Lesamian | Publication Date November 1, 2021 | 21:21 Information and Communication Technology

NGO2 Bamboo Shoot Foundation and the Cambodian Association of Travel Agents (CATA) launched an environmental cleanup campaign to pick up plastic waste along the Tonle Sap Lake in Siem Reap Province to improve the beauty of the area and increase the number of tourists visiting nearby communities.

The event will be held from October 31st to December 31st, starting from the Me Chrey pagoda complex in Peam Ta'ou Village, Keo Poa Commune, Puok District.

Sea Sophal, head of NGO2 Bamboo Shoot Foundation, said that the theme of this year's event is "Green, Clean, and Plastic-Free Tonle Sap Lake"-the project will continue to encourage community participation by properly cleaning and disposing of plastic waste.

“As the Tonle Sap River begins to recede, in this year’s event, we worked with the Ministry of Tourism and CATA to promote green tourism to Mechrey, Chong Kneas, Kampong Phluk, Kampong Khleang, Boeung Reang and all those in the lower reaches of the Siem Reap River. ,"He said.

He added that the event will increase people's awareness of the proper disposal of plastic waste, and in particular will help increase tourism income in these communities.

"It is important not only to clean the plastic in Tonle Sap, but also to beautify it. This project will help promote people's livelihoods because they have access to polished rice and other materials to participate in the proper disposal of plastic," he said .

"In order to support the plastic cleanup project, we will distribute polished rice to 360 families in the Mechrey community. Borey Peng Huoth also donated nearly 4 tons of polished rice, canned fish and soy sauce," he said, referring to a high-end gated community developer located in Phnom Penh Peng Huoth Group.

In addition, he said that the NGO2 Bamboo Shoot Foundation also distributed sacks to people so that they could use them to dispose of plastic waste.

"In this project, we distributed sacks to families so they could put plastic in them, and we also taught them to get rid of the habit of throwing plastic into the water. On the contrary, when the water level recedes or rises, they put them in Put it in a sack and pick up the plastic," he said.

Chhay Sivlin, Chairman of CATA, stated that the event will help Tonle Sap to get rid of plastic waste, thereby increasing its value as a tourist attraction. She also called on people to care for the environment and develop good hygiene habits to attract more domestic and foreign tourists to visit these communities.

"People should not throw plastic garbage into Tonle Sap Lake-they should place it properly and help keep the lake environment clean and plastic-free," she said.

Sofar of the NGO2 Bamboo Shoots Foundation said that the project has been going on every year since 2018.

He said: "In each event, 20 to 30 tons of plastic were picked up, usually filled with 4,000 to 5,000 sacks, and each event was able to mobilize 5,000 to 6,000 community members to help clean up."

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