Koh Kong Titanium Mine to go ahead
February 12, 2011 – 5:45 pm
The Cambodian Government yesterday approved a land concession in the heart of dense forest in Koh Kong Province for a titanium mine that environmentalists say will devastate dozens of endangered species and clear thousands of hectares of trees in Cambodia’s Cardamom mountains.
I visited Chi Phat, the area that will be affected, a couple of years ago and have posted an (unedited!) photo album from that visit on the Symbiosis Facebook page today.
This area of the southern Cardamoms is home to about 24 natural water sources and more than a quarter of Cambodia’s remaining wild elephants, as well as numerous other endangered species.
Hornbills at Chi Phat, Cardamom Mountains, Cambodia
There is also a thriving community-based tourism programme in Chi Phat, driven by wildlife protection NGO, The Wildlife Alliance, that has successfully turned former loggers and illegal wildlife traders into protectors of the forest, earning them and their families $66,000 in the past 2 years – a small fortune for remote villagers in Cambodia. Much needed evidence that community-based eco tourism can turn poachers into gamekeepers and help to protect the natural environment.
I would urge you to visit Chi Phat soon to show support for the local community’s efforts to halt the mine project… and, of course, to experience this stunning natural area before it is too late!. Have a look at the Symbiosis web page for Chi Phat to get some ideas.
