and rice production, the mighty mekong river is the lifeblood of southeast asia. but today, one of the biggest businesses on the river in cambodia is dredging it for sand to make concreteeeding one of the biggest industries in the developing world: develos ent. nowhere mand for sand been greater than in asia. across this sprawling continent, tens of millions of miles of new roads have been built connecting hundreds of millions of new homes. construction has driven the large economies like china and india and the smaller ones like cambodia whose cities like phnom penh have joined the building binge. skyscrapers, malls and apartments crowd the skyline, s much of it investment from china-fueling an economy that's grown at a healthy 7.5% each year since 2005.mo rath yos of the government ministry overseeing mineral e.sources says sand mining plays an important rol s ( translated ): td mining industry in cambodia provides economic benefits to cambodia both directly and indirectly. it deepens the river and makes transportation easier. it also provides material and land

despite loud prosts, pnom penh's biggest lake, bok keung, was filled in with sand from the mekong, to create more land for construction. it was the largest of 12 lakes and wetlands that ve disappeared from the city. >> ( translated ): the most affected community are people who live along the river. when there is collapse, when people lose their land, lose their house, there's no compensation. >> reporter: he took us just outside phnom penh to see what happens in sand mining's wake. >> ( translated ): we woke up at one in theorning and we found that it had all collapsed into the river. >> reporter: mom mut is having concrete pilings builto save what's left of her home-after part of it disappeared. >> ( translated ): only four months after sand dredging started, we noticed the land was different, it kind of changed. >> reporter: she showed us perwork from the dredging company promising compensation if her property was damaged. two years on, she's receivedg nothd isn't optimistic that will change. >> ( translated ): i hope to prevent the rest of my house from collapsing. >> reporter: it'

land jumps out from the folds and countless waterways of the mekong. this is a familiar one hunting ground for. getting there takes good balance and steady nerves. that were like oh. my god. what's that about yeah yeah. i. like the elf. but. it was my last. flight and i. fish worried upstream. they eventually become trapped and will pull further down the river. but. that the take a bit. oh. yeah casts his net relentlessly and. why. they. will fit. any might. not get out and make a dot net dot on it and not in life if you want them back.

land just south from the fulls and countless waterways of the mekong. this is a familiar hunting ground for. getting there takes good balance and steady nerves. at work but on. the other. side. what's that about yeah yeah. i. like the elf. but. if i want them in my. life and i. fish breed upstream. they eventually become trapped and we'll pull this further down the river. but. that of the take a bit. yeah oh. yeah casts his net relentlessly and. why. they. follow the fit. i mean might. not get out and on that got a lot of them and not a lot in life if you want them back. whoa whoa. i several families share the dangers of the rapids. each has it's a fishing take i hope. noir and his colleagues catch up to 100 kilos pradesh using a remarkable method. that i. love and i'm not about that i. feel like. the current pushes the fish into their ingenious wooden ramps all they have to do is pick the fish out of the woods. the mekong is home to 200 different species of fish eye the largest of which a cool with a trap that must be set in the middle of the rapids. o

land just south from the foals and countless waterways of the mekong. this is a familiar hunting ground for. getting there takes good balance and steady nerves. at work but on. the other. side. but that's about. it. i. like the elf. but i got caught up on my last. flight and i. fish worried upstream. they eventually become trapped and will pull this further down the river. but. that of the take a bit. yeah oh. yeah casts his net relentlessly and. why. they. call the bit. let me tell you. why. i. get that and on that i thought it was not in life if you want them back. why what. i several families share the dangers of the rapids. each has its own fishing take i hope. noya and his colleagues catch up to $100.00 kilos per day using a remarkable method. that i. love it was not about. what i. feel but. the current pushes the fish into their ingenious wooden ramps all they have to do is pick the fish out of the water. the mekong is home to 200 different species of fish eye the largest of which are cool with a trap that must be set in the middle of the rapids.

he and other families across the mekong delta are facing an increasingly desperate situation.e this open space of water. in july, they crumbled into the river due to erosion and you can see these sandbags that have been put in place to try and protect their houses. now, further down here, the couple have created a temporary home because they are nervous that their house is going to collapse into the river. it's not just houses. livelihoods have been lost in the delta. this is the agricultural heartland of the country but rising sea levels, coastal erosion and saltwater intrusion make farming increasingly difficult, and so thousands are being displaced. families who feel unable to cope with the changes, leave for cities like ho chi minh. the government is trying to help. they've created relocation programmes for vulnerable families. they also put dykes in place to try and help mitigate the impact of flooding. but some local scientists are concerned about their impact on the delta's ecosystem. so what's being done about it? we believe that youth are the drivers, the agents for c

land jumps out from the fulls and countless waterways of the mekong.this is a familiar hunting ground for. getting there takes good balance and steady nerves. that were like oh. my god. what's that about yeah yeah. i. like the elf. but. it was my last. flight and i. fish worried upstream. they eventually become trapped and will pull further down the river. that make a bit. oh. yeah casts his net relentlessly and. life. will fit. me might. not get out and on that i thought it was not in life if i want them back. i several families share the dangers of the rapids. each has its own fishing take i go. all. the way and his colleagues catch up to $100.00 kilos per day using a remarkable method. that i. love and not about. what i. feel but. the current pushes the fish into their ingenious wooden ramps all they have to do is pick the fish out of the woods. to make home is home to 200 different species of fish eye the largest of which are cool with a trap that must be set in the middle of the rapids i. will . take a cock up not like about that ha ha ha. ha ha h

the mekong area is the next geopolitical clash point.concern is it for you that china perhaps could be asserting his economic clout on these less wealthy countries in exchange for more control of the region especially in the mekong area that has material waterways like rivers and dams as well? lena: we look into china's overall policy, in terms of bringing to the country, it is the aunt resources because they are only looking at resources, they are lipid -- little bit shortsighted because investment in laos is not very much. in terms of looking at the numbers, the belt and road initiative, [indiscernible] laos used to be landlocked. now it will not be. that will be [indiscernible] and connectivity to europe. you can cut from china to europe in only 18 days, but take more than 45 days. i think the strategy linkage beyond that they are looking into. yvonne: you are on a panel talking about the role of -- there is a gap of the manufacturing structure and building these kind of vertical -- how do you bridge that gap? sme perspective we are l

flooding in cambodia more than 10000 families had to be moved to safety days of heavy rain caused the mekong river to overflow submerging homes and crops officials say 11 provinces remain at risk of flooding as heavy rainfall is forecast until next week. afghanistan's president ashraf ghani has pledged security reforms to prevent civilian casualties in the war against militants it follows a taliban truck bomb attack on a hospital and a missed directed u.s. drone strike that killed civilian workers in the field rather than the intended islamic state hideout at least 69 people were killed in the incidents british bret's it minister stephen bartley says talks with the european union have gained momentum the e.u. has that demanded written proposals from britain on how it intends to avoid costly time consuming checks of the irish border the northern ireland leaves the block with the rest of the u.k. on the 31st of october. according moscow has ordered the release of an actor found guilty of injuring a police officer as an opposition protest. in office one of several people jailed over a series of

high waters have forced the evacuation of more than 10000 families days of heavy rain caused the mekong river to overflow submerging homes and crops officials say 11 provinces remain at risk of flooding from heavy rainfall expected until next week. turning now to pakistan how much of a threat are rising sea levels to cities around the world they are very anstice to that question but the common thread is that cities in asia will be the worst hit one estimate says 4 out of 5 people will be impacted by the rise in sea levels by 2050 but in places like kitty banda in southern pakistan the effects are already being felt. in the coastal region of katy banda houses lie a band and and rice fields lie submerged beneath the water. the rising sea level has turned the area into a swamp and aberrated families who've lived here for generations. by. war did what i got of our previous home was flooded we had to move to save ourselves from the. mainly. the area was once a thriving agricultural hub now the submerged remains of the rice mill are a tragic reminder of what once was. there was a vast agricul

he and other families across the mekong delta of facing an increasingly desperate situation.elta. this is the agricultural heartland of the country, but rising sea levels, coastal erosion and salt water intrusion are making farming increasingly difficult, and so thousands are being displaced. families who feel unable to cope with the changes leave for cities like ho chi minh. the government is trying to help. they've created relocation programmes for vulnerable families. they've also put dykes in place to try and help mitigate the impact of flooding. but some local scientists are concerned they are impacting the delta's ecosystem. so what's being done about it? we believe that youth are the agent for change, and it's much easier to impact on the way they think. 21—year—old linh is running a workshop called lens on mekong. she's gathered students from across the country and delta region to learn about the environment and how to film. they hope by educating themselves and learning to tell their stories more widely, people both here and internationally will take greater action t

corporation, because itself the world's leading industry developer that helps plan smart cities along the mekongia. and the opportunities they are seeing from the belt and road initiative. finally, the cofounder and ceo of we lab, a hong kong's homegrown online and mobile letting platform. we are asking him what is the play when it comes to belt and road and a course their belt there -- virtual bank in the city. paul: you mentioned some of the criticisms the belt and road has faced in terms of opec financing and some of the smaller economies getting into this debt trap. has china done enough to change the narrative around that could assist him? -- around that criticism. >> you have seen efforts, you mentioned some of these less wealthy economies like kenya, pakistan who are unable to pay down their debt. there are a lot of questions about these billion dollars worth of denver structure projects. -- can ashley make money? where the able to deal with them or can they make money. has shifted from the big items to focus on some of the smaller items, manufacturing and bridging gaps with smes and buil