The Tonle Sap is a natural phenomenon. In the rainy season, the level of water in the Mekong River exceeds the elevation of the largest freshwater lake in Southeast Asia and forces the Tonle Sap River to flow upstream. The lake swells five-fold in response and fish, reptiles, birds, mammals, and plants thrive on this reverse hydrology. However, population and development pressures are taking their toll and consumptive use of natural capital is intense. The Tonle Sap Basin Strategy promotes an approach that conserves nature and offers the promise of sustainable development. Informed by principles that fix attention to sustainable livelihoods, social justice, and a basin-wide approach, the development objectives are to foster, promote, and facilitate pro-poor, sustainable economic growth; access to assets; and management of natural resources and the environment.
