Social development
The New Asian Century
With growing uncertainty in the US economy and an unfolding fiscal and debt crisis in the Eurozone after the global recession in 2008, Asia is expected to continue leading the global recovery. Under such circumstances, the 21st Century is emerging as the “New Asian Century”, ...
Japan Loans over $53 Million to Improve Agriculture and Education
Cambodia will receive a concessional loan package of $53.3 million US dollars from Japan to restore the irrigation canal system and another $700,000 dollars grant aid to enhance education materials for minerals resources and topology department of the Institute of Technology of Cambodia (ITC), the ...
Prey Long Forest Protesters Rounded Up, 'Reeducated'
Authorities in Phnom Penh briefly detained about 100 villagers yesterday who were distributing leaflets to raise awareness of the ongoing destruction of Prey Long, one of Cambodia’s largest remaining primary forests. The leaflet distributors had their materials confiscated and were escorted to six commune offices ...
HLH to Expand With Corn, Rice Plantations
Singapore-listed firm HLH Group is planning to expand its presence in Cambodia with 90,000 hectares of corn, rice and soybean plantations planned over the next decade in Kompong Speu and Koh Kong provinces, an official at the company said yesterday. HLH Group came under scrutiny ...
(Simon Marks and Kuch Naren, p 29)
http://www.camnet.com.kh/cambodia.daily/
Cambodian 'Avatars' Rally to Save Forest
More than one hundred villagers dressed as the forest people from the hit film “Avatar” protested in the Cambodian capital Thursday against the destruction of the country’s Prey Lang forestThey say the forest, which is a source of livelihood for some 200,000 mainly indigenous people, ...
Comprehensive Land Policy Is Under Construction
In response to the vision of land policy in Cambodia, which is to administer, manage, use and distribute land in an equitable, transparent, efficient, and sustainable manner in order to contribute to achieving national goals of poverty alleviation, ensuring food security, national resources and environmental ...
Adhoc Calls for Stronger Indigenous Land Rights
The government must correctly implement the Land Law and allow indigenous people greater access to collective titling of their native territories, human rights group Adhoc said yesterday in a statement. Although there is a provision in the Land Law allowing indigenous groups to obtain collective ...
Villagers Face Hefty Court Fees in Land Dispute
Kompong Chhnang Provincial Court has ordered 40 families embroiled in a long-running land dispute with the wife of Minister of Industry Suy Sem to pay court fees of up to $155 each, or have their complaints dropped. The villagers, however, say they are too poor ...
90 Garment Factory Workers Faint Over Two-Day Period
About 90 garment factory workers fainted over a two-day period last week at Zhen Tai garment factory in Sen Sok district’s Phnom Penh Thmei commune, union officials and police said yesterday, though accounts of what caused the mass fainting differed. Thirty workers first fainted on ...
Teenager Rescued From T&P Training Center
Police and a human rights group said they rescued a 15-year-old girl from the training center of an overseas job recruitment agency in Kompong Chhnang province on Saturday. A rights worker said two more underage girls had been saved from being sent abroad to work ...
Mekong environment ministers talk on sustainable economic development
Cambodia on July 28th hosted the 3rd Greater Mekong Sub- Region Environment Ministers to look forward to sustainable economic development in the region and to talk about current projects to reduce harm for regions and also to minimize several environmental challenges affecting natural resources, forest and ...
(Khem Sovannara and Chhorng Long Heng, p 7)
http://thesoutheastasiaweekly.com/?p=1289
Chevron talks oil production
Chevron Overseas Petroleum (Cambodia) has been actively exploring Cambodia’s offshore Block A, and applied for a permit to begin extraction from government authorities. Yesterday, The Post caught up with its President Steve Glick, who has been in his present role in Phnom Penh for about ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2011080450868/Business/chevron-talks-oil-production.html
Complaint over violence
Twenty-nine community representatives from Kampong Speu’s Phnom Sruoch district travelled in person to the National Assembly building in Phnom Penh yesterday to file a complaint against provincial governor Kang Heang and other officials, accusing them of “robbing a total of 950 hectares of farm land”. ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2011080450865/National-news/complaint-over-violence.html
Tax-Free Trade Access Will Stay, Says EU
The European Union has said that it has no plans to suspend Cambodia’s duty-free trade access even though there have been concerns over land evictions as a result of economic land concessions. The EU is seeking that human rights are not the cost of trade ...
About 400 Chickens Inspected for Bird Flu
About 400 chickens suspected of being infected with bird flu were culled Friday in Banteay Meanchey province’s Monkol Borei district after a died of the virus less than two weeks ago, officials said. Meanwhile, last week the Agriculture Ministry reported that H5N1, or avian influenza, ...
K Speu Court Summons Three in Land Dispute
Three villagers have been summoned as a result of bloody clash last year stemming from a land dispute and eviction by the Kompong Speu Provincial Court. The 65 hectares of land have been awarded to Kuo Sheng a Taiwanese businessman by the Supreme court. Licadho, ...
Climate change on agenda
Prime Minister Hun Sen yesterday called for greater regional cooperation to tackle a range of environmental problems in the Greater Mekong Sub-region, but did not specifically address the threat posed by dams. “I call on all countries in the Greater Mekong Sub-region to place more emphasis ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2011072950721/National-news/climate-change-on-agenda.html
Villagers Seek Premier’s Intervention for Land Titles
Villagers from Battambang province have submitted petitions to Prime Minister Hun Sen asking that land management officials grant them the titles to the land they claim to have lived and worked on for 30 years. Apparently they were previously granted the right to construct homes ...
Concessions Affect 3,000 Families, Adhoc Says
According to human rights group Adhoc, five agro-farming concessions granted to Chinese firms are adversely affecting 3,000 families in Preah Vihear province. The concessions have come with warnings of possible land disputes and potential protests. Prime Minister Hun Sen granted the economic land concessions to ...