Fish are reportedly dying from the effects of siltation in the Tonle Sap river. Cambodia can never return to the way it was,' says Gordon Patterson of the Mennonite Committee, one of the aid agencies most involved in forestry projects. Trucks are operating 24 hours a day removing earth across the Thai border where it is panned and the valuable gemstones removed. Some mechanical panning has been reported in Cambodia with the residue earth being washed away into the Tonle Sap River, where it adds to the siltation process. Oil prospecting is also damaging the environment.
Sonic booms threaten fish production.
Drilling threatens to dump contaminated mud in internal waterways. Road building to provide access for seismic surveys is another potential cause of damage to ecosystems. This is one of the many ways in which the destruction of the Cambodian environment is directly linked to the impoverishment of its people. For 12 years the country was subjected to a US-led trade embargo and was the only Third World country denied UN development aid. From 1986 the SOC began a transition from the old-style 'command' economy to a more liberal market model.