Tonle Sap Lake, Southeast Asia’s largest freshwater body, is crucial to Cambodia’s cultural identity and economy. It supports around 5 million people through fishing, farming, and other livelihoods. However, the lake faces significant challenges from upstream development, deforestation, climate change, and unsustainable resource use, impacting its water quality, fish habitats, and overall ecosystem.
In February 2025, Australian Water Partnership (AWP) partners ICEM (International Centre for Environmental Management) arrived in Phnom Penh to begin work on a water security diagnostic assessment of Cambodia’s Tonle Sap Lake. As part of Cambodia’s broader goals to strengthen the resilient management of national water resources, a pilot is being undertaken to trial approaches that could be adopted nationally.
The AWP team, supported by Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and working in collaboration with the World Bank, will conduct a multi-disciplinary evaluation of the Tonle Sap Basin, taking into account changes in livelihoods, hydrology, fisheries and other factors which influence the future of this unique ecosystem, the largest freshwater body in Southeast Asia.
The AWP – World Bank team will produce a Tonle Sap Water Security Diagnostic Report which will provide the foundation for the Tonle Sap Authority’s plans to develop a long-term strategy for the sustainable and inclusive development, preservation, and conservation of this important fresh-water basin.
An official launch of the project is planned for mid-March in Siem Reap.
Featured image: Scenery in Prek Toal on the Tonle Sap Lake, Cambodia. Photo by Eric Baran / WorldFish