(Phnom Penh): When people think about fish, they usually think about rivers, lakes, and the sea.

Few realize that the future of fish often begins with a tree.

The connection may not seem obvious, but it is one of nature’s most remarkable relationships. Healthy forests create healthy waters, and healthy waters sustain healthy fish populations.

This is one of the important messages behind the Green Sprout Exhibition, which will be held from 10 to 13 July at the Ministry of Environment.

The exhibition is about much more than giving away free tree saplings.

It is about protecting the natural systems that provide food, livelihoods, and prosperity for generations to come.

Every tree planted in a watershed helps protect rivers and streams. Tree roots stabilize riverbanks, reducing soil erosion during heavy rains.

Their leaves slow rainfall, allowing water to soak gradually into the ground instead of washing fertile soil into rivers.

As a result, rivers remain cleaner.

Cleaner rivers create healthier habitats for fish.

When forests are lost, rainwater carries large amounts of soil into streams and lakes.

The muddy water reduces sunlight, smothers fish spawning grounds, and damages the aquatic plants and insects that many fish depend upon for survival.

Healthy forests also help regulate water flow throughout the year. During the rainy season, they reduce flooding.

During the dry season, they release stored groundwater slowly into rivers and streams, helping maintain water levels even when rainfall decreases. Stable water conditions allow fish to reproduce, feed, and grow more successfully.

The connection extends all the way to the sea.

Rivers eventually carry their water into Cambodia’s coastal ecosystems. Healthy upstream forests help ensure cleaner water reaches mangrove forests, seagrass beds, and coastal waters where many fish, crabs, and shrimp begin their lives.

Mangrove trees themselves are among the world’s most important nurseries for marine life. Their intricate roots shelter young fish from predators, provide abundant food, and create safe places where countless aquatic species can grow before moving into rivers and the sea.

When we plant and protect trees, we are also protecting the future of Cambodia’s fisheries.

This matters because fish are more than wildlife.

They are an essential source of nutrition for millions of Cambodian families.

They support the livelihoods of fishing communities.

They contribute to rural economies.

They are part of our culture and our national identity.

The Ministry of Environment has prepared five million tree saplings for free distribution this year because every tree planted strengthens the natural systems upon which our country depends.

A tree planted today may one day protect a stream. That stream may support a fish population. That fish population may feed a family.

Nature works through connections.

The Green Sprout Exhibition reminds us that conservation is not about protecting one species or one forest alone. It is about protecting the relationships that keep our environment healthy.

Every tree protects the soil.

Healthy soil protects the rivers.

Healthy rivers protect the fish.

Healthy fish support healthy people.

Healthy people build a healthy nation.

From 10 to 13 July, we warmly invite every Cambodian to visit the Green Sprout Exhibition at the Ministry of Environment.

Take home a free tree sapling.

Plant it.

Care for it.

Allow it to grow.

One day, its roots may help protect the river that feeds a village.

Its shade may cool a stream where fish reproduce.

Its leaves may nourish the soil that sustains an entire ecosystem.

When you plant a tree, you are not only growing a forest.

You are protecting Cambodia’s rivers.

You are safeguarding the future of our fisheries.

You are supporting the livelihoods of fishing communities.

And you are helping ensure that future generations will continue to enjoy healthy rivers, abundant fish, and a nation where nature and people thrive together.

For the future of Cambodia’s fish does not begin in the water alone.

It begins with a tree.
=FRESH NEWS