{"id":581,"date":"2018-04-07T02:57:49","date_gmt":"2018-04-07T01:57:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/overthehils.com\/?p=581"},"modified":"2018-04-07T02:57:49","modified_gmt":"2018-04-07T01:57:49","slug":"losing-paradise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/overthehils.com\/index.php\/2018\/04\/07\/losing-paradise\/","title":{"rendered":"Losing Paradise"},"content":{"rendered":"

I have travelled to the coast of Cambodia in Sihanoukville province for a short Easter break and have come face to face with the very ugly side of development which is taking place in this region. Sihanoukville and the coast running down to Kampot and Kep are tourist magnets because of the pine-fringed, silver strands – the warm, turquoise waters of the Gulf of Thailand offer wonderful snorkelling and fishing over stunning coral reefs. There are 155 species of bird listed for Ream National Park. It is paradise for anyone with an interest in nature.<\/p>\n

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Otres beach<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The beauty of the area has attracted people here but the developments taking place now are systematically destroying the local environment of paddy fields and lotus farms not to mention tropical forest and national park. In the villages, development appears haphazard; horrendous strip development along the main roads, consisting of little shops and restaurants and within the villages themselves, hippy style shacks, cabins and bungalows \u2013 anything goes.This all caters to the dreadlocked, tattooed travellers looking for a cheap dorm for the night and a burger or even fish n\u2019 chips.<\/p>\n

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Hotel and casino construction in Sihanoukville<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

At the other end of the scale are the massive hotel and casino complexes being built along the coast with insufficient infrastructure such as roads, sewage or waste management systems to support them.<\/p>\n

Reading an article in the South East Asia Globe of 6 November 2017, \u00a0a World Bank report in 2014 stated that the construction industry has become one of Cambodia\u2019s four economic pillars and overtaken agriculture and tourism as the second largest driver of growth. The value of approved construction projects doubled in 2016 to $8.5 billion and the boom is funded by massive investment from outside – 70% of industrial investment comes from China. The Chinese investment is very attractive as it comes without the conditions imposed by the US or the World Bank with regard to political transparency or human rights.<\/p>\n

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Clearance of forest outside Otres village<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

There is also a \u201cspecial\u201d relationship between Cambodia and China and Cambodia is one of the belt and road countries. The belt and road initiative is a proposal put forward by China\u2019s president Xi Jinping in 2013. Its aim is to unite the countries along the old silk road and the maritime silk route by strengthening infrastructure links such as roads, bridges, pipelines, ports etc. It is a massive project by any standards and estimates are that 68 countries are involved, 65% of the world\u2019s population and 40% of global GDP (2017).<\/p>\n

Do these construction projects really address Cambodia\u2019s needs? Building luxury hotels and apartment blocks is not solving the rural housing problem nor the housing needs of the average Cambodian. Cambodia\u2019s lack of\u00a0 infrastructure is hindering development and needs to be improved to support future growth. Roads are poor, there are insufficient drainage or water treatment systems and little waste management \u2013 it seems that the country\u2019s needs are not necessarily the priority of project investors. Indeed, Japan used to be the largest partner in Cambodian development but now concentrates on supporting projects that will aid and support long term development such as deep-water ports and improving international road links between the capital, Phnom Penh and the surrounding countries of Thailand and Vietnam.<\/p>\n

There are a number of concerns:<\/p>\n