Ecosystem services and rice cropping system around Tonle Sap Lake, Cambodia

This paper aims to analyze the ecosystem services and dis-services that the Cambodian population get from the ecosystem formed by the Tonle Sap Lake and its large flood plain. This lake is characterized by a phenomenon of ebb and flow of the Mekong River according to the rainy season. Its size varies from one to five, and it is the place where rice is cultivated. Rice is the main agricultural activity of the country and the main food of its population. The study of this agro-ecosystem, carried out through surveys in six rice-growing villages, shows a complexity in the understanding of these ecosystem services. Some are positive, others are negative. Some are positive up to a certain level but become negative afterwards. Some are co-produced by rice cultivation, which over time has shaped the ecosystem. We also show, from an analysis of agrarian systems, that production systems are more or less compatible with maintaining these services.