Ayshathun Munavvara (National Institute of Education (Singapore))

Keywords
Geography
Junior College
Secondary School

A close examination of Tonlé Sap Lake reveals a paradox — its flood extent has increased despite a reduction in water volume. Agricultural intensification in Cambodia has led to unsustainable rates of groundwater use for irrigation. This paper postulates that land subsidence due to an over extraction of groundwater is the main reason for the lake’s paradoxical hydrology. Land subsidence has altered Tonlé Sap’s morphology (i.e. the lake has become shallower), thereby leading to an expansion in its areal extent. The hydrological complexities of the Tonlé Sap gesture towards the tension between the country’s need for economic sustainability (from cultivating rice) and that of environmental sustainability (sustainable use of groundwater resources).

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