Exploring how sand infill is transforming Phnom Penh’s Tompun-Cheung Ek wetland

Abstract

This paper focuses on the social-ecological consequences that have emerged as sand infill has transformed Phnom Penh’s Tompun-Cheung Ek wetland. This once peri-urban wetland now hosts some of Cambodia’s biggest development projects, including gated communities and high-end shopping malls. As the wetland space has shrunk, urban farmers have struggled to grow their crops. Only one staple crop continues to be grown, morning glory (Ipomoea aquatica). Finding non-farming jobs in the city is proving to be difficult: youth have turned to waste picking, a practice that began during COVID-19 when schools were shut down. This case highlights Cambodia’s uneven development, directs attention to the interplay of sand and urban formation, and illustrates the loss of ecosystem services that have emerged with the filling in of the Tompun-Cheung Ek wetland.