Environment and natural resources

The Agriculture Ministry has ordered officials to investigate and take action against people who illegally cleared state land in Kampong Chhnang province’s in Rolea Ba’ier district. Agriculture Minister Veng Sakhon yesterday said that after receiving information about the land grab in the district’s Trapaing Ampil, Pra ...

The National Assembly has asked relevant authorities to clarify if there is any problem related to the reclamation of parts of Boeng Tamouk Lake following a petition filed by the Grassroots Democratic Party. Prach Chan, National Assembly human rights and complaints commission chairman, yesterday said he ...

The National Military Police vowed to act on the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries’ order to crack down on forestry crimes which allegedly occurred beyond the perimeter of concession land near the Vietnamese border in Mondulkiri province. Eng Hy, National Military Police spokesperson, claimed ...

In order to preserve the Kingdom’s forests, the National Committee for Forest Crime Prevention has warned it will take strict action against offenders by burning any vehicles used to transport timber at the crime scene itself. But environmental activists said this course of action would ...

The government has created a new national committee to tackle forest land clearing and grabbing. However, the move was immediately shot down by a prominent forest activist who said it would be ineffective, given the systemic collusion between the authorities and land grabbers. ...

The Environment Ministry yesterday noted that cases of illegal land encroachment and occupation of protected areas in four provinces have decreased due to measures implemented by national and local environment officials. Last year, the Environment Ministry took action against forestry crimes, such as illegal logging ...

Ratanakkiri provincial authorities and BirdLife International Cambodia Programme have urged Hoang Anh Lumphat Co Ltd to preserve the habitat of endangered fauna species in a protected area and discontinue forest clearing. ...

The Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) on Friday said the land dispute between disgraced tycoon Sok Bun and 42 families on Koh Rong Island in Preah Sihanouk province was made up in an attempt to take over state land. During a press conference on Friday, ACU president ...

The Environment Ministry on Thursday launched the Phnom Penh Sustainable City Plan 2018-2030 aimed at turning the capital into a clean and environmentally friendly city. The launching ceremony was presided over by Eang Sophalleth, a secretary of state on behalf of Say Samal, Environment Minister ...

Interior Minister Sar Kheng urged authorities on Thursday to protect Prey Lang forest, saying it is the largest remaining woodland in mainland Southeast Asia, and that amendments to laws that protect natural resources would soon be finalised. ...

The Ministry of Environment has begun implementing the policies of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), an intergovernmental body which assesses the state of biodiversity in response to requests from decision makers. ...

Battambang Provincial Court yesterday charged and jailed a well-known timber businessman living in Banan district for stocking and transporting luxury timber without authorisation in the province. Major General Cheth Vanny, deputy chief of provincial police, identified the accused as Im Borey, also known as Peach, ...

A forest protection community in Pech Chreada district’s Bou Sra commune in Mondulkiri province submitted a formal complaint on Tuesday against Saroeun Mab, the owner of four illegal sawmills who allegedly threatened three activists after they had taken photographs of suspected illegal logging in the ...

The Prey Lang Community Network (PLCN) has received the prestigious 2019 Energy Globe Award, a group representative said on Monday. The awards are known as “Nature’s Nobel Prize”. Ek Sovanna, a PLCN representative in Kratie province, told The Post on Monday that PLCN had won ...

As the impacts of climate change become more apparent worldwide, members of the public are connecting more weather events to the phenomenon. In March and April, for example, extreme heat baked mainland Southeast Asia. On April 20, Vietnam set an all-time observed record high temperature, 43 ...

Three community activists from Bou Sra commune in Mondulkiri province’s Pech Chreada district have claimed that they received death threats from the owner of four sawmills after they took photographs of alleged illegal logging from the community forest. ...

Another five people were arrested and five tractors seized in Preah Vihear province’s Prey Preah Roka Wildlife Sanctuary late last week, but all were subsequently released after being educated and ordered to pay fines, an environmental ranger said on Sunday. ...

A ministry of Environment official said last week that the Biodiversity Finance Initiative (Biofin) will help make up the shortage of finance for expenses on managing natural resources in Cambodia as the current expenditures exceeded the existing budget. ...

Development partners on Thursday asked the Mekong River Commission to prioritise policies to protect the basin in future development strategies, noting that the Mekong river basin is among the most vulnerable regions due to climate change. Representatives from Australia, Belgium, France, Germany, Japan, Luxembourg, the ...

The government’s Auction Committee has announced a public auction of more than 1,500 cubic metres of illegally logged timber at a starting price of some 1.4 billion riel (approximately $353,000). This is based on a June 6 announcement by the Ministry of Environment’s General Department ...

A five-year project known as CamAdapt, which aims to help coastal fishing communities and ecosystems in four coastal provinces – Kampot, Kep, Koh Kong and Preah Sihanouk – adapt to climate change, is expected to start early next year. ...

More than 1,000 families living inside and near wildlife sanctuaries in the Kingdom’s northern provinces have seen their livelihood significantly boosted thanks to an NGO-initiated project. And most of the families have become role models for farmers and natural resource conservationists due to the efforts ...

The Natural Resource and Wildlife Preservation Organisation (NRWPO) said that on behalf of rangers, it will formally request the Ministry of Environment next week to provide proper vehicles to transport evidence of forestry crimes. ...

The Kratie provincial Military Police raided a timber broker’s premises in Kratie town’s O’Russey commune on Tuesday, seizing eight vans which were allegedly attempting to transport logs illegally to Vietnam. Kratie Provincial Court deputy prosecutor Chea Sopheak told The Post on Tuesday that Kratie provincial ...