RICHARD FREEMAN: CARDOMON MOUNTAINS TO BE MINED

February 2011. Cambodian Prime Minister, Hun Sen, has approved a land concession to United Khmer Group, a private mining company. The decision came ahead of a meeting that was supposed to discuss the project.

The plan is to mine titanium in 20,400 hectares of densely forested land in the Southern Cardamom Mountains. The area is an ‘elephant corridor’ and home to over 70 endangered species. Local villagers recognized the mine as a threat to the growing ecotourism industry, agricultural initiatives, forests, and a habitat for one of Cambodia's largest wild elephant populations. The fight against this horrific project is being led by Suwanna Gauntlett, Wildlife Alliance CEO, representing the views of local communities and other environmental groups.

Local villagers initially discovered construction workers bulldozing access roads in the midst of the Southern Cardamoms Protected Forest in June 2010 suggesting that the plan was formulated some time ago.