London-based Global Witness said that Cambodia’s sand-dredging
industry threatened endangered species, fish stocks and local
livelihoods, despite the government’s May 2009 ban on
sand-dredging.
“This situation highlights the continued failure of Cambodia’s
international donors to use their leverage to hold the small elite
surrounding the Prime Minister to account,” said George Boden,
campaigner at Global Witness.
“Cambodia’s natural resource wealth should be lifting its
population out of poverty.”
Koy Koung, the spokesman and undersecretary of state at
Cambodia’s Foreign Affairs Ministry, said he was unable to comment
as the government had not seen the Global Witness report.
The report said Singapore was
the world’s largest importer of sand in 2008 and has used sand
imports to increase its landmass by 22 per cent since the
1960s.
It said this development has wreaked havoc on the region’s
coastlines, with Malaysia, Vietnam and Indonesia having all
announced bans on sand dredging for export due to environmental
concerns.
Global Witness said it had tracked boats being loaded with sand
in Cambodia to their destinations in Singapore, a regional base for
manufacturers and banks that is expanding its financial centre and
leisure attractions onto reclaimed land.
The Singapore government said sand imports for reclamation were
done on a commercial basis by a government entity, with sand
concession holders determining the source locations.
“We are committed to the protection of the global environment,
and we do not condone the illegal export or smuggling of sand, or
any extraction of sand that is in breach of the source countries’
laws and rules on environmental protection,” Singapore’s Ministry
of national Development said.
“The policing and enforcement of sand extraction licenses is
ultimately the responsibility of the source country,” it added.
“Singapore says that the import of sand is a purely commercial
activity but it also presents itself as a regional leader on
environmental issues,” said Global Witness’ Boden.
“If Singapore wants its environmental stance to be taken
seriously, monitoring where the sand is sourced and what is being
done to obtain it would be an obvious place to start.”
By Neil Chatterjee
Source: Reuters