On-shore oil and gas exploration and extraction
Nineteen onshore blocks have been delineated for possible oil exploration. Contracts have been awarded for three. No oil is currently extracted in Cambodia. ...
SDG 15 Life on land
SDG 15 focuses on the sustainable use of terrestrial (land-based) biodiversity and ecosystems such as forests, grasslands, deserts and mountains and their interaction with freshwater systems. It aims to protect and restore their ecological function. The work includes applying sustainable land and forest management practices and ...
Environmental impact assessments
The primary legal requirements for environmental impact assessments (EIAs) in Cambodia are set out in Content II, Book V of the Environment and Natural Resource Code85, Chapter III of the Law on Environmental Protection and Natural Resource Management 199686(EPNRM Law), and the Sub-Decree no. 72 ...
Ethnic minorities and indigenous people policy and rights
Cambodia is known for its rich cultural diversity, including ethnic minorities and indigenous communities. As the country has developed, efforts have been made to recognize and protect these groups’ rights through policies and initiatives to promote inclusivity, preserve cultural heritage, and address issues such as ...
Court monitoring
Respect for strong values is the key to citizens’ trust in their courts.136 The international values recognized for judges are independence and impartiality, integrity, equality of treatment, diligence and competence. A judge cannot both decide a case and have a personal interest in its resolution. ...
Ethnic minorities and indigenous people
According to the Kingdom of Cambodia’s 2019 general population census, the total Cambodian population is 15,552,211 (51.31% of females).182 By 2021, the population increased to 16,589,023.183 Vietnamese, Chinese, Chams and other minorities also live in the country. Indigenous ethnic groups known as “Khmer Loeu” live ...
Decentralization and deconcentration
Decentralization and deconcentration are seen as “internally driven” reforms218, where the national government gradually delegates power, involving either administration or finance, to local governments to administer in their locality.27-year-old Sun Sovath supports his family by raising chickens, in Kampong Thom, Cambodia. Photo by World Bank Photo ...
Land tenure and land titling NGOs
There are four major international donors to land rights development and reform in Cambodia: the World Bank, Germany, Finland and Canada. Their support spans multiple programs and several years with the overall objective of improving land tenure security and promoting stable land markets. ...
Investment policy and regulations
Cambodia’s economy has experienced an impressive performance, reflected in its rapid economic growth and significant poverty reduction. Part of this is the result of the relative openness of Cambodia towards foreign investors. Domestic investment has also been growing, although at a lower rate than other ...
Extractive industries licensing and payments
Overview of an industrial gold mine and refinery in Okvau. Photo taken from the Ministry of Mines and Energy’s Facebook Page, taken on 11 June 2021.Mineral resources are defined as “any substance, whether in solid, liquid or gaseous form, naturally originated by a geological process ...
Water policy and administration
In Cambodia, alternate periods of drought and heavy rains bring challenges for water management. The current trends show increasing annual rainfall and temperature throughout Cambodia, with a likelihood that both flooding and droughts will increase in frequency, severity and duration346. Water management involves issues of ...
Disaster preparedness and emergency response policy and administration
In the World Risk Index for 2020, Cambodia was ranked as the 16th most vulnerable country in the world out of 181 countries listed.375 Global climate changes and ongoing disasters such as storms, floods and droughts are big challenges partly because of a lack of ...
Procurement
“Stopping corruption may start from us” (Khmer version on Clean Hand poster), in Kratie province, Cambodia. Photo by World Bank Photo Collection, taken on November 22, 2006. Licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0In Cambodia, the activities of buying goods, construction work, repairs, and services and consultation ...
Relevant ministries
The Ministry of Environment is the main authority mandated to oversee environmental issues, including protected areas, environmental impact assessments, and management of natural resources. ...
Extractive industries
Extractive industries include mining and mineral sectors, natural gas and oil exploration, petroleum refineries, and quarrying for construction resources such as sand, stone, and gravel. Cambodia’s extractive resources have gone largely untapped, while these resources are geographically identifiable. French and Chinese geologists have been indicated ...
Forest protection
Deforestation has always been a problem in Cambodia since the 1970s, and it has aggravated inthe last decade. Some protected areas have been deforested. Between 2001 and 2018, Cambodia had lost 557,000 hectares (11.7%) of forest cover in protected areas.517 This loss has had an ...
Pollution and waste
The rapid economic and population growth in Cambodia is leading to significant environmental pollution. The economic development activities have generated major environmental consequences, including air pollution, water pollution, noise pollution and solid wastes. ...
Carbon trading and other Payments for Ecological Services (PES)
Forest view. Photo by Open Development Cambodia, taken on 05 December 2021. Under license CC BY-SA 4.0.Cambodia is covered with forest, accounting for around 13.1 million hectares in 1973, and it is had fallen to 8.7 million hectares in 2014.571 However, based on the Ministry ...
Overview of policy and legal framework
Environmental protection and conservation are given high priority in the Royal Government of Cambodia’s guiding strategy, the Rectangular Strategy Phase III (2014–2018). ...
Public land lease
Public land leases are grants of state lands to private entities in the form of a contractual rental agreement. These leases often take the form of land concessions, in particular economic land concessions. They are often associated with land conflicts and disputes. ...