Gold mining pollution devastates indigenous communities and protected rivers in cambodia

Indigenous communities in northeastern Cambodia are facing a health and environmental crisis as toxic runoff from gold mining operations poisons their ancestral rivers. In Ta Bouk village, located in Ratanakiri province near the protected Virachey National Park, residents report that the once-pristine O’Ta Bouk River has become unrecognizable. “When you touch the water, the mud will stick to your skin,” explains Thao, a local villager speaking under a pseudonym due to safety concerns. “It creates skin issues and we can’t catch fish this year anymore.”

The contaminated waterway, which flows 90 kilometers through one of Cambodia’s oldest protected areas before joining the Sesan River, has sustained the Brao Indigenous people for generations. Now, residents describe water thick as condensed milk, with machinery oil floating on the surface, raising serious concerns about impacts on digestive health and overall wellbeing. The pollution has eliminated fish populations that communities depend on for food and livelihood.

This environmental disaster reflects a broader regional crisis across the Mekong basin, where hundreds of communities are experiencing similar contamination from unregulated mining operations. The mining boom is fueled by soaring gold prices, increased demand for rare earth elements, and weak government oversight of environmental standards. Satellite imagery analysis by the U.S.-based Stimson Center has documented the extensive scope of mining activities affecting protected areas and Indigenous territories.

The situation highlights the urgent need for stronger environmental regulations and enforcement to protect both Cambodia’s natural heritage and the Indigenous communities who depend on these ecosystems for survival.