Cambodia’s controversial new canal could threaten wildlife, livelihoods

Fireworks and drums marked the start of construction on a massive new Cambodian water project called the Funan Canal on Monday. The $1.7 billion waterway will connect the capital, Phnom Penh, with the Gulf of Thailand, giving the country a completely domestic shipping route. The current route relies on the Mekong River and passes through Vietnam.

“This is the largest single canal project ever undertaken on the Mekong River and the first of its kind in Cambodia,” said Brian Eyler, an expert on international water policy at the Stimson Center, a Washington, D.C., think tank. It’s a prestige project for the government, which touts its importance for economic development and trade security. However, dams along the 180-kilometer canal could disrupt monsoon flooding, causing problems for wildlife, farmers and the capital, according to an analysis by Eyler and his colleagues.

full text: https://www.science.org/content/article/controversial-new-canal-cambodia-may-threaten-wildlife-and-livelihoods