Panel Speaks on Human-Induced Changes on Ecosystems in Cambodia
The Frederick S. Pardee Center for the Study of the Longer-Range Future at Boston University held the Pardee House Seminar, “Freshwater, Floods, Fish, and the Future of a Nation,” on October 22 with approximately 35 BU students, faculty, and other guests in attendance.
Panelists included Irit Altman (Biology, Boston University), Suchi Gopal (Earth & Environment, Boston University), Mauricio Arias (Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University), and Pardee Faculty Fellow Les Kaufman (Biology, BU), who served as moderator. The panelists work together on an interdisciplinary study co-led by Boston University and Conservation International. Their research examines the impacts of human-induced changes to freshwater ecosystems that provide food and livelihoods for a large number of people in the Mekong Delta region of Cambodia.
Prof. Kaufman introduced the study, which works to understand the impact the construction of 78 dams (for hydropower development) will have on the Mekong River and its tributaries. The Mekong is the largest transnational river in Southeast Asia. The Tonle Sap, part of the Mekong River delta in Cambodia, provides fish for millions (accounting for nearly 75 percent of the animal protein eaten by Cambodians), sustains the livelihoods of nearly two million people, and accounts for nearly 60 percent of fisheries in Cambodia. Understanding the downstream impacts of in these dams is important in projecting what the future will be like for people in this region of Cambodia and how they can adapt, he said.
Arias research focuses on understanding the long-term hydrological alterations to the Tonle Sap driven by hydropower and climate change, and how it will affect the Tonle Sap ecosystem. In his presentation, Arias noted that hydropower and climate change will significantly alter the flooding cycles of the lake during wet and dry months. Livelihoods based on fishing and rice farming have developed according to how the local ecosystem functions in the unregulated hydrological cycle, and upstream dams will impact those natural cycles. His research aims to model what the impacts will have on productivity drivers such as water levels, habitats, etc. in order to promote sustainable management of water resources.
Altman’s work focuses on projecting how the ecosystem functions in the Tonle Sap area will change as a result of changes to the landscape. Hydrological impacts, environmental impacts, and migration patterns affect natural fish production, which will in turn have an effect on Cambodians who rely on the Tonle Sap for food as well as jobs. Altman’s work includes modeling approaches to explore questions of long-term sustainability. The collaborative research team has developed a dynamic modeling approach to integrate different types of knowledge on natural and human system features, and to play out scenarios that explore how ecosystems service production and human well-being are effected over time across a specified region.
Gopal and her students who are involved in the study are working on the creation of a computer-based decision tool that will help people to understand what the researchers have learned about the different futures that are possible given the impacts of climate change and hydropower development. Her research also incorporates the use of the Coupled Human and Natural Systems (CHANS) framework, which enables the group to understand the system and analyze and provide potential solutions to problems. Her team is using the CHANS framework to analyze the impacts of the dams, looking at questions such as: Who is at risk? How does the energy production (hydrology) impact livelihoods? How can this impact and other drivers threaten food security and health/nutrition of people living in the region?
The event was streamed live online. A video of the event is available in the multimedia section of our website.