Destruction of Prey Lang (Photo: Uon Chhin, RFA) |
Floodings are no longer the predominant preserve of those living in the rural regions. Many homes in the capital Phnom Penh like this one is inundated with rising, highly toxic water surge, bringing with it water borne diseases that put already vulnerable human lives at a higher state of sanitation risk - School of Vice
Thursday, June 02, 2011
Op-Ed by MP
The fate of Prey Lang, perhaps, like much else in this
tragic land that stands pure, born free out of nature’s maternal womb, attains
to a stage of recognisable, innocent beauty and form only to be snatched away
to be robbed and raped off life and substance. Beauty, it is said, is present
everywhere, yet not everyone perceives it. “Keep meditating, Bhikku, until you
see beauty in every blade of grass!”
Of course, I made up the latter quote, but I hope
spiritually awakened souls could see what I am getting at here.
It is encouraging that some people are calling for Prey Lang
to be granted World Heritage status. In fact, it would be a good idea if all of
Cambodia itself is listed as a World Heritage site so that it can be better
protected from rapacious forces of greed and blind commercialism!
It is one thing to want to increase financial capital
through foreign investment, but the current trend of wholesale destruction of
forests and coastal regions (commercialised shrimp "farming", sand
dredging etc) cannot be regarded as sustainable developments that yield
benefits for present generations or dividends for future ones.
People in Cambodia have been experiencing some of the
adverse effects of ecological imbalance such as marked changes in overall
climatic condition: it's a lot hotter in a traditionally "humid"
sub-tropical climate; rising flood water level which in many villages ruins or
drowns crops and plants submerged too long in water, and in towns or cities
like Phnom Penh with inadequate sewage systems, widespread ailments contracted
through water contamination; monsoon storms and hurricanes ravage everything in
their paths with no trees or forests to act as impact absorbents; top soil
erosions caused by torrential rain and flooding in areas that have become
exposed as a result of deforestations, and so forth. All of this directly
damages rural as well as urban lives, but rural people maybe the most severely
affected by such disasters, being obviously more exposed to the natural
elements. They also constitute around 85 percent of Cambodia’s population.
Until now there has been no concrete political will on the
part of central authorities to reverse this depressing trend. Cambodia needs to
learn from the mistakes and excesses committed by other developing countries
before her rather than outdoing them in this regard. Forests like Prey Lang are
vital for all peoples in the region, not only for the ethnic communities to
whom the forests are their worlds and habitats. With human population set to
expand over the next decades, these dwindling natural ‘assets’ cannot possibly
offer the country as its inexhaustible source of revenue, and if (as some
government figures might point out in their defence) civil servants' salaries
have to be paid out of their continued exploitation, then there will come a
point when the salaries will not be paid once the sources of revenue themselves
will have been irretrievably decimated.
Is this not obvious? That the natural world is limited in
scope and exploitable utility? If we do not have alternative sources of revenue
- say oil or tourism - do we have to commit ecological and national suicide
first before looking for viable means and alternatives?
With Cambodia becoming increasingly multi-racial (some would
say worryingly multi-racial!) it's not just the ethnic Khmers who are or will
likely be feeling the 'heat' of the ecological-environmental melt-down. The
damaging impact that a hydraulic dam in Vietnam has upon the Sesan River in
North-Eastern Cambodia shows just how extensive and far-reaching an
environmental disaster can be in its capacity to afflict the environment and
human population. The Yali Falls Dam, completed in 2000, is located 70-80
kilometres from the Cambodia - Vietnam border. The International Rivers
Network’s (IRN) briefing, based upon interviews with villagers, fishermen and
district-level government officials in Cambodia reveals that:
- at least 36 people have drowned due to erratic releases of water from the dam;
- at least 55,000 people have been adversely affected; they have suffered millions of dollars in damages due to lost rice production, drowned livestock, lost fishing income, and damages to rice reserves, boats, fishing gear and houses;
- changes in the Se San River’s water levels and flow have caused a decline in fisheries and made fishing more difficult and hazardous. In addition, there has been an increase in river sedimentation and erosion, destroying riverbank vegetable gardens;
- hundreds of people have suffered stomach ailments, eye infections and skin rashes, which they believe are related to changes in the river’s water quality since the dam was built.
IRN notes that despite the unresolved issues, the government
of Vietnam has embarked on an ambitious plan to build up to five more dams on
the Sesan River.
Most likely, the majority of villagers living upstream by
the same river in Vietnam are ethnic minorities like their cousins living
downstream in Cambodia. If so, this may account for Vietnamese authorities'
indifference towards the plight of these unfortunate communities. Just as they
insist on having their cake and eat it with respect to land concessions in
Cambodia, which have been granted at tragic expense of all Cambodians. Whatever
the reasons maybe, both the Vietnamese authorities and their Cambodian
counterparts will need to re-think their priorities and motives that fuel this
senseless mismanagement of primary forests in Cambodia.
Pressure groups working with responsible personalities in
and outside of government must keep this issue alive by lobbying relevant
institutions and by raising public awareness through education and
demonstrations. The preservation of these threatened pockets of green spaces
could be, nay is, one of the keys to national revival and rehabilitation; no less
critical to the process of rebuilding and development than the campaign against
human rights abuses, for instance.
5 comments:
Hun Sen he said he will protect Cambodia forest, that talk about six years ago.
Today Cambodia almost run out the forest, the trees were cut every day.
To all Cambodian people do not thrust to this biggest liar anymore, every time he open his mouse to speech always liar to the people.
That picture of logs remind me in 1996 that ah kwang incredibly made a very powerful promise to the nation that if he couldn't stop the deforestation in Cambodia he would chop his head off. From that year on until now how does in general the forest in Cambodia look? Do all the forests has been protected under the laws of the land? Does the deforestation has been stopped since the day Ah kwak made that credible promise? The answer to all these questions is "No", so did ah Chker Yuon chop his head off yet? Not yet, but he is the man with integrity, so he is not going to lick back his throw up like dog; certainly he'll do as he declared in his promise back then... time will tell. Since you didn't commit yet, here is a suggestion of ending your useless life by just placing the barrel of your gun in your mouth and then pull the trigger that is more efficient than chopping your head off by yourself. But it is a good idea too if you could get a clean cut off your head, Khmer people will keep your head for public display because you are the most powerful man in Cambodia and the most longest serving Prime Minister
in Asia and also perhaps in the whole world. For the price of your true commitment, Khmer people will erect a monument beside Sihanouk's to remind them that you both have dedicated your lifelong services for your yuon master to achieve Ho Chiminh's dream of Indochina Confederation.
China is the main cause of natural disaster in the whole Asia due to its overwhelming emission of CO2 as a result of its too successful manufacturing.
China must devote its budget to replant trees that they decimated in Asia especially Cambodia to neutralize its emission of carbon impacting the whole region.
Wish all this chinass and veitcon go to hell by ours country!!
How they POOP and PEE? Excrement must float all over in the house.
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