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The Mekong, one of the largest rivers in the world which has its source in China, is today threatened because its sand is pumped. This causes havoc on the ecosystem, as for example in Cambodia.
The Mekong is the feeder river of Asia. Nearly 70 million people in depend for fishing or rice fields. But this mythical river is today subject to repeated assaults by man. In Cambodia, millions of tons of sand from the river are pumped. A thirst that, little by little, destroys ecosystems. By dint of pumping in the bed of the river, the banks have even subsided in some places.
A resident who lives on one of its banks, now being rebuilt, agrees to testify with his face covered. “I’m not happy when I see what’s being pumped, because it destroys natural resources”he regrets. A dozen environmental activists, who dared to publicly question these practices, were sent to prison in Cambodia. Financial issues are indeed huge : the sand of the Mekong can supply gigantic construction sites costing several billion euros.