Below is a list of relevant documents we have been able to collect related to the sand mining operation happening in coastal Cambodia, especially in the province of Koh Kong, where our campaign is centered. Due to the close to non-existent level of transparency or accountability by relevant government agencies and sand mining companies, we still need to obtain many more documents. Those able to contribute can do so (anonymously if needed) by sending us an email to mothernaturecambodia@gmail.com
Note that all links open in new window;
All translations into English from documents in Khmer are unofficial.
Official documents with data on sand imports / exports;
- Sand exports from Cambodia to Singapore, period 2007 - 2014 (as reported by Cambodia);
- Imports of Cambodian sand into Singapore, period 1996 - 2015 (as reported by Singapore);
- Imports of sand into Singapore from Cambodia, Myanmar, Viet Nam, Malaysia & Philipines, period 1989 to 2015 - (as reported by Singapore);
- Sand exports from Cambodia to the Maldives, period 2012 - 2013, (as reported by Cambodia);
- Imports of Cambodian sand into the Maldives, period 2012 - 2013, (as reported by the Maldives);
- Sand exports from Cambodia to India, period 2013 - 2015 (as reported by Cambodia);
- Imports of Cambodian sand into India, period 2013 - 2015, (as reported by India);
- Data on value of Cambodian sand being imported into Singapore, issued by the Singaporean government department of trade statistics; 2011 / 2012 / 2013 / 2014 / 2015 (All in English)
*Note: Source: https://statlink.iesingapore.gov.sg/Pages/Reports/ReportGeneration.aspx
- Cambodia's Ministry of Commerce data on sand exports to Singapore; (quantity in kilograms and value in US$)
(September 2016); Khmer & English
Note: figures for 2016 are only for first six months of the year.
- Cambodia's Ministry of Commerce data on total sand exports to all countries, (quantity in kilograms and value in US$);
(November 2016); Khmer & English (Note: data sourced from Cambodia's Department of Customs and Excise)
Note: figures for 2016 are only for first six months of the year.
- Exports of all kinds of sand from Cambodia, to Taiwan, Thailand & Singapore, 2016 - English; Source: Website of Cambodia's Department of Customs and Excise, screenshot taken in May of 2017. Figures in Riels (Cambodian official currency) and in Kilograms. data on total sand exports to all countries, (quantity in kilograms and value in US$);
Note: the data for all exports of all commodities has been placed behind a password since June of 2017, most likely as a result of the repeated use of the data, and subsequent publicizing of it, by activists, journalists and researchers. Link to the web site is here.
- 'Imports of silica sands from Cambodia into Taiwan, for the period 2012 to 2016, here, and for 2017, here - Source: Taiwan Customs Administration.
Note that these are screenshots taken from a web site, to access the actual web site simply click here. You will see the values in tonnes and in US$ of ALL the Cambodian sand that Taiwan has imported.
Letters, other documents by government agencies & civil society;
- Press release by Singapore's Ministry of National Development in 2010 after article on sand being smuggled out of Malaysia being imported into Singapore. English
- Letter by MP for Opposition party Son Chhay asking Minister of Mines and Energy Suy Sem to disclose hydrology reports and environmental impact assessments by mining companies, as well as revenue to the state from sand mining; (January 2016); - Khmer / English
*Note: MP Son Chhay wrote to Minister for Mines and Energy Suy Sem following Prime Minister Hun Sen's letter in November 2015, asking for further clarification on some of the points raised in the letter by the Prime Minister. Suy Sem's reply is below.
- Letter by Minister for Mines and Energy Suy Sem in reply to MP Son Chhay's letter of January 2016; (June 2016); - Khmer
- Official directive issued by the Prime Minister of Cambodia Hun Sen, banning sand mining and exports; (May 2009); - Khmer
*Note: The amount of sand mining and exports out of Cambodia actually increased after this ban was made public. The ban allows for a continuation of the mining of 'sea sand' under certain circumstances / condition, such as in areas where the waterways are obstructed by sand.
- Sand Management Committee gives green light to sand mining company Intl Rainbow to extend sand mining operations along lower Areng river, also known as Tropeang Roung estuary; Khmer
- Register of Singaporean companies importing sand into Singapore - as of 27 June 2016; (source: http://www.hdb.gov.sg/cs/infoweb/homepage) English
- Screenshot of a database in the web site for Cambodia's Ministry of Mines and Energy, depicting the addition and subsequent resignation of Hun Mana and Hun Maly, two of Prime Minister's Hun Sen daughters, as shareholders of the sand mining company Oudom Seima Peanich Industry & Mine Co. ltd., - English
- Screenshot of Facebook page for sand mining company Oudom Seima Peanich Industry & Mine Co. ltd.,
- Letter by Prime Minister Hun Sen in reply to MP for opposition party Son Chhay asking for clarification on sand mining companies 'Direct Access' and 'International Rainbow'. (November, 2015) Khmer / English
*Note: This is the first and so far only official document issued by the Cambodian government (after more than 8 years of indiscriminate sand mining) explaining the rationale in allowing for the mining to take place.
- Open letter by 47 civil society groups, sent to HE Minister for Mines and Energy Suy Sem, asking for clarification regarding the 70 million tons of sand missing from official government records, as well as other questions. (1st of November 2016) Khmer / English
- Open letter issued by the Ministry of Mines and Energy, in reply to the open letter sent to the ministry on the 1st of November, 2016. Khmer
- Letter by Mother Nature Cambodia and other civil society groups to Singapore ambassador in Phnom Penh asking for further information on Singapore's involvement in sand imports from Cambodia; (January 2016); - Khmer / English
- Reply by Singapore embassy in relation to questions raised by civil society on Singapore's involvement with sand imports from Cambodia; (January 2016) English
Permits issued to sand mining companies;
- Permit for Direct Access, valid from August 2014 until August 2015; Khmer & English
- Permit for Direct Access, valid from February 2016 until February 2018; Khmer
* Note: Direct Access is a sand mining company that has been extracting sand from the Koh Kong estuary of Andoung Teuk (aka Prek Phi Phot for at least 6 years; It also acted as a plantiff for the 3 MNC activists who were jailed without trial from August 17th, 2015 until July 1st, 2016;
Reports, briefing notes, research;
- Study of Coastal Mangrove Forest Devastation and Channel Sedimentation; IUCN: (December, 2012) - English;
*Note: This is a detailed report on the impacts caused by sand mining and upstream dams on the Peam Krasaop Wildlife Sanctuary, Koh Kong, one of the largest mangrove forests in Southeast Asia;
- Shifting Sand, by Global Witness. (April 2010) Khmer - English
*Note: This report reveals how Singapore's rapid expansion is driving an ecologically and socially devastating sand-dredging industry in Cambodia.
- CCHR Briefing Note – September 2016 The Human Rights Impacts of Sand Dredging in Cambodia (September 2016)
English / Khmer (ផលប៉ះពាល់សិទ្ធិមនុស្សដោយសារការបូមខ្សាច់នៅកម្ពុជា)
- Environmental impacts of dredging on seagrasses: A review; Marine Pollution Bulletin; (2006); English