Across Cambodia, extraction barges mine sand from the Mekong River to feed a construction boom that has transformed the capital’s skyline. However, Cambodia’s appetite for sand has also become a paradox: it’s a crucial ingredient in rapid development, but it’s also come at a cost for communities whose lives are intensely dependent on the Mekong.

Scientists have warned that excessive sand mining is increasing the likelihood of the Mekong’s banks collapsing and inducing shrinkage of the Tonle Sap lake, the world’s largest inland fishery. At the local level, mining is increasing competition for space on the river as communities share their fishing grounds with networks of extraction barges. Families living on the capital’s surrounding lakes and wetlands – many of which have already been filled in by sand for real estate projects – have either been evicted or will be.

Cambodia’s intense appetite for sand poses the need for foresight when balancing short-sighted economic gains with environmental and community impacts on a river already on a knife-edge.

The Lost Lands online exhibition is a collaboration between the Shifting Sands team and a photojournalist. It seeks to document the nature and scale of sand mining activity and give a voice to some of the individuals who are impacted by it, shining a light on the hidden stories behind the global headlines of sand mining.

Photos from the exhibition have been published in various international media outlets, as well as screened at both the 2022 Angkor Photo Festival in Cambodia and the 2023 San Jose Foto Festival in Uruguay. The exhibition is also part of the Royal Geographical Society’s online collection.