canhave no unitary scope of authority for thewhole of the Mekong River basin andmust work through international negotia-tion to secure benefit for Cambodia ordefend against actions anywhere thatcould be injurious to Cambodia’s interests.

The Mekong River traverses territorylying well inside Cambodia. It runs forabout 320 km north and 80 km south ofPhnom Penh to borders with the LaoPeople’s Democratic Republic and VietNam. This is a long stretch of the MekongRiver, important for Cambodia and germaneto the concerns of the adjoining countries,but it accounts even so for less than 10%of the Mekong River’s estimated length ofabout 4,200 km. In this internationalsetting, the Cambodia National MekongCommittee is supported by a secretariatconsisting of a Secretary General provid-ing senior direction and three offices ofDeputy Secretary General that are variablyresponsible for policy and planning,project development, and finance andadministration, all in relation to MekongRiver Basin programs.

The Tonle Sap Basin CoordinationCommittee will also need support to helpthe committee discharge its mandate andpreserve continuity between meetings.These requirements differ significantlyfrom the secretariat functions attached tothe Cambodia National Mekong Commit-


tee, and it has not seemed reasonable toburden that committee’s offices at workinglevel with new and different activities tosupport the Tonle Sap. It has also notseemed reasonable at this point, however,to create secretariat activities for the TonleSap Basin Coordination Committee thatwould in part duplicate functions that theCambodia National Mekong Committee’ssecretariat can easily provide.

The compromise is to establish a fourthoffice of Deputy Secretary Generalreporting to the Secretary General. Thisgives surety that the Cambodia NationalMekong Committee will be kept informedof developments in the Tonle Sap Basin, inparallel with the direct reporting linebetween the two committees that wouldkeep the overlapping membershipsinformed too. The Deputy SecretaryGeneral would guide new staff to supportthe Tonle Sap Basin Coordination Commit-tee. The existing Tonle Sap BiosphereReserve’s secretariat would also be placedbeneath the fourth office of DeputySecretary General. To facilitate support forthe Tonle Sap Basin Coordination Commit-tee and flow of information, a line ofexpected frequent communication wouldtie the committee directly to the new officeof Deputy Secretary General responsiblefor the Tonle Sap’s twin secretariats. Thislast line would close a loop of informationlinking the two committees.

Tonle Sap Sub-BasinsFinding the best ways to involve commu-nities in defense of the Tonle Sap Basinand to bridge the vertical distancesupward to the Tonle Sap Basin Coordina-

tion Committee and other branches ofgovernment then became the next focus ofattention. The need for these elements hadbeen cogently drawn in prior investiga-tions. Vertical deployments of line agen-cies presented an established pattern that,however, offered little on its own to fireimagination, energize involvement, or raiseexpectations for sustainable development.The answer was to return to basin-widemanagement principles and the flexibilitiesbuilt in the design of the committee, bothapplied now, however, to the sub-basinsdraining to the Tonle Sap.5

Each tributary to the lake defines a sub-basin presenting its own opportunitiesand constraints. Organizing a committeebacked by legislation at the sub-basinlevel and task forces at the district level,within and for each sub-basin, would allowthe organizational logic for the Tonle SapBasin as a whole to be fitted gracefully toeach watershed. The needs and differ-ences specific to each could be flexiblyaddressed, without loss of generalcoherence.

Once the structure is in place andcharged with activity, however, basin-widemanagement would begin over time toapproximate the sum of deliberations anddecisions relevant at the sub-basin level,and less so ideas or schemes originatedand passed down from above. Moreover,since communities are likely to identifymore positively with local watersheds thanwith administrative boundaries, theenlistment of their knowledge and enthusi-asm to drive sustainable developmentbecomes a more realistic possible resultthan alternative structures can hold out.

To make certain effective performance

5 The sub-basins are Stung Mongkol Borei, Stung Sreng, Stung Siem Reap, Stung Chikreng, Stung Staung,Stung Sen, Stung Chinit, Stung Boribo, Stung Pursat, Stung Dauntri, and Stung Sangker.


Tonle Sap Sub-Basin Profiles

The Tonle Sap electronic atlas is a stand-alone and easy-to-use electronic databank onthe social and physical features of the Tonle Sap basin. The information is compiled asmaps and graphs for such features as administration and population, digital elevation,flood extent and duration, dry season irrigation area, rivers and their hydrology, landuse, roads, and soil classifications. The atlas (available: www.adb.org/projects/tonle_sap/atlas) is part of and informs ADB’s basin-wide approach to reconcilingmultiple demands on the lake’s natural resources, in the context of the Tonle Sap BasinStrategy.

50 0 50 100 150 Kilometers

N

Stung Chinit

Stung BoriboStung Pursat

StungDauntri

StungSangker

Stung MongkolBorei

Stung Sreng

Stung Sen

Stung SiemReap

StungChikreng

StungStaung

Tonle Sap Great Lake


through the transitions that may occurover time, the new legislation wouldprovide for direct reporting lines risingfrom District Task Forces to the relevantProvincial Sub-Basin Committee andfrom each Provincial Sub-Basin Committeeto the Tonle Sap Basin CoordinationCommittee.

Where a sub-basin extends into morethan one province, the structure wouldanticipate committees at provincial level toaddress issues within each, for ratificationor consolidated reconciliation by a sharedsub-basin committee set above them.The composition of the Shared Sub-BasinCommittee would include the Governors ofthe adjoining provinces and designatedheads of provincial departments from each

province. The Shared Sub-Basin Commit-tee would have recourse to appropriate adhoc representations from the adjoiningprovinces to reconcile differences.Options could also be kept open underlegislation for the provinces to simplifythis structure by other forms of agreement,so long as a single Shared Sub-BasinCommittee has balanced, authoritativecomposition and reports to the Tonle SapBasin Coordination Committee.

The composition of the District TaskForces would include the District Execu-tives and the heads of District Bureaustouching or likely to touch the portion ofthe sub-basin lying within the district, plusad hoc participation by leaders and othersdrawn from communities within or near the

Tonle Sap Sub-Basin Profiles

Stung StungMongkol Stung Siem Stung Stung Stung Stung Stung Stung Stung

Borei Sreng Reap Chikreng Staung Sen Chinit Boribo Pursat DauntriArea (sq km) 10,858 9,933 3,619 2,714 4,357 16,344 8,237 7,154 5,965 3,696

Perimeter (km) 596 636 277 335 365 898 606 492 633 323

No. of villages 957 549 449 131 214 487 505 1,149 263 227

Population

1998 830,444 271,213 412,232 83,173 144,652 318,705 466,158 648,831 175,064 204,165

2003 1,037,020 346,836 449,702 92,445 165,851 359,084 502,751 690,516 193,007 216,321

Growth (%) 5.0 5.6 1.8 2.2 2.9 2.5 1.6 1.3 2.1 1.2

Annual rainfall (mm) 1,191 1,260 1,290 1,340 1,461 1,542 1,638 1,286 1,436 1,411

Mean flow (m3/s) 40 39 3 10 29 273 69 13 24 17

Flow distribution (%)

Wet season 88.1 89.1 72.2 81.1 88.2 90.0 85.9 87.5 83.3 77.0

Dry season 11.9 10.2 27.8 18.8 11.8 10.0 14.1 12.6 16.8 23.0

Irrigation area (ha)

Existing dry season 4,738 7,580 9,766 1,145 149 4,193 8,913 10,187 910 1,626

Potential dry season 5,511 12,557 10,686 2,649 3,703 5,810 14,190 10,187 910 1,817

Agricultural land (ha) 417,916 177,423 146,495 43,347 77,528 165,420 183,809 263,571 79,901 131,850

ha = hectares; km = kilometers; m3/s = cubic meters per second; mm = milllimeters; sq km = square kilometers.Source: Asian Development Bank.


district. Secretariat functions for theShared Sub-Basin Committees would beset at provincial level by drawing on staffof the relevant Departments of WaterResources and Meteorology. At thedistrict level, secretariat support for taskforces would be provided by staff drawnfrom the relevant Bureaus of WaterResources and Meteorology.

Community ParticipationThe vertical structure described is focusedon the sub-basins feeding the Tonle Sap.It is flexible at levels closest to the sub-basin populations. Leaders and membersof communities with informed interest insub-basin problems or special knowledgeconcerning them would interact first at thelevel of the District Task Force, but also asrequired at the level of the Sub-BasinCommittee. Where appropriate, suchpersons would take active part in taskforce or committee deliberations as ad hocparticipants for defined purposes andperiods. Through this process, knowledgeand experience would be shared andsubbbasin reporting would be sharpened.

To facilitate these expected gains, thelegislation would provide for a Stakehold-ers Advisory Committee placed at thenational level. It would report to andotherwise inform the Tonle Sap BasinCoordination Committee and preserveopen channels of communication tocommunities in all sub-basins and to theDeputy Secretary General responsible forthe Tonle Sap Basin’s twin secretariats.These links would facilitate the sharing ofattention to selected problems in indi-vidual sub-basins and the informal flow ofinformation to the Tonle Sap BasinCoordination Committee.

Nominations to the StakeholdersAdvisory Committee would be drawn fromany level in the structure, but with specialattention to the knowledge and experienceof local persons familiar with conditions inthe sub-basins. The Stakeholders Advi-sory Committee would be free to organizeits own secretariat, rely on support thatthe Tonle Sap Basin CoordinationCommittee’s secretariat would provide, orboth.

Turning PointLegislation to establish the Tonle SapBasin Coordination Committee is currentlyunder draft for deliberation. When itis finalized, adopted, and publiclyannounced, the Government will havereached a turning point. From a start5 years ago with a felt sense of incompleteresponse to evident threats to the TonleSap, the Government will have moved toprofessional identifications of needs invarious areas, to an elaborated strategy forresponse, to an orderly plan of organiza-tion for addressing problems, and tohaving formal authorization in hand to act.

The steps taken from that point onwardwill no longer be exclusively diagnostic,investigative, or preparatory. Each willdirectly or indirectly close the distance toobjectives associated with managing theTonle Sap, lifting its people to newaspirations and successes, improving itsbasin to strengthen economic foundationsin the country, and sustaining suchdevelopment over time. From the concep-tual arena, attention will have turned topractical realms of policy, program execu-tion, and progress.


Acknowledgments

George R. Beetle, JayDelfin, and Keech Hidalgohelped design thisbrochure.

Pilot TestingThere are 5,200 villages, 490 communes,95 administrative districts, and 8 provincesin the Tonle Sap Basin. The judgmentbehind the organizational design de-scribed here rests in part on these num-bers. The villages and communes are toonumerous for effective formal interface andlack a critical mass of professional supportin most cases. For basin management, thebridging to more formal administrativeapparatus thus becomes as important asthe involvement of communities. But itmust occur close to the ground, which iswhy pilot testing is a desirable andpractical next step.

Pilot testing will try out the organiza-tional design recommended for legislationin a selected provincial setting, bringingthe turn closer to the practical. Under aproposal drawn for approval and imple-mentation, the Cambodia National MekongCommittee will introduce basin-widemanagement principles in Pursat Province.Pilot testing will help disclose howeffectively the proposed design can workin practice, the more quickly to introducethe scheme successfully to other locationswhen the Tonle Sap Basin CoordinationCommittee is established.

Pursat Province has a number ofadvantages as a platform for pilot testing.From the standpoint of measuring adminis-trative practicability under differenthydrological regimes, it presents condi-tions suitable for testing and fitted well tolater replication in the Tonle Sap basin.They include• an entire sub-basin within a single

province, along the Pursat River to itsoutlet at the Tonle Sap;

• an entire sub-basin shared between twoprovinces, in the Dauntri River passingthrough Pursat Province andBattambang Province to its outlet atthe Tonle Sap;

• a well-articulated administrativestructure, with ad-hoc working groupsan accepted practice, performing wellwithin several policy areas;

• good coverage of administrativedistricts, many having active workingrelationships with local communes,often with more than one;

• more than 38 of 49 communes havingwell-developed participatory relation-ships with governmental offices andworking groups;

• population density among the higherranked in Cambodia, explaining thesophistication displayed in the relation-ships described above; and

• development projects of significantscale pending, presenting need foreffective planning to counter potentialimpact on natural resources importantto Pursat Province and the Tonle Sap.


May 2006

© 2006 Asian Development Bank

This publication was prepared by staff and consultants of the Asian Development Bank. The analysesand assessments contained herein do not necessarily reflect the views of the Asian Development Bank,or its Board of Directors, or the governments its members represent. The Asian Development Bankdoes not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this publication and accepts no responsibilityfor any consequences of their use.

For more information on the Tonle Sap Initiative, contact

Urooj Malik, DirectorOlivier Serrat, Senior Project Economist

Agriculture, Environment, and Natural Resources DivisionSoutheast Asia DepartmentAsian Development Bank6 ADB Avenue, Mandaluyong City1550 Metro Manila, PhilippinesTel +63 2 632 6175Fax +63 2 636 [email protected]/projects/tonle_sap/

Shyam Bajpai, Country DirectorPaulin Van Im, Senior Project Implementation/Programs Officer

Cambodia Resident Mission93/95 Norodom Boulevard, Sangkat Boeung RaingKhan Daun Penh, Phnom Penh, CambodiaP.O. Box 2436Tel +855 23 215805, 215806, 216417Fax +855 23 [email protected]/carm

Future Solutions Now - The Tonle Sap Initiative May 2006

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