David Cameron backs 'ocean-grabbing' scheme blamed for ruining fishermen's lives

28 October 2023 , 19:37

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David Cameron (Image: PA)

David Cameron has been told to sling his hook by angry Sri Lankan fishermen after backing a port project they say has wrecked marine life in the capital Colombo.

The former PM, who once pushed a Tory green agenda, was hired to boost investment in the Chinese-funded project which involved “ocean grabbing and sand mining”. Union chief Aruna Roshantha Fernando told Mr Cameron: “We have no money and no fish, we lost our jobs, we lost our land.”

He added: “We are money earners for the country, for the economy… but now, they make the port city project, that is the very best area for the fisherman and for the fish breeding and a very important area, they destroy.” The port, which critics fear could end up acting as a Chinese military outpost, has been built on 269 hectares of reclaimed land.

Cameron has angered Sri Lankan fisherman (DAILY MIRROR)

A Friends of the Earth report in 2019 said: “Negombo fisherfolk leaders protesting against the construction of the Chinese-owned Colombo Port City are being criminalised for seeking to protect their communities and livelihoods by stopping a development which is driving ocean grabbing and sand mining.”

Chair of Friends of the Earth International, Hemantha Withanage, told us: “One of the main concerns is that, because they have been… burrowing sea sand from the area where there are three coral reefs, these three coral reefs actually bring protection to the country and also they are the best fishing grounds for the people in this area from Colombo to Negombo.”

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Withanage, who is also senior adviser at the Centre for Environmental Justice in Sri Lanka, added: “These are the traditional fishing grounds for the local fisher families in that area… that’s the kind of fishing area they destroyed for this one and also they destroyed the coral reef there.”

Port City Colombo’s website says: “Developed on 269 hectares of reclaimed land in the heart of South Asia, Port City Colombo anchors in Colombo’s Central Business District (CBD). Built with the latest in sustainable city designs and smart city concepts, it will provide the highest quality in commercial, lifestyle, and living opportunities.”

Cameron’s representative and Port City Colombo were contacted for comment. Port City Colombo had said the scheme would cause fishing “minimal if any disruption”.

Simon Murphy