A Wall against the ocean

Prey Nup has a rich history. A century ago, the French in Indochina had established a small colony in Prey Nup. Among the people there, were Maragerite Duras and her family. Their story is told in a recent french film: Un barrage contre la mer' by Rithy Phan.

One of the objectives of the french was to reclaim the sea in order to increase land farming area.

To do so, they erected a dike and started to replantmangrove, collecting mangrove species from all along the Cambodian coastline.

There are thanks to this a large number of varied mangrove species in Prey Nup.

On the other side of the dike, today, you can see rice paddies - but this rice is not the normal kind of rice: it is a special mangrove rice that grows all year round.