Eco-friendly?

Expect changes at Bou Sra waterfall in Mondulkiri - this is the March 2008 version

Construction began this week to turn the area around the Bou Sra waterfall in Mondulkiri into an ecotourism magnet for visitors, though talk of constructing motels, restaurants, souvenir shops, cable-cars and cottages don't sound altogether eco-friendly to me. A local company intends to spend up to $6 million on the project and they have emphasized that they won't cut down the forest for development, but will preserve the 100-hectare site as an ecological and charming attraction. We shall see. The project is expected to take up to five years to complete and locals are hoping they will gain in terms of jobs and trickle down benefits, though the project has already begun and no-one appears to have been engaged as yet. The idea of cable-cars at such locations isn't new. I've heard talk of them being installed at both Preah Vihear and Bokor but I hope they'll be more tourist-friendly than the one I found on my visit to Phnom Theat Srei in Kompong Cham in February.

Cable-car for one at Phnom Theat Srei in Kompong Cham province