Future Solutions Now - The Tonle Sap Initiative November 2004

Abstract

Despite the inherent richness of the Tonle Sap, most indicators of poverty in the provinces that adjoin it are worse than those of the national population The indicators of poverty there are more negative than those for the population as a whole or, indeed, other rural areas, and the needs of the poor are acute. The basin is of unique importance to Cambodia as a source of primary food production, timber, and firewood; as a potential source of water and hydropower; and as a reservoir of biodiversity.