Encounters

Encounters

A couple of years ago a friend of mine worked with fishing communities on Tonle Sap Lake in Cambodia. She took us to visit their floating homes, and we toured by canoe to view the lake and its denizens. We left not only with a better understanding of how these fishing communities lived, but also having encountered an abundance of pelicans, storks and other waterbirds.

This image is titled "Encounters" and combines photography and watercolour to capture an interaction between human and avian. Is this a threatening encounter, or are they seeking each other out for secret communication? Only those involved may know the answer.

These photos show something of the daily lies of the fishing communities on Tonle Sap Lake. The bottom image was used in a United Nations report on the global status of biodiversity. Not surprisingly, the report concluded that biodiversity worldwide continues to decline. These communities, however, are still able to fish sustainable, and are now augmenting their livelihoods through small-scale tourism.