Southeast Asia’s biggest lake is in serious trouble. Drought, dam building and overfishing have brought the Tonle Sap to a tipping point. And as the lake goes, so goes the greater Mekong ecosystem.
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Southeast Asia’s largest lake is under threat, and with it, an entire ecosystem. Dams, overfishing and this year, drought, have brought the Cambodian lake to what may be a breaking point. Michael Sullivan reports.
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MICHAEL SULLIVAN, BYLINE: They partied at Cambodia’s annual water festival in Phnom Penh this week. Next year’s celebration may be more subdued. A devastating drought this year left the Mekong River at its lowest level in recorded history. And as the Mekong goes, so goes the Tonle Sap. And the fishermen there are already feeling it.
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SULLIVAN: It’s just after daybreak in the village of Chhnok Tru at the bottom of the Tonle Sap Lake, where fishermen bring their catch to brokers waiting at the water’s edge.
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