per capita: 290 cu m/yr (2000)
Natural hazards:
monsoonal rains (June to November); flooding; occasional droughts
Environment - current issues:
illegal logging activities throughout the country and strip mining for gems in the western region along the border with Thailand have resulted in habitat loss and declining biodiversity (in particular, destruction of mangrove swamps threatens natural fisheries); soil erosion; in rural areas, most of the population does not have access to potable water; declining fish stocks because of illegal fishing and overfishing
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto
Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes,
Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution,
Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea
Geography - note:
a land of paddies and forests dominated by the Mekong River and Tonle Sap