A Disappearing World: Singapore Is Harvesting Land from Cambodia

349,200
0
Published 2019-03-11
As Singapore dredges sand out from beneath Cambodia’s mangrove forests, an ecosystem, a communal way of life, and one woman’s relationship to her home face erasure. Read more: www.theatlantic.com/video/index/584563/singapore-c…

"Lost World" was directed by Kalyanee Mam and produced by Emergence Magazine and Go Project Films (goprojectfilms.com/films/lost-world/). It is part of The Atlantic Selects, an online showcase of short documentaries from independent creators, curated by The Atlantic.

Subscribe to The Atlantic on YouTube: bit.ly/subAtlanticYT

All Comments (21)
  • In the Philippines, it was a different story. SG had bought sands here that were spewed out by the very destructive Mt. Pinatubo eruptions. There was no environmental destructions in selling them. In fact it was even a great help in declogging our rivers and prevent further damages. It was a win-win situation.
  • @appl2597
    This is an OLD video guys... 2 years ago, Cambodia has already banned sales of sand to Singapore and Singapore has also officially stopped importing sand from Cambodia.... IT'S OFFICIAL. Anyone who does not believe please google. This is old news
  • @kinglee8320
    Huh? 2019? I tot Cambodia has banned all sand exports on environmental grounds years ago?
  • @Bigjoe99
    Sand from Cambodia does not go to Marina - Marina was build long time ago with Malaysian sand. Cambodian sand goes to Tekong and new Jurong Port - but its not sexy to show that..
  • @mayagogo
    "If this was real, imagine how beautiful it would be."
  • @martinpganev
    This video does nothing to show how sand dredging effects the land or ecology. It’s a very basic representation to a complicated issue and it was disappointing to watch this for 16 minutes and not understand the problem any better than before
  • @sokhuorchiv1298
    2019🙄💁🏼‍♂️ I’m a Cambodian myself. I don’t want to say anything but you all should understand by this. And of course Singapore isn’t the one to be blamed.
  • @Rixynator
    literally took back nothing from this video. she said "this is our land" then what about Singapore's money? didn't the Cambodian government take it? Also what evidence or statistics suggest that the biodiversity/ecosystem is greatly affected or destroyed by this process? Since Singapore started importing since 2007 which is about 12 years ago, shouldn't biodiversity and or its ecosystem would have been completely destroyed by now? No where did it say the sand has affected mangroves or food chain reproduction. I don't know why the comment section is filled with so much angst and hostility towards one nation but not the other. It takes two hands to clap.
  • It looks a legitimate buying and selling. If Cambodia govt chose to sell it, the revenue received should be then used to help the locals. That's the exploitation these people should be looking into
  • @IceBloodKing
    The video should make clear that the sand was bought and paid for legally. Totally ethical and above board. The video makes it look like it was some sneak operation.
  • @Adenlqy
    For those who don't know, Cambodia banned exporting of sand years ago, even before they published this video, and for that part where she visits Singapore, that part of the land is from Malaysia back in 1980, Cambodia land that was reclaimed is a became an industrial area in Singapore and the Army bases of Singapore, of course, that isn't nice to show in this video full of misleading information Singapore took the land in a legal way following all local and international law For this, you cant blame Singapore, you have to blame the cmabodia government, since corruption is still there, affecting the livelihoods of their own people
  • @kujuakusg
    True this was a old video Cambodia government has banned Singapore from buying sand , please don't create hate between the two country
  • @Kelberi
    "Singapore is harvesting land from cambodia" sounds so wrong. Willing buyer willing seller.....
  • @SivalinPuthery
    Singapore has been importing sand legally from other countries for years. Why blame it on Singapore? If other countries like Cambodia government corrupted their own process to sell the sand, blame it on the respective government. Instead, it is a video about a whining girl who says the Marina Bay area was built using Cambodia sand. That is not even true, the Marina Bay area came up in the 1990s when the land was left barren to allow the stablisation of the sand. Stupid and deceitful video just to make Singapore a scapegoat Typical fake news media as said by Donald Trump
  • @JVlapleSlain
    The video makes it sound like this is an issue caused by Singapore, but where there is demand there is supply. If anything, the issue lies with the Cambodian Government over-selling, nobody is forcing them to export excessively
  • @buckydragon
    This is the government of Cambodia that is selling their sand. Where there is a buyer, there is a seller. Petition your government
  • @titanworld1401
    Take money now complain of selling piece of Cambodia. Very deceitful video. No different from timber, coal, mining and oil.
  • @doraemonlim2366
    The problem of Sand dredging and its sales is not only a problem btw Sg & Cambodia but also India, China, USA, rich oil middle East countries and many many more countries. As long as countries develop, they construct buildings and that requires tons of sands. As a Singaporean teenager, I want to express my thoughts on this issue. Firstly It's undeniable that we import sand and millions of tons of them but it's not like we don't pay for them. We pay millions to the suppliers. The $ they receive should go back to the community where they took the sand from but this is not happening. Why? Failure in the corrupted Cambodia government to enforce laws and protect the livelihoods seems to be the more prevalent problem. If the money obtained from selling sand could be channeled back to the community for them to establish a tourism business there, it will be a win-win situation. Yes Sg is at fault for demanding so much sand and its our responsibility to ensure that the supply is sustainable. But the supplier country has to think of what to do with the money instead of it all going to the elites.
  • @sunlightdavid
    As terrible as we feel about this idea of 'the rich nation taking and taking from the poor nation', let's take a step back and realize that nobody could just take sand away without the agreement of the local government. So when we talk about greed (apparently of Singapore), we should also think about reasons as to why Cambodia agreed to it. The local government should have taken steps to help the ppl relocate with the money they make from selling the sand. But where did this money go?
  • @tocrob
    it's called exporting "natural resources" . In America, they are gas/oil from frackings and GMO/chemicals stuff ( soil/ground pollution).