Recently, Koh Rong was an island that consisted mostly of dense jungle. There were a few small fishing villages, the one that I lived in, for example, and there were some lovely beaches (although, like other uninhabited beaches that I've visited, quite a bit of trash washed up on their shores).
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| A recent satellite image of Koh Rong |
Then the island was sold and HUGE roads that mostly go nowhere were put in. Some of these roads are about as wide as a four-lane highway.
Very soon the aerial view of the island will be very different. Here's a quote regarding phase one of the plan for the island. The plan for the island can be viewed here.
Phase One will include "two spa resorts, 160 estate villas, a beach club, five restaurants and a lagoon". Each villa and room will have sea view and privacy. In the same time, infrastructure will be built; including an airport in the middle of the island, port, roads, power, water and telecommunications.
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| from http://www.kohrong-island.com/ |
Although the claim is that the island will be developed in an environmentally sound way, it is hard to imagine the airport, numerous roads, casinos, resorts, golf courses, and resulting run off and feces will do much good for the reefs or the mangrove or the seagrass or the small fishing community. Currently, tourism mostly consists of small bungalows on a few of the beaches. I do hope that the plan for a marine protected area goes through and that those that wish to maintain their way of life in the village are able to do so. There will be many new economic opportunities for the villagers. Perhaps, if they know enough English they will get jobs with the tourists. Otherwise, there will not only be a flood of tourists, but also a flood of workers to the island. I don't know where that would leave the wonderful people that we worked with in the fishing village.
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