Cambodia Environmental Problems

3 Pages 665 Words

Not unlike the rest of the world Cambodia faces serious environmental problems. Their main problems include such things as population growth, air pollution, water pollution, solid waste disposal and loss of ecosystem, through urbanization and deforestation. Cambodia being a country with very little wealth has had quite a hard time dealing with these issues.
First off let us look at their population growth, which is one of the more primary reasons for most of their ecological problems. The population is Cambodia is estimated to be 11.2 million with an average growth rate of 2.8 percent. It is predicted to reach 22.8 million by 2025. From our previous studies we know that population growth is one of the primary contributor to air pollution and deforestation. Cambodia’s major natural resources include fish, meat, grains and vegetables. With the overcrowding of the country it has become increasingly more difficult to obtain healthy fertile farmlands, which in turn puts a strain on the already unstable economy.
Because of the overcrowding in Asia we have seen a dramatic increase of acid rain, considered to be a “newer” problem for that region. The acid rain not only hurts their crops but also contaminates their water supplies. Along with acid rain we must look at the global warming issue. Due to a major drought over the last years the crops have been anything but plentiful. Many attribute these problems to the population boom.
The droughts from pervious years have brought with them record low water levels and dried out one lake and one river. Not only causing massive reductions in the fish market but also making drinking water less and less abundant.
Most of the deforestation that has been taking place within the region has been done so illegally. The laws protecting these lands have yet to be enforced. There are two main reasons for the deforestation they include, increased internal demand, more houses being built to replaces t...