reptile populations including formerly Siamese Crocodiles, now hunted close to extinction, and probably the
world’s largest harvest of freshwater snakes. The inundation area around the permanent lake is highly modifi ed,
with areas having been cleared for farming and settlements, and many semi-natural areas altered by burning,
fi rewood and timber harvesting. Nevertheless some 200
species of higher plants have already been recorded.
Threats to the lake include pressure through growth of
the local population dependant on the lake for subsistence and livelihoods, overharvesting of fi sh and other
aquatic species and potential changes in the hydrology of
the River due to the construction and operation of dams
which could reduce the amplitude of the lake fl ood cycle.
However concerns that the lake is rapidly fi lling with
sediment are unfounded