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Phnom Penh Lakes ‘on the Brink of Elimination’: Report
5 min read
Khut Sokun and Newsroom Cambodia
Tue Dec 31, 2019 5:43 pm

Every lake in Phnom Penh has been damaged by development and its wetlands decimated, leading to severe flooding, loss of livelihoods and disappearance of fish species, a new report says.

“Phnom Penh’s lake and wetland areas are on the brink of elimination,” says the report, published by urban development NGO Sahmakum Teang Tnaut last week.

Titled “The Last Lakes,” the report examines the status of 26 lakes and 11 wetlands in the capital, and finds that 16 lakes — or 60 percent — have been completely filled in, with the remaining 10 all partially filled. By area, more than 40 percent of the city’s wetlands have been lost over the past 16 years, it says.

“Since 2003, developers of satellite cities and gated housing communities have poured sand into the wetlands and lakes,” it says. “Livelihoods based on the lakes and wetlands are being eroded, with thousands of families evicted or facing the threat of it as the development projects continue to threaten houses and jobs.”

The report, which looked at all major wetlands in the capital at least 0.5 square kilometers in size by examining satellite imagery, notes their key role in absorbing floodwaters in the capital.

“[P]redictions look dire, as flooding, environmental pollution and degradation of fishing breeding grounds is expected,” it says.

Boeung Reach Sei, in the north of the city, was filled to become the Grand Phnom Penh International satellite city, while Boeung Kak, near Wat Phnom, famously saw violent evictions as developer Shukaku filled in the lake starting in 2008.

On the Chroy Changvar peninsula, Orkide Villa was involved in partially filling in Boeung Kham Porng lake, the report says. Prime Minister HE’s daughters Hun Mana and Hun Maly are directors of some of the Orkide Villa companies, according to Commerce Ministry records.

Two major wetlands remain in the city — Boeung Tamoak, in the north, and Boeung Tompun, in the south. Boeung Tompun is currently in the process of being partially filled in to make way for the ING City development.
Full article: https://vodenglish.news/phnom-penh-lake ... on-report/

Article from 2014 with more details on the consequences of Phnom Penh's lost lakes:
Floods and Phnom Penh’s Lost Lakes
https://floodlist.com/asia/floods-phnom ... lost-lakes

Be curious to see a 2019 map since I pass by Boeung Tamoak 2 to 3 times a week and I'd guess it's been 1/3 or more filled in since this 2018 map was made.

Sent from my CPH1823 using Tapatalk

They've also dug into it big time. The area remaining is extremely deep now due to excavation for landfill in other areas. Almost looks like an open pit mine. Some of the other lakes in the direct vicinity of the city were never really attractive as they quickly became huge sewage lakes due to lack of investment in infrastructure and waste management.

Bitte_Kein_Lexus wrote: ↑Wed Jan 01, 2020 12:34 pm They've also dug into it big time. The area remaining is extremely deep now due to excavation for landfill in other areas. Almost looks like an open pit mine. Some of the other lakes in the direct vicinity of the city were never really attractive as they quickly became huge sewage lakes due to lack of investment in infrastructure and waste management.

Yes , very sad, because some previous work by the Phnom Penh authorities could have saved some of the lakes and wetlands. They could have been cool and green places for Phnom Penh residents. Im sure that instead of filling in the lakes, building lakeside residences today would be a financially viable project. People want to live close to nature, but the developers are destroying their capital, in Phnom Penh and elsewhere.

Boeung Tamaok (lake) in Phnom Penh is shrinking fast : going, going...

Boeung Tamok Lake to Lose 300 Hectares for Military Command Center
Phoung Vantha 06/07/2020 6:32 PM
The government has issued a sub-decree allowing the Ministry of National Defense to develop 300 hectares of Boeung Tamok Lake, although it remains unclear when construction will start.

PHNOM PENH--Prime Minister HE has decided to cut 300 hectares (2,985,472 square meters) from Boeung Tamok Lake for the Ministry of National Defense to use as a strategic command center. The decision was made public in a sub-decree dated June 22 and showed that some 300 hectares of Sangkat Kouk Roka, Khan Prek Pnov are to be handed over to the Defense Ministry to prepare a command center, although it did not say when.

Chhum Socheat, spokesman for the Ministry of National Defense, confirmed that the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF) has been authorized to build the new military installation in Boeung Tamok, but was unable to explain when construction would begin or why the RCAF needed a new command center.

On February 3, 2016, the Royal Government of Cambodia released sub-decree No. 20 which declares the lake state-public property covering 3,239.7 hectares.

This is the fourth time that the government has cut land from the lake, which has been steadily shrinking on account of the government’s actions since 2018. In August 2018, the government announced that 20 hectares of the lake would be filled in to build a new market, although prior to this many evictions and land disputes had arisen as the people who live among the lake—mostly poor fishing communities—were informed that they must leave. Similarly, environmental problems arising from the loss of lakes have begun to accelerate.

Earlier this year, on March 13, the government gifted a further 75 hectares of Lake Taman to the Phnom Penh Municipal Administration to build a public park, but residents remain skeptical that such a park will be built. Such doubts were further stoked by a decision on April 27, 2020 which saw the government sell 30 hectares of the lake to an unnamed private company.

Boeung Tamok is home to around 319 urban poor families, most of whom are located within the lake boundaries or are directly living along the borders of the lake, according to the Sahmakum Teang Tnaut (STT)'s report The Last Lakes.

Since 1990, out of 26 lakes in Phnom Penh, 16 have been completely filled in, representing roughly 60 percent of the total area of the lakes, while a further 10 lakes have been partially filled in some part. The main reason for this loss of natural habitat and the subsequent evictions that follow is construction. The urbanization of Phnom Penh has seen a rush of property developers trying to cash in on the growing demand for gated communities, known as boreys, but the government has also pushed for the development of satellite cities around the outskirts of Phnom Penh.
Full article: https://cambodianess.com/article/boeung ... and-center

Posted by KI Media at 12:28 AM No comments:

Residents ordered to remove structures on Phnom Penh’s canal

Houses built on the canal in the capital’s Meanchey district. Hong Menea

Long Kimmarita | The Phnom Penh Post
Publication date 09 July 2020 | 23:03 ICT

Phnom Penh municipal governor Khuong Sreng has ordered authorities to act against the perpetrators who built houses along the Luo 5 canal in Meanchey district.

The municipal administration plans to create a committee to solve the matter.

The order was given on Wednesday while Sreng led experts to check the Luo 5 pumping station in Meanchey district’s Stung Meanchey III commune, said a press release published by the Ministry of Information.

Drainage canals are of great benefit to residents because they can better drain the homes of the city’s residents, Sreng said.

He said local authorities must clearly identify State land and the land belonging to the people. The canal is being encroached on by residents who fill it and then claim the newly created land.

Three Members of the NGO Mother Nature Are Charged in Phnom Penh Court
Sao Phal Niseiy 06/09/2020 1:23 PM
If found guilty, they may be jailed for up to two years
PHNOM PENH--Three environmental activists of the group Mother Nature Sunday (Sept. 6) were charged with incitement to cause serious social chaos by the Phnom Penh Municipal Court.

Thun Ratha, Long Kunthea and Phuong Keorasmey were charged by Deputy Prosecutor Kuch Kimlong with “incitement to commit felony” based on articles 494 and 495 of the criminal code, according to the government-friendly media outlet Fresh News.

Their case has been forwarded to an investigating judge for further procedures and, if found guilty, Ratha, Kunthea and Keorasmey may be sentenced to up to two years in jail and a fine of 4 million riel (around $975), Fresh News said.

Repeated attempts to reach Kimlong for confirmation of the charges were unsuccessful as of mid-day on Sept. 6.

The three members of Mother Nature were charged over two days following their arrest on September 3.

Ratha, Kunthea and Keorasmey were taken into custody following a post on the NGO’s Facebook page saying that they would walk that day in Phnom Penh from Wat Phnom to Prime Minister HE's mansion near the Independence Monument, dressed in white, to request a face-to-face meeting with him. The NGO staff meant to bring to his attention the likelihood of floods as well as the environmental impact, bird habitat loss and the threat to biodiversity once Boeung Tamok Lake is partially filled.

On Sept. 1, the Cambodian government issued a sub-decree to grant 38 hectares of Boeung Tamok Lake to three public institutions and a private owner. This was the fifth time the government was granting portions of the lake for public and private development projects.

On Feb. 2, 2016, the Cambodian government issued the sub-decree No. 20 to establish that the lake, which covered 3,240 hectares, was state property. According to the report The Last Lakes of the NGO Sahmakum Teang Tnaut, which works on housing for the poor and urban issues, BoeungTamok Lake is home to around 319 poor families, most of whom are located within the lake boundaries or directly on its shores.
https://cambodianess.com/article/three- ... penh-court

You cannot make this up.
More of Boeng Tamok to Be Filled In for Justice Ministry Storeroom
By VOD English -
October 1, 2020
Justice Ministry officials need more room, so “empty public land” will be used to store court documents by filling in another part of Boeng Tamok, one of Phnom Penh’s “last lakes” that feeds hundreds of families and protects the capital from flooding.

In a Council of Ministers letter dated September 25 and circulated on Wednesday, the government handed over eight hectares of the lake to the ministry for a storehouse to keep documents and equipment from the ministry, Appeal Court and Phnom Penh Municipal Court.

Government spokesperson Phay Siphan said ministry officials needed more space to work.

In full: https://vodenglish.news/more-of-boeng-t ... storeroom/

More on the above:
Ministry of Justice Takes a Further Eight Hectares of Boeung Tamok
Phoung Vantha 05/10/2020 7:15 PM
PHNOM PENH--The government has cut another eight hectares from Boeung Tamok, handing the land to the Ministry of Justice to construct another building for storing documents, according to a sub-decree issued by Prime Minister HE on Sept. 25, 2020.

Chin Malin, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Justice, said on Oct. 5 that the Ministry of Justice confirmed the ministry would receive the land, but could not specify the exact nature of its purpose.

He added that the Ministry of Justice won't be relocated. Currently, the Ministry of Justice is located in front of the Royal Palace on Samdech Sothearos Boulevard, Daun Penh District, Phnom Penh.

So far Boeung Tamok has lost more than 476 hectares over the course of six sub-decrees that have handed the land to the government and private sector elites with connections to the government.
https://cambodianess.com/article/minist ... eung-tamok

Cambodians will complain so hard that Japanese NGOs will build more drainage systems for them. What Justice takes, the Japanese will restore.

WIN WIN

Khmer style.