Environment and natural resources
Biodiversity
Concern over decline of Cambodia’s honeybees
Honeybees have a huge role in tropical ecosystems, but illegal logging and unsustainable honey harvesting are hurting their population. Honeybees have co-evolved with flowering plants and their overall health is an indicator of an ecosystem’s wellbeing. ...
Hong Chenda
http://www.voacambodia.com/content/concerns-over-decline-of-cambodia-honeybees/3191664.html
River Coalition of Cambodia: say no to Lao dam
The River Coalition of Cambodia, along with 13 other NGOs, released a letter yesterday requesting Prime Minister Hun Sen demand the Lao government to cancel the construction of their Don Sahong hydropower dam and also pause all hydropower projects along the Mekong River due to ...
May Titthara
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/21318/river-coalition-of-cambodia--say-no-to-lao-dam/
Upgraded training program for elite forest rangers
The first graduates of a special training program for elite forest rangers began work this month in Preah Vihear’s protected forest.The 29 newly-minted rangers will be responsible for leading efforts to stop illegal logging, land clearance, and poaching in a forest that is home to ...
Jonathan Cox
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/20991/upgraded-training-program-for-elite-forest-rangers/
Cambodia may seek India's help for tiger reintroduction
Cambodia may seek tigers from India as it plans to reinstate the big cat in the Southeast Asian nation. The last tiger was sighted in Cambodia in 2007.Representatives from Cambodia, Myanmar and Thailand participated in a two day study programme to understand the successful tiger ...
Elephants get love and care in Cambodia, with tourists' help
The trip to the hills of eastern Cambodia had all the makings of a luxurious getaway: delicious fresh fruit fed by hand, a dip in a refreshingly cold watering hole and a relaxing massage. At the Mondulkiri Project, it’s not the people who call the ...
Kristi Eaton
http://abcnews.go.com/Travel/wireStory/elephants-love-care-cambodia-tourists-35653275
Wild things return to Angkor Wat
Decades after poachers stripped the forests surrounding Angkor Wat of large mammals, an innovative conservation group is bringing them back. Already, Wildlife Alliance has rewilded the forest with gibbons and langurs. And more are coming. ...
Jeremy Hance
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/radical-conservation/2015/nov/24/angkor-wat-wildlife-gibbons-rewilding
Dolphin’s decline down, infant survival rate up
The rate at which the population of Irrawaddy dolphins in the Mekong River is declining has dropped dramatically in recent years, although more dolphins must be protected into adulthood to save the species from extinction, according to a new report released Tuesday. ...
Taylor O'Connell and Ouch Sony
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/dolphins-decline-down-infant-survival-rate-up-99915/
Experts strategize on wildlife reintroduction
The pangolin is slow and has no teeth—its main defense is curling up into a ball on the dense forest floor. It’s an easy target for poachers looking to cash in on the mammal’s much-prized meat or the supposed medicinal qualities of the tiny anteater’s ...
Meghan Tribe
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/experts%E2%80%88strategize-on-wildlife-reintroduction-98393/
Cambodia's 'Elephant Valley' brings new hope to a last precious rainforest
An initiative to re-home abused, over-worked domestic elephants is supporting the conservation of one of Cambodia’s last and most species-rich rainforests, writes William Laurance. Growing ecotourism in the area, attracted by the elephants, is engaging indigenous communities in forest protection and helping to stave off ...
William Laurance
http://www.theecologist.org/News/news_analysis/2985902/cambodias_elephant_valley_brings_new_hope_to_a_last_precious_rainforest.html
Mekong dams could halve fish stocks: study
Fish stocks in the Mekong River in Cambodia and the Vietnamese Delta could be halved if 11 planned hydropower dams go ahead, according to the preliminary results of an extensive study funded by the Vietnamese government. ...
James Reddick
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/17027/mekong-dams-could-halve-fish-stocks--study/
Vietnamese man arrested for smuggling ivory, tiger claws haul
A Vietnamese national was charged with smuggling animal parts Tuesday after he was caught with 43 kg of ivory at Siem Reap International Airport on Sunday night, officials said. ...
Fishing cat found in Cambodia after decade-long absence
Fishing cats are a rare species of predatory feline found in South and Southeast Asia. For decades, fishing cat populations have been in decline. The latest sightings were made possible by a remote cameras set up by researchers with Cambodia’s Center for Biodiversity Conservation ...
Brooks Hays
http://www.upi.com/Science_News/2015/09/03/Fishing-cat-found-in-Cambodia-after-decade-long-absence/8601441303016/
More primates released at Angkor, deer to follow
The Angkor Wildlife Release Project successfully released a third group of primates into the Angkor Archaeological Park earlier this summer. An enclosure for two species of deer is now under construction. ...
Naomi-Collett Ritz
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/14636/more-primates-released-at-angkor--deer-to-follow/
Wild macaques ‘laundered’ for sale in Vietnam
Considered a nuisance throughout much of Cambodia, the long-tailed macaque might not seem like a species in need of protection. ...
Chris Mueller
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/wild-macaques-laundered-for-sale-in-vietnam-91742/
Authorities release pair of rare gibbons near famed temples
Cambodian wildlife officials have released a pair of Asian gibbons into the forests near Angkor Wat, seeking to spread their population.The rare gibbons have been the subject of a protection program between the government and Wildlife Alliance since 2009. ...
Pang Chamnan
http://www.voacambodia.com/content/authorities-release-pair-of-rare-gibbons-near-famed-temples/2916497.html
Three men arrested in Mondolkiri with deer meat
Authorities in Mondolkiri province arrested three men Wednesday morning after discovering nearly 150 kg of illegal bushmeat in the vehicle they were driving, a forestry official said. ...
Buth Kimsay
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/three-men-arrested-in-mondolkiri-with-deer-meat-91536/
Cambodia makes progress curbing bear trade
Cambodia’s wild bears are under unprecedented pressure. Their native forests are being cut down at record rates, and China’s huge demand for traditional medicine has made them targets. But experts say Cambodia’s conservation efforts are setting an example that has put it well ahead of ...
Robert Carmichael
http://www.voacambodia.com/content/cambodia-makes-progress-curbing-bear-trade/2900786.html
Cambodia’s royal turtle back from the brink of extinction
The southern river terrapin is among the lesser-known of Cambodia’s many globally endangered species, which also include the Asiatic black bear, the Asian elephant and the Indochinese tiger. ...
Sun Sokhen
http://www.voacambodia.com/content/cambodia-royal-turtle-back-from-the-brink-of-extinction/2900647.html
Environmentalists issue warning on Mekong biodiversity
Scientists say the Southeast Asia’s rapid development is driving deforestation in the vital Mekong Subregion, and threatening scores of species in one of the world’s most biodiverse ecosystems. Trafficking in plant and animal wildlife is accelerating the trend, and governments are being pressed to do ...
Ron Corben
http://www.voanews.com/content/enviornmentalists-issue-warning-on-mekong-biodiversity/2888102.html
Cambodia urged to act on plans to reintroduce tigers
The Cambodian arm of the World Wildlife Fund has called on the government to move forward with plans to reintroduce wild tigers in the country’s eastern forests, but reiterated concerns over possible development in the area. ...
Worldbulletin News Staff
http://www.worldbulletin.net/news/162548/cambodia-urged-to-act-on-plans-to-reintroduce-tigers
Deer headed to Angkor
The forests around Cambodia’s iconic Angkor Temple Complex will soon be home once more to a species of deer that had disappeared from the area due to excessive hunting during the latter part of the last century. ...
Charles Parkinson
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/deer-headed-angkor
Sun bears under the gun
Facing snares, hunters and deforestation, sun bears are in danger of being classified as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) – and deforestation is their main threat. ...
Pav Suy and Jonathan Cox
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/12798/sun-bears-under-the-gun/
Tiny frog in Virachey added to red list
A tiny species of frog that may be found only in Virachey National Park in Cambodia’s remote northeast was yesterday officially classified as endangered by a major international conservation group. ...
Daniel Pye
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/tiny-frog-virachey-added-red-list
Government standing by decision to not renew activist’s visa
The Ministry of Interior on Wednesday said it was standing by its decision to not renew the visa of outspoken environmental activist Alejandro Gonzalez-Davidson in the face of mounting pressure from fellow activists, NGOs, unions, students and monks—even opposition leader Sam Rainsy—to reverse course. ...
Khuon Narim and Zsombor Peter
https://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/government-standing-by-decision-to-not-renew-activists-visa-78270/