Comparative assessment of options for the management of municipal solid waste - Essay Example

The imperative problem in these countries is lack of resources. This problem produces several others problems which directly or indirectly effect environment of these countries. In addition to this Cambodia has to face natural calamities like flood, drought etc each year. These again contribute in enhancing environmental problems in this country. (Dos, 2005) Cambodia is a small country with many rivers. Major rivers of Cambodia either drain into Tonle Sap or into the Mekong River. The Cardamom Mountains & the Elephant range divide the region into three zones.

In the eastern zone rivers flow into Tonle Sap. In the western zone rivers pour into Gulf of Thailand. While the rivers of southern zone flow towards south on the eastern side of the divide. Tonle Sap gets seasonal flow of water. In months of September & October due to monsoon rains ,the flow in Mekong river increases enormously .Thus water overflows and inundates the delta. Flowing north ward this water empties into Tonle Sap. As a result the lake overflows, there by increasing its size from about 2,590 sq km to about 24,605 sq km.

These recurring floods are not only big blows to the economy of the Cambodia but also cause devastating effects on the environment of the effected places. After flood decaying plants and animal bodies carried with flood water are remains scattered throughout the places. Due to which the atmosphere of those places get polluted. Decaying substances get dissolved in ground water as well as in fresh water of water bodies. This cause post flood famines in this country. After flood when the water level of Tonle Sap retreats a new layer of sediment gets deposited.

Due to annual flooding and poor drainage the surrounding area of the lake gets transformed into marsh lands. During dry seasons these marsh lands are unusable for agriculture .Comparatively lesser amount of silt is carried away from the lake by Tonle Sap River than deposited by Mekong River. Thus gradually silting the lake and decreasing its water level and causing scarcity of water in dry seasons.Cambodia suffers from occasional droughts. These droughts cause soil erosion and reduce soil fertility, which declines agricultural yield in favorable season.

Cambodia being an agricultural country, to cope up with this problem increasing yield substantially was necessary. To fulfill this purpose use of fertilizers and pesticides are increasing day by day. Pesticides can be divided into three subgroups namely Insecticides, Fungicides & Herbicides. Insecticides comprise of Chlorine, Phosphorous, Carbonate chemicals such as DDT, Aldrin etc. Herbicides are generally used for controlling growth of weeds. These cause less harm to the environment than insecticides.

Example of Herbicides are Atrazine , Propachlor etc. Herbicides do not leave long term effect on soil. Fungicides are mostly used in vegetable farms and orchards. The factors such as soil type , depth of water table , rain fall infiltration and persistence