Cambodia’s coast is sold out! Fishermen’s drama

Deserted sandy beaches, a private paradise – such slogans tempt tourists to Cambodian resorts. Unfortunately, local citizens, especially the part of the population that depends on fishing, are paying for this idyll. Cambodia’s coast is being plunderously privatized, with developers expropriating thousands of families. However, the threat is also growing from the sea, where illegal fishing by trawlers is causing real havoc.

Koh Rong Island – a sad example of capitalist arrogance

In 2018. The government in Phnom Penh has established the country’s first National Marine Park around Koh Rong Island. Covering 52 hectares, Cambodia’s coastline is home to precious coral reefs, undersea meadows and mangrove forests, home to such species as the Cambodian Sea. Dugongs, sea turtles and short-headed oreos. The gesture was seen as an important step toward meeting Cambodia’s commitments under the Convention on Biological Diversity.

Few people have noticed, however, that 10 years before the park was established, the island was leased to private conglomerate Royal Group. In 2019. It turned out that he plans to build hotels, casinos, shopping malls, an international airport and 70 kilometers of roads – 30 percent. of the latter have already been realized at the expense of valuable mangrove forests.

Koh Rong residents are protesting, fearing for their villages and livelihood opportunities. Their concerns are shared by the World Bank, which warned that the Royal Group’s opaque operations threaten local conservation. It’s worth adding that forced expropriations are an infamous specialty of the authorities in Phnom Penh – in the capital alone since 1990. A home over their heads was deprived of as many as 120,000 citizens.

Cambodian coast in the hands of private investors

According to information from Mongabay, a U.S.-based environmental NGO, between 2008 and 2010 the Cambodian government sold more than 180,000. ha located on 28 islands. Koh Rong is just a small part of a massive beach sale to plug a hole in the state budget. Private investment in the tourism sphere is planned on all of the 23 islands in Koh Kong province, while in Preah Sihanouk province 20 of the 30 islands are already divided among investors. Behind the contracts are millionaires with ties to the country’s political elite.

The Cambodian coast, meanwhile, is a source of livelihood for 105,000. fishermen. When infamous timber industry baron Try Pheap built a deep-water port in Kampot province, it turned out that the local community was deprived of access to traditional fishing grounds. Thousands lost their jobs, and some had to leave their homes in search of new work.

This is not the end of the bad news. Private investments by a former tourism minister and ruling party senator on the islands of Koh Totetung, Koh Smach and Koh Ampil have led to the filling of coral reefs with sand to create artificial beaches. On Koh S’roof island since 2000. as much as 225 hectares of forest have been cleared in connection with the development of tourism infrastructure. Dozens of similar examples can be multiplied. According to LICADHO, a Cambodian organization fighting for human rights, up to 14 percent of the country’s territory has already been handed over to private concessionaires, who continue the policy of deforestation and forced resettlement.

Illegal fishing undermines fishermen’s fortunes

Cambodia’s picturesque coastline is also being plundered from the sea. Ignoring existing regulations, trawlers monopolize the coastal zone, forcing fishermen to go further and further out to sea, which is increasingly dangerous. And the situation is all the more dramatic because a sizable portion of the local population has turned to fishing, after China’s UDG group expelled more than a thousand farm families from Botum Sakor district with violence and fire. Having lost their land and homes, the wealth of marine resources is their last chance to make a living.

According to the law, trawlers should not fish at a depth of less than 20 meters. In fact, they scour the sea floor 10 meters below the surface, not only catching most of the fish, but also destroying nets set by local fishermen. Illegal teams are often equipped with weapons and actively intimidate protesters.

The Asian Development Bank reports that the incomes of households living from fishing have fallen by up to 50 percent between 2019 and 2022. So feeding the family is becoming an increasing problem. To make matters worse, Cambodia’s coast is being extensively exploited, with no respect for sustainable development principles, which poses a threat to the future of local societies, but also to marine ecosystems. Meanwhile, according to expert projections, climate change alone by 2050. Will reduce fishing by 25 percent.

Photo. main: Nick Haill/Unsplash