Friday, July 1, 2011

Cambodia urged to stop sand dredging operations

July 1, 2011
ABC Radio Australia

Conservation groups and eco-tourism operators in Cambodia’s Koh Kong province are urging the government to stop sand dredging operations they say are decimating fish stocks and destroying businesses.

They are working together to oppose the dredging on the Tatai river which is being carried out by ruling party Senator and business tycoon Ly Yong Phat.

Presenter: Clara Tran
Speaker: Janet Newman, Rainbow Lodge; Leslie Perlman, program manager, Wildlife Alliance; Mao Hak, director of rivers at Ministry of Water Resources Cambodia

Click here to listen to the audio program (Windows Media)

TRAN: Englishwoman Janet Newman has been running her eco-tourism resort, the Rainbow Lodge, on the Tatai river for the past three and a half years.

One morning in May, she awoke to find the beauty and tranquility of her home shattered by an influx of sand dredging barges.

NEWMAN: It was just chaos. they worked all night. We were not able to sleep. In the morning even more boats turned up and it was literally like a traffic jam on the river.

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