I'm excited to see that our article in the journal Water titled "Rapidly Accelerating Deforestation in Cambodia’s Mekong River Basin: A Comparative Analysis of Spatial Patterns and Drivers" is getting some press. It was recently featured in the National Geographic article by Stefan Lovgren "Cambodia’s biggest lake is running dry, taking forests and fish with it". In fact, the main figures are derived from our data! Deforestation in Cambodia is among the very highest in the world, and our results show that the rate of deforestation is rapidly accelerating. This is especially concerning given the large number of species that are right on the brink of extinction already. It is likely that without more intervention that many endangered species in Cambodia will go extinct. Stefan's article does a wonderful job of highlighting the role of flooded forest around the Tonle Sap, southeast Asia's largest inland lake, and the fact that it is rapidly being lost due to forest clearing increased wildfire. My hope is that Stefan's article will help wake people to the severity of the situation and help them realize what could be lost if we fail to take conservation action.
The Wonders of the Mekong is a multidisciplinary collaborative project funded by USAID since 2016. Based in Cambodia, the project aims to maintain the ecological, cultural, and economic integrity of the vital Mekong river system through interdisciplinary research, capacity building, and education and outreach. More about the project can be found on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/MekongWonders/), Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/mekongwonders/) and YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/mekongwonders).
