Chinese Company To Mine in Wildlife Sanctuary
By Douglas Gillison and Thet Sambath
THE CAMBODIA DAILY
A Chinese mining firm has been granted a 10,000-hectare concession to explore for minerals inside the Phnom Samkos Wildlife Sanctuary in Pursat province, according to officials and information obtained Thursday.
The protected wildlife sanctuary where Southern Mining Co Ltd has obtained the concession covers more than 330,000 hectares spanning Pursat, Koh Kong and Battambang provinces.
Government officials said the minerals in the ground beneath the sanctuary may be of greater value than the plants and wildlife living in it and that the concession was legal. But outspoken forestry watchdog Global Witness claimed the concession could violate Cambodian law.
Suy Sem, Minister of Industry, Mines and Energy, confirmed the concession's existence but would not say whether it is located within the sanctuary.
"What we are doing is legal," he said, adding that actual mining in the concession may still be years away.
"We've just allowed them to study first, not yet to extract minerals. And if they find there are minerals, they will apply to us again and there will still be many stages of application...before the mining begins."
"Up to now, we don't know what kind of minerals there are because they are still studying," he added.
According to documents obtained Thursday, Environment Minister Mok Mareth in July issued a permit to Southern Mining to explore for chromium, a valuable mineral used in strengthening metals, and antimony, a substance used to make batteries.
The area for exploration is in Veal Veng district's Pramaoy commune in Pursat, according to the document, signed by Mok Mareth.
Contact information for Southern Mining was unavailable Thursday and Mok Mareth could not be contacted.
Chay Samith, director of the Environment Ministry's nature conservation and protection department, said that he was too busy to speak to a reporter.
However, provincial officials and officials at the Ministry of Industry said the concession is located within the sanctuary.
Pursat provincial Governor Chhay Sareth said the minerals were located in a part of the sanctuary that is far from valued plants and animals.
"When there are minerals in the wildlife sanctuary, the government tries to decide which one has the most benefit for the Cambodian people," he said. "The wildlife is deep within the forest while the mining place is along the road."
"We have no wildlife at this place, and we have many big forests for wildlife so don't worry about this because the government knows how to solve this problem," he added.
Chea Seng Hong, secretary of state at the Ministry of Industry, agreed.
"According to Prime Minister Hun Sen's remarks, we must weigh whether underground there is more benefit than above," he said.
But one environmental official said on condition of anonymity that work had already begun under armed guard at Steung Thmei village within the sanctuary.
A 1994 prakas on protected areas prohibits the exploitation of minerals in protected areas, Eleanor Nichol, a campaigner with Global Witness, wrote in an e-mail.
Nichol added that the concession "would fit with an overall trend of giving out legally dubious mineral concessions in protected areas, which has been increasingly apparent in recent years."
The protected wildlife sanctuary where Southern Mining Co Ltd has obtained the concession covers more than 330,000 hectares spanning Pursat, Koh Kong and Battambang provinces.
Government officials said the minerals in the ground beneath the sanctuary may be of greater value than the plants and wildlife living in it and that the concession was legal. But outspoken forestry watchdog Global Witness claimed the concession could violate Cambodian law.
Suy Sem, Minister of Industry, Mines and Energy, confirmed the concession's existence but would not say whether it is located within the sanctuary.
"What we are doing is legal," he said, adding that actual mining in the concession may still be years away.
"We've just allowed them to study first, not yet to extract minerals. And if they find there are minerals, they will apply to us again and there will still be many stages of application...before the mining begins."
"Up to now, we don't know what kind of minerals there are because they are still studying," he added.
According to documents obtained Thursday, Environment Minister Mok Mareth in July issued a permit to Southern Mining to explore for chromium, a valuable mineral used in strengthening metals, and antimony, a substance used to make batteries.
The area for exploration is in Veal Veng district's Pramaoy commune in Pursat, according to the document, signed by Mok Mareth.
Contact information for Southern Mining was unavailable Thursday and Mok Mareth could not be contacted.
Chay Samith, director of the Environment Ministry's nature conservation and protection department, said that he was too busy to speak to a reporter.
However, provincial officials and officials at the Ministry of Industry said the concession is located within the sanctuary.
Pursat provincial Governor Chhay Sareth said the minerals were located in a part of the sanctuary that is far from valued plants and animals.
"When there are minerals in the wildlife sanctuary, the government tries to decide which one has the most benefit for the Cambodian people," he said. "The wildlife is deep within the forest while the mining place is along the road."
"We have no wildlife at this place, and we have many big forests for wildlife so don't worry about this because the government knows how to solve this problem," he added.
Chea Seng Hong, secretary of state at the Ministry of Industry, agreed.
"According to Prime Minister Hun Sen's remarks, we must weigh whether underground there is more benefit than above," he said.
But one environmental official said on condition of anonymity that work had already begun under armed guard at Steung Thmei village within the sanctuary.
A 1994 prakas on protected areas prohibits the exploitation of minerals in protected areas, Eleanor Nichol, a campaigner with Global Witness, wrote in an e-mail.
Nichol added that the concession "would fit with an overall trend of giving out legally dubious mineral concessions in protected areas, which has been increasingly apparent in recent years."
4 comments:
They always do that, but does anyone really care? Especially the handouts or the one that control foreign donation to Camdodia's fake government.
IT OUR HUN SEN'S LAW HERE!
WHAT DO YOU WANT, WHAT CAN YOU DO!
WE WILL KICK HUMANRIGHT OUT BY 2008, WE NEED NO MANEY FROM THE WEST! UNDERSTAND!!!!!!!!!!!
ANY BODY DO NOT LIKE HUN SEN CAN GO WITH THE UN TO LIVE IN THE CAMPS!
"The minerals unders ground is greater value than the wildlife and plants".
Thank you for educating us. Rocks are more important than life.. When you're on your death bed, we'll throw rocks at you so we can save your life..and we'll do the same to Hun Sen to save his life too.
Didn't I say...just shut-up.. You (CPP) are making yourself look stupid(er) everytime you open your mouth.
You know I am trying to refain from swearing but these mother fucker dumb leaders are so dumb will destroy Cambodia in their generation before they die. They are raging people for revolution.
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