"UN experts say ING City would cause environmental, livelihood losses", 25 February 2021

Seven United Nations human rights rapporteurs raised serious concerns over the impacts of in-filling of Boeung Tompoun and the Cheung Ek wetlands to make way for a mega-development project, to which the government said environmental risks had been mitigated and touted its economic benefit…

The ING development was allotted … and spans the lake and wetlands in southern Phnom Penh. Around 70 percent of the city’s waste and rainwater escape into the wetlands, leading to concerns among rights groups over the filling of the waterbody.

The UN experts said that the project would affect the livelihoods and wellbeing of around 1,000 families who live in and around the water bodies.

“Allegedly, not only does the project threaten the livelihoods and homes of these families, but it will also cause irreparable damage to the wetlands ecosystem,” the letter read.

The letter said the development would put one million people, nearly half of the capital’s population, at risk of flooding and pollute the Mekong and Bassac rivers with untreated sewage and wastewater…

In consultation with the Ministry of Environment and the Phnom Penh municipal administration, Cambodia’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations in Geneva sent two letters to the UN experts rejecting their claims and concerns.

… The UN experts findings are similar to conclusions drawn by four local rights groups, led by land rights NGO Sahmakum Teang Tnaut, who said the continued destruction of the critical wetlands would have devastating environmental impacts and the development was at the cost of human rights…