Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
forestry groves of acacia and eucalyptus to supply wood chips for the paper industry. The
government argues these plantations are necessary for economic development and counts
them as reforestation, but in reality the damage to the delicate ecosystem is irreparable.
Pollution
Phnom Penh's air isn't anywhere near as bad as Bangkok's, but as vehicles multiply it's
getting worse. In provincial towns and villages, the smoke from garbage fires can ruin
your dinner…or worse.
Cambodia has extremely primitive sanitation systems in its urban areas, and nonexist-
ent sanitary facilities in rural areas, with only a tiny percentage of the population having
access to proper facilities. These conditions breed and spread disease: epidemics of
diarrhoea are not uncommon and it is the number-one killer of young children in Cambod-
ia.
Detritus of all sorts, especially plastic bags and bottles, can be seen in distressing quant-
ities on beaches, around waterfalls, along roads and carpeting towns, villages and hamlets.
In the mid-1960s Cambodia was reckoned to have around 90% of its original forest cover in-
tact. Estimates today vary, but 25% is common.
Damming the Mekong
The Mekong rises in Tibet and flows for 4800km before continuing through southern Vi-
etnam into the South China Sea. This includes almost 500km in Cambodia, where it can
be up to 5km wide. With energy needs spiralling upwards throughout the region, it is very
tempting for developing countries like Cambodia and its upstream neighbours to build hy-
droelectric dams on the Mekong and its tributaries.
Environmentalists fear that damming the mainstream Mekong may be nothing short of
catastrophic for the flow patterns of the river, the migratory patterns of fish, the survival
of the freshwater Irrawaddy dolphin and the very life of the Tonlé Sap. Plans now under
consideration include the Sambor Dam, a massive 3300MW project 35km north of Kratie,
and the Don Sahong (Siphandone) Dam just north of the Cambodia-Laos border.
Also of concern is the potential impact of dams on the annual monsoon flooding of the
Mekong, which deposits nutrient-rich silt across vast tracts of land used for agriculture. A
