The mangrove forests of Cambodia stretch for miles and miles, carving out small islands, narrow waterways and channels, and ecologically diverse estuaries. However, sand dredging on the mangroves is impacting the people who live and thrive in these forests as well as the oceans surrounding them.
For over a decade, the government of Cambodia has granted several private companies concessions to mine these mangrove forests for sand. Each year, millions of metric tons of sand are shipped to Singapore to enlarge this island nation’s land mass, while Cambodia destroys its only natural protection against erosion, rising sea levels, tsunamis, and hurricanes and lays waste to a vital and fragile ecosystem that thousands of families depend on for their livelihood.
Phalla Vy, a young Cambodian islander, bears witness to the destruction of her home in this short from filmmaker Kalyanee Mam co-produced by
Emergence Magazine and
Go Project Films.
The
Short Film Showcase spotlights exceptional short videos created by filmmakers from around the world and selected by National Geographic editors. We look for work that affirms National Geographic's belief in the power of science, exploration, and storytelling to change the world. The filmmakers created the content presented, and the opinions expressed are their own, not those of National Geographic Partners.
