Testing wells in Kean Svay.
Ikonos data results..
Kit approach water sampling.
Students measuring turbidity.
2004 workshop participants.
Water testing equipment.
Funding for this project was provided by the Research
Foundation of SUNY and we thank T. Turkle for his support.
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Background:
Cambodia is amongst the poorest countries in the world, ranking 130 of 175
countries in the 2002 Human Development Index, as reported by the United
Nations. According to the US Department of State, GDP per capita in
2002 was $275. Life expectancy for men is around 54 and for women is
59, which reflects various factors, including high infant mortality rate and
low living standards. It is estimated that 74% of all deaths in
Cambodia come from waterborne diseases, a situation that could be improved
through better sanitary conditions and education.
Cambodia also faces challenges related to
population demographics (43% of the population is aged 15 or less) and the
decimation of the skilled/educated sector of society during the Khmer Rouge
period of 1975-79. Estimates of the genocide vary, but Kiernan (1995,
The Pol Pot Regime) suggested about 1.67 million people, or 21% of
the population perished during this period. Despite the recent
history, many reports have guarded optimism regarding the socio-economic
improvements for the country. It has been our observation that Cambodia is
at a pivotal point in its history. There appears to be a genuine
interest on the part of the government and institutions of higher learning
to improve education standards and delivery as means to socio-economic
improvement. It is against this background that our training program
was delivered.
The Training Workshop:
The training workshop was held
between July 5th and 9th of 2004 and was hosted by Resource Development
International in the district of Kean Svay, approximately 15 kilometers
southeast of Phnom Penh. A total of 12 people from the Ministry
of Rural Development, Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Industry, Mines,
and Energy, Department of Environmental Science and Geography, Royal
University of Phnom Penh and UNICEF participated in the training. The
first part of the workshop consisted of training in water quality, sampling
and analysis. Samples ultimately were collected at selected sites on
the Tonle Sap, the Mekong, and Bassac rivers near Phnom Penh. Sample
analysis was done using a kit approach developed under Buffalo State's
Aquanauts Program. Kit parameters included dissolved oxygen, BOD,
e. coli, nutrients, pH hardness, temperature and total solids. Theses
parameters were used to calculate a water quality index (WQI) that
classifies the state of the water on a scale from 0 to 100. Our group
has successfully used the WQI as an outreach tool in western New York and
workshop participants believe it may be a useful approach in Cambodia.
A spreadsheet program developed by our
group facilitated the WQI calculation. Higher tech water quality
monitoring was demonstrated using Hydrolab Datasonde 4a's to perform both
water column profiling and continuous data logging (every 15 minutes) at
fixed sites. Hydro lab parameters include dissolved oxygen, pH,
temperature, conductivity, and turbidity.
The second part of the workshop consisted
of basic training in the application of ArcView 3.2a. Training topics
included a review of the Graphic User Interface, creation of a spatial
database, querying a spatial database, spatial selection and spatial join,
buffering and map overlay operations and construction of thematic maps.
Various digital data were used to
illustrate the principals of ArcView application, including infrastructure
layers, from the U.S. city and ecological date from Yellowstone National
Park. While these database applications prompted lively composures
between the U.S. and Cambodian situations, the most effective applications
were associated with the use of Ikonos satellite images of the Phnom Penh
area. Participants were taught how to conduct on screen digitizing of
streets building footprints and draining ditches. In addition, to tie
in the water quality training, participants were taught the fundamentals of
GPS and the coordinates of the sample sites were recorded in the field.
The water quality data were then linked to he Ikonos images to produce
thematic maps. Well data (approximately 400 points) reflecting arsenic
levels were also mapped thematically using the IKONOS images as a base.
Conclusion:
Each participant completed an evaluation form at the end of the workshop.
Response was overwhelmingly positive and there was a clear indication that
the participants wanted to lean more about how to start a GIS project from
scratch, more on database development, and more on water quality analysis,
including wastewater and ground water assessment.
Other suggestions for future workshops
included environmental management issues and law and the need to hold
workshops in other provinces. Most participants would like a longer
workshop and we take this as an opportunity for capacity building and
sustainable transfer of knowledge.
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| Arsenic testing results map.. |
On site education during the workshop. |
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