In Coastal Cambodia, Saltwater Intrusion Already Killing Rice Crops; Some Farmers Selling Land
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While saltwater intrusion can be caused by a number of factors — from deforestation to river dredging — rising sea levels, caused by climate change, are a major contributor. Sea level rise is caused primarily by two factors related to global warming, according to NASA: the addition of water from melting ice sheets and glaciers and the expansion of seawater as it warms.
In Cambodia, the sea level could increase by more than half a meter by 2090 under the worst climate scenarios, which would inundate some 25,000 hectares; significantly increase vulnerability to storms; and negatively affect coastal tourism, according to a government report published in 2013.
In Kampot province, 40-year-old farmer Deu Bern said salt water destroyed half a hectare of her paddy last year. “Now people here have stopped growing rice. There is only me doing it,” said the mother of two teenage daughters. “Some have sold their land already.” Hang Sophea, a 38-year-old farmer in Koh Kong province, believes more could be done to address the saltwater intrusion. She notes that dikes in the area are small and often broken. “I don’t know whom I should ask to help. But I want authorities to fix the dikes and build them higher,” she said.
The provincial agriculture department referred questions about the dikes to the provincial water resources department, which did not respond to questions from VOA Khmer.
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https://www.voanews.com/a/in-coastal-cambodia-climate-change-kills-rice-crops-with-salt-water-/6297948.html