@inproceedings{fdi:010095100,
  title = {{I}rrigation canal systems of the {C}ambodian {M}ekong delta : assessing changes in ecosystem services for rural communities after wide-ranging rehabilitation plans [r{\'e}sum{\'e}]},
  author = {{O}rieschnig, {C}hristina and {B}elaud, {G}. and {M}assuel, {S}ylvain and {V}enot, {J}ean-{P}hilippe},
  editor = {},
  language = {{ENG}},
  abstract = {{A}nthropogenically modified hydrological processes shape the {P}rek agroecosystem in the {C}ambodian part of the {M}ekong delta. {P}reks are trapezoidal channels that were initially constructed during the {F}rench protectorate for land raising purposes and extending agriculture in the low-lying {C}ambodian floodplain, which they connect to the river courses. {T}hese channels have become an integral part of the landscape. {T}hey are an essential vector for both flooding and drainage, and local communities are deeply organized in relation to these structures. {H}owever, with the lack of wide-ranging maintenance work, sedimentation and erosion have modified the functionalities of many of these {P}reks, a priori reducing the environmental amenities provided to the rural communities. {I}n response to this, various development agencies have sought to rehabilitate several of these {P}reks in recent years, mostly with the objective to further intensify an already intensive agroecosystem.

{T}he purpose of the present study is thus to assess the actual effects of these rehabilitations on ecohydrological services. {T}o this end, a comparison has been carried out of inundation and vegetation patterns, as well as ecosystem services, between areas where {P}reks have been the subject of rehabilitation projects and areas where they have not. {F}or this purpose, remote sensing analyses, hydrological modelling and sociological methods have been employed. {T}o begin with, an analysis of flood dynamics and vegetation structures in the study area has been carried out in the cloud computing platform {G}oogle {E}arth {E}ngine using {S}entinel-1 and 2 data. {F}urthermore, semi-structured interviews with stakeholders (farmers, village chiefs, staff from sectoral ministries) were conducted in the field to scope ecosystem services and find indicators to integrate these services into a numerical model.  

{T}he analysis describes hydrological, ecological and agricultural dynamics that are currently at play in the area, and will further study how {P}reks rehabilitation could influence these dynamics by comparing areas with and without rehabilitation. {A}mong the processes considered are shifting water availability for irrigation, agricultural intensification, modifications in small-scale habitats, changes in the use of pesticides and herbicides with resulting impacts on soil structure, and alterations in vegetation patterns. {F}urthermore, several aspects that have caused problems in the rehabilitation process will be considered - such as operational difficulties of sluice gates, bank collapses blocking the water flow in channels, an underestimation of multiple uses of water and a lack of understanding of the complex river flows in the area. {T}he analysis leads to identifying the eco-hydrological processes and indicators to implement in a process-based hydrological model aiming at exploring alternative scenarios of rehabilitation.},
  keywords = {{CAMBODGE} ; {MEKONG} {DELTA}},
  numero = {},
  pages = {{EGU}2020--2732 [1 ]},
  booktitle = {},
  year = {2020},
  DOI = {10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-2732},
  URL = {https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010095100},
}