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| MP Son Chhay's team from left to right: SRP activist Mardi Seng; Hay, a local villager who helped arrange the trip to Areng River; Keo Phirum, a SRP provincial councilor; MP Son Chhay; acitivist Theary Seng, and Emily Keo who acted as the note taker. |
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| A view of the Areng River |
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| Fishing on the Areng River. The river has plenty of fish. |
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| A civet caught at night time by local villagers |
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| Close up look of the civet |
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| A viper came out at night time |
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| Bo the owner of a logging truck seen on the right. Bo is allegedly involved in illegal logging in the area |
20 April 2012
By
MP Son Chhay
After receiving complaints from local communities in a number of communes in Thmor Bang district concerning illegal logging activities in the area and the plan for the construction of a hydro-electric dam on the Chhay Areng River, I took the action of sending two complaint letters to the government: (1) first on October 10, 2011 regarding the illegal logging activities in the areas near Tatai Leu, and within the districts of Reusei Chrum , Thmor Daun, Chupnuap, Chamnar in Thmor Bang district, Koh Kong province, and (2) the second letter was sent on February 27, 2012 to ask the government to stop the hydro-electric Dam project which was given to the company by the name of “Guodian Corporation”, a Chinese state-owned energy company, which is licensed to build the dam. So far the government has not responded to any of the letters.
From April 16 to 18, a team of five people visited the area of Thmor Bang district to investigate the situation of illegal logging activities and also to assess the environmental impact on the area should the hydro-electric dam project go ahead.
During these three days, the team went right up to Chamnar village, located upstream of Chhay Areng River, to meet with people from different villages and to check the condition of the forest and wildlife which will be affected by the planned construction of the dam.
1- Reaction from the local people
The majority of the people affected are indigenous people known as the “Chaung” people who number around 1500 members and who still speak some of their own dialect mixed with the Khmer language. They live in harmony with nature by farming and fishing from the river.
When asked what they thought about the hydro-electric dam project, all of them – including the CPP village chief whom we spoke to – strongly displayed their anger and disapproval, but they are not willing to protest in public for fear of facing abuse from the authority. Local villagers along the Areng River told us that they have been forced out of their land once when the Vietnamese army occupied Cambodia in 1979. They were forced to resettle in Chiphat, Botum Sako district, but about 17 years ago, they have decided to return back to their ancestors’ villages.
