Environment and natural resources
Water resources
Impact study on river bank ‘development’ begins
The Ministry of Water Resources and Meteorology said on Tuesday it is conducting an environmental impact study after it received a proposal from Try Pheap Engineering & Construction Co Ltd to dredge the Mekong River and use the sand to develop the river bank. ...
Khorn Savi
https://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/impact-study-river-bank-development-begins
Families living around lake evicted
Prek Pnov district authorities have evicted families living illegally around Boeng Tamouk lake, Phnom Penh’s largest reservoir, part of which is to be reclaimed to build a market. Sim Sophang, district administrative chief, said there will be no compensation. “There is no policy to compensate them ...
Khuon Narim
https://www.khmertimeskh.com/50605742/families-living-around-lake-evicted/
Firm requests permission to restore riverbanks
Try Pheap Engineering & Construction Co Ltd has requested permission from Prime Minister Hun Sen to pump and restore the banks of the Mekong river, according to a Council of Ministers’ letter. The restoration area in question stretches from the Kaam Samnor Cambodia-Vietnam border checkpoint ...
Khorn Savi
https://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/firm-requests-permission-restore-riverbanks
Families fear Koh Rong land claim
Dozens of families in Preah Sihanouk province are concerned they will lose their land after hearing that a tycoon is seeking the local authority’s approval to transfer ownership of over 500ha to him, while the families claim the actual area of land he owns is ...
Khouth Sophak Chakrya
https://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/families-fear-koh-rong-land-claim
Restoration or legal action, district governor warns
People who filled in more than a hectare of mangroves in Preah Sihanouk province to plant coconut trees have been given a month to restore the area to its former state or face legal action, Stung Hav district governor told The Post on Tuesday. ...
Voun Dara
https://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/restoration-or-legal-action-district-governor-warns
Ministry approves protected area status for Yeak Laom Lake in Ratanakkiri
The Ministry of Environment on Friday approved the registration of the Yeak Laom Lake community natural protected area in Ratanakkiri province to support the preservation of natural resources, culture and eco-tourism. The indigenous community hailed the decision, but said it had come too late to ...
Sand mining threatens ways of life, from Cambodia to Nigeria
If you were disturbed by the damage done to Cambodian coastal fisheries by the industrial-scale dredging of sand for sale to Singapore, as shown in the new documentary short “The Lost World,” there’s good news: the practice has largely been shut down in Koh Kong, ...
Vince Beiser
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/2019/04/sand-mining-cambodia-the-lost-world-film/
Siem Reap authorities research ways to clean town’s main river
Siem Reap town’s civil society organisations and citizens have criticised the release of wastewater from guesthouses, hotels and restaurants into Siem Reap River, which has contaminated its water. Authorities are looking into measures to improve the main river of the Kingdom’s principal historic tourism city. ...
Voun Dara
https://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/siem-reap-authorities-research-ways-clean-towns-main-river
Angkor Wat moat drying ‘could affect foundations’
A historian has raised fears that the drought currently gripping Cambodia could affect the foundations of the Kingdom’s globally renowned Angkor Wat, while the temple complex’s Apsara Authority management has said that, while it was prepared, it was not expecting such a problem. ...
Voun Dara
https://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/angkor-wat-moat-drying-could-affect-foundations
Sihanoukville authorities close canal to transfer flow of polluted water
Local authorities on Tuesday decided to close a canal at Sihanoukville’s Sokha Beach following the completion of four facilities in Preah Sihanouk province designed to treat wastewater before it reaches the sea. Four more facilities are still under construction. The first four water treatment plants, ...
More than 15,000 trees planted in Sihanoukville in bid to fight pollution
More than 15,000 luxury neang nuon trees have been planted along Sihanoukville’s streets, around four water treatment facilities and along the Ochheuteal canal, in order to mitigate the pollution of the coastal environment when dirty water flows into the sea. ...
Khouth Sophak Chakrya
https://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/more-15000-trees-planted-sihanoukville-bid-fight-pollution
Government issues advice amid heatwave
The Ministry of Health has issued advice on avoiding health problems as temperatures continue to rise this hot season, warning some conditions brought risks to life. The announcement comes as the weather heated up across Cambodia, with the dry season predicted to prolong into the ...
Long Kimmarita
https://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/government-issues-advice-amid-heatwave
O’Touk area development ‘a concern’
Civil society organisations monitoring land disputes in Preah Sihanouk province continue to voice concerns over the environmental impact of developing public land after permission was granted to reclaim a site in the O’Touk area to build a boat terminal. Sok Sokhom, the director of the ...
Voun Dara
https://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/otouk-area-development-concern
Dry spell causing power cuts: PM
Prime Minister Hun Sen on Saturday said the country is now facing an electricity shortage of about 400 megawatts, leading to power outages, and appealed to people, especially those in the business sector, to understand that this is because of an ongoing dry spell. Speaking ...
Taing Vida
https://www.khmertimeskh.com/50587742/dry-spell-causing-power-cuts-pm-2/
Hun Sen seeks support for river systems
Prime Minister Hun Sen on Saturday ordered all ministries and relevant institutions to prevent illegal sand dredging, fishing and the cutting down of mangrove trees. Presiding over the 5th River Festival held in Kampong Chhnang province, Mr Hun Sen said that he ordered all relevant ...
Khy Sovuthy
https://www.khmertimeskh.com/50587743/hun-sen-seeks-support-for-river-systems/
Concerns over Koh Rong Samloem petrol station
Community representatives and civil society groups have hit out at plans for a petrol station on Preah Sihanouk province’s Koh Rong Samloem, expressing concern at the environmental impact the project will have on the tourist hotspot. ...
Voun Dara
https://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/concerns-over-koh-rong-samloem-petrol-station
Drought a ‘grave concern’
Local communities in rural areas across the Kingdom have expressed grave concerns over the severe lack of water for their daily consumption amid a prolonged drought that has caused streams, creeks, lakes and ponds to gradually dry up. Due to high demand for water to ...
Khouth Sophak Chakrya
https://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/drought-grave-concern
Droughts in Pailin, Banteay Meanchey
Some areas in Pailin and Banteay Meanchey provinces are facing water shortages due to prolonged drought, though no major impacts have been reported, according to a spokesman for the Ministry of Water Resources and Meteorology. ...
Voun Dara
https://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/droughts-pailin-banteay-meanchey
Sihanoukville’s new sewage systems ‘almost complete’
Following public outcry after waste from construction projects in Sihanoukville was found being dumped directly into the sea, provincial authorities have said four sewage systems are now almost complete. The construction of sewage systems at four beaches was 80 per cent finished, while two pumping ...
Soth Koemsoeun
https://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/sihanoukvilles-new-sewage-systems-almost-complete
Japan aid totals $135 million
Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Prak Sokhonn on Wednesday said the Japanese government had provided the Kingdom with $134.38 million in aid packages in the past 12 months – $19.42 million in grants and the remaining $114.96 million in loans. ...
Soth Koemsoeun
https://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/japan-aid-totals-135-million
Government reshuffles coastal managemet committee members
The government reshuffled members of the National Committee for Coastal Management and Development in late January, according to a government statement received by The Post on Tuesday. Prime Minister Hun Sen continues to serve as the committee’s honorary president, while Minister of Land Management, Urban ...
Khorn Savi
https://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/government-reshuffles-coastal-managemet-committee-members
Sihanoukville short of fresh water
Villagers and local freshwater vendors on Thursday expressed concern about fresh water supply in Preah Sihanouk province, after a private company partially filled fresh water reservoir Boeung Prek Tup with sand for tourist development. Boeung Prek Tup is a natural lake located in Sihanoukville’s Village ...
Voun Dara
https://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/sihanoukville-short-fresh-water
NCMD urges provincial governors to protect zones
The National Committee for the Management and Development of Coastal Zone has urged four provincial administrations to protect coastal zones and prevent illegal encroachment of coastal zones. These provincial administrations include Preah Sihanouk, Kampot, Kep and Koh Kong. ...
Pech Sotheary
https://www.khmertimeskh.com/50573898/ncmd-urges-provincial-governors-to-protect-zones/
Fish farmers resist as lake is drained
Some 60 per cent of 302 families living at Boeung Samrong lake in Phnom Penh’s Prek Pnov district agreed to accept compensation as authorities began draining the lake in preparation for increasing its depth, said Prek Pnov administration chief Sim Sophorng. However, the remaining residents ...
Long Kimmarita
https://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/fish-farmers-resist-lake-drained