Troubled Waters: The Challenges Facing Cambodia’s Tonle Sap Lake

Past Events

Abstract

Join NIAS, New York Southeast Asia Network, the Center for Khmer Studies, and the Weatherhead East Asian Institute for a talk with Abby Seiff and her new book Troubling the Water: A Dying Lake and a Vanishing World in Cambodia.

The abundance of Cambodia’s Tonle Sap Lake helped grow the country for millennia and gave rise to the Kingdom of Angkor. Fed by the rich, mud-colored waters of the powerful Mekong River, the lake owes its vast bounty to an ecological miracle that has captivated poets, artisans, and explorers throughout history. But today, the lake is dying. Hydropower dams hold back billions of gallons of water and disrupt critical fish migration paths. On the lake, illegal fishing abetted by corruption is now unstoppable. A fast-changing climate, meanwhile, has seen a string of devastating droughts.

In conversation with NYSEAN Program Coordinator Sreyneath Poole, they will explore how the rapid destruction of Cambodia’s largest lake is upending the lives of millions who depend on the lake for their survival.

Speaker

Abby Seiff is a journalist and editor who was based in Southeast Asia for nearly a decade, writing for publications like Time, Al Jazeera, Mekong Review, and Pacific Standard, among others. Her reporting has garnered several awards as well as fellowships from Yaddo and the Logan Nonfiction Program. She is currently studying for an MFA at Brooklyn College.

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