(PHNOM PENH, CAMBODIA) Late Cheng Mining Development Co Ltd, a company majority owned by Chinese nationals, has been developing two large-scale gold mines within the Prey Lang Wildlife Sanctuary (PLWS). These developments pose a direct threat to the environment in the biologically most important evergreen lowland forest of Southeast Asia. Not least because of the use of cyanide, which is apparently used for gold extraction.
These recent developments raise questions about the legality of such projects. The 400,000 hectare Prey Lang Wildlife Sanctuary (PLWS) was established in 2016 to protect the heart of the Prey Lang Forest Landscape and such projects are obviously not in line with the the protection of the area.
The Bruno Manser Fonds calls on the Cambodian government to revoke the licence for the gold mines and to prohibit future large-scale projects in the Prey Lang Wildlife Sanctuary (PLWS). Besides gold mining, illegal logging, limestone mining, the development of transmission lines and poaching also pose a threat to the forests and lives of the local people.
The new published report can be downloaded from the following link.
24 October 2023