Aid and development
Development policy and administration
1 in 20 Firms Carry Out Environment Assessments
Only about 5 percent of the roughly 2,000 major development projects, such as dams, roads and bridges, approved by the government between 2004 and 2011 carried out environmental impact assessments, an official at the ministry of Environment said yesterday. Speaking at a workshop in Phnom Penh ...
Simon Lewis and Khuon Narim, P.1
http://www.cambodiadaily.com
Millions Threatened by Dam in Stung Treng
More studies should be conducted on the controversial Lower Sesan 2 dam in Stung Treng province in order to understand its potential social and environmental effects, Conservation International (C.I.) said in a statement. The Lower Sesan 2-as well as other dams planned for the Sesan, Srepok ...
Thailand to host meeting on Mekong development
Thailand will host the International Conference on Sustainable Development in the Lancang-Mekong Sub-Region next year to push for natural-disaster management, development and security in the Mekong River and its basin, a government official said yesterday. ...
The Nation
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/politics/Thailand-to-host-meeting-on-Mekong-development-30194726.html
China offers Cambodia $53 mln to develop water resources
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao pledged RMB 329 million ($53 million) in assistance to Cambodia on Sunday during a meeting with Prime Minister Hun Sen, a Cambodian official said. Ieng Sophalet, an assistant to Hun Sen, told reporters that the grant would be used for water resource ...
Environment plan passes unopposed
In a sitting of parliament yesterday that was rather more subdued than the vicious session that led to an opposition walkout a day earlier, a law to support an environmental program passed with bipartisan support. All but two of the 93 legislat-ors present voted in favour ...
Aviation Chief Urges Compensation for Victims of PMT Crash
Fielding questions from opposition lawmakers in the National Assembly yesterday, the chief of the State Secretary of Civil Aviation (SSCA) addressed a host of issues that have drawn recent criticism of the government body. SSCA Secretary of State Mao Havanall began by saying that the secretariat ...
Sesan Dam Decision Questioned
Cambodia has decided to go ahead with the construction of a dam on a Mekong tributary, but conservation groups are concerned that not enough study has been done on the hydropower project’s environmental consequences. Construction on the 400 megawatt Lower Sesan 2 dam in northwestern Cambodia’s ...
http://www.rfa.org/english/news/cambodia/sesan-11142012170421.html
Cambodia's Parliament Ratifies Conventions On Nuclear Safety
The National Assembly of Cambodia on Wednesday ratified two international conventions on Early Notification of a Nuclear Accident or Radiological Emergency and Nuclear Safety to maintain security and prevent nuclear proliferation. “Cambodia has neither nuclear power plant nor chemical weapon plant; Cambodia is a country ...
http://www.bernama.com.my/bernama/v6/newsindex.php?id=709118
Laos hydro dam upsets Mekong River neighbors
Laos began construction last week on a multi-billion dollar hydro dam project that is opposed by other countries along the Mekong River, and activists who say the project will significantly impact the environment and the economies of four countries that rely on the river for ...
Regional, Local Activists Plan Forums to Coincide With Summits
Activist groups are planning to hold two separate forums this week in Phnom Penh to call attention to human rights issues and other problems in Asean countries as a meeting of regional and world leaders begin in the city. The assembly will meet ahead of ...
Controversial Pöyry tapped for Xayaburi
Multinational consulting and engineering firm Pöyry has signed a contract with the Lao government to supervise construction of the divisive Xayaburi hydropower dam in the country’s north, it announced Friday. This work, carried out by its Energy Business Group, will include reviewing the design and ...
Chinese Company Behind Stung Treng Dam
A Chinese hydropower company, identified as Consultant CECCI, along with Royal Group and Vietnamese power giant Electricity Vietnam International (EVNI), will be in charge of the Lower Sesan 2 dam construction project in Stung Treng province, as well as the relocation of the 5,000 affected ...
Despite Environmental Concerns, Xayaburi Breaks Ground
Lao officials and executives of a Thai construction company conducted a groundbreaking ceremony yesterday in Xayaburi to inaugurate the first dam to be built on the lower mainstream Mekong, putting to one side concerns that the dam could devastate fisheries in Cambodia and Vietnam. Prior to ...
Construction of Lower Sesan Dam in Stung Treng to Start in 2014
Construction of the Lower Sesan 2 Dam in Stung Treng province will begin in 2014 and the government will spend next year relocating some 5,000 people from villages that are located in the dam’s future reservoir area. Located near the confluence of the Sesan and Srepok ...
As Climate Changes, Farmers Need More Help
The government is not doing enough to help farmers weather the destructive effects of drought and flooding brought on by climate change, leaving NGOs to provide aid and emergency relief in cases of natural disaster, agriculture industry leaders said at a forum yesterday. ...
Chorus of complaints greet Xayaburi plans
The US yesterday criticised Laos for announcing it will begin building the 1,285-megawatt Xayaburi dam on the Mekong River today without studying its potential effects on Cambodia and Vietnam. A spokesperson from the US State Department in Washington said the government was concerned construction of the ...
Concerns mount over dam
Sketchy details that fail to specify when construction of the Lower Sesan 2 hydro dam will begin, or name the Chinese company involved, have villagers fearing for their future, representatives and environmental groups say. Since the Council of Ministers announced on Friday it had signed off ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2012110559575/National-news/concerns-mount-over-dam.html
French Delegation to Discuss Water Treatment
Delegates from eight French-owned companies in the water management sector will meet with government officials and officials from the Phnom Penh Water Supply Authority today to explore business opportunities in Cambodia, according to a French Embassy statement yesterday. As a part of a two-day visit, ...
Flood money runneth over
Flooding this year cost the government significantly less than expected due to better preparation and lower water levels than in previous years, first vice president of the National Committee for Disaster Management Nhim Vanda announced yesterday. The NCDM could not yet report the precise amount spent on flood ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2012103159481/National-news/flood-money-runneth-over.html
Laos makes moves on building Mekong dams
Even as its controversial Xayaburi Dam project is still drawing protest from Mekong river downstream countries such as Cambodia, Laos has inked a deal with South Korean firms to build and operate another large hydropower plant on the Mekong River network. According to the Phnom Penh ...
Collective approach to 'help poor'
The collective power of agricultural co-operatives could bring huge benefits to poor, small-scale farmers, a Phnom Penh conference for international World Food Day heard on Friday. The sentiments were shared by the director of Cambodia’s General Directorate of Agriculture, So Khan Rithy Kun, who said farming ...
Disasters present big risks for small GDPs
Cambodia’s small economy leaves it especially vulnerable to devastation in the face of large-scale natural disasters, United Nations agencies and Cambodian officials warned last week. “The relative size of an economy adds to the vulnerability as seen particularly in the case of the Lao Peoples’ Democratic ...
By Khouth Sophak Chakrya, P. 4
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2012102959444/National-news/disasters-present-big-risks-for-small-gdps.html
Ratanakiri deaths 'avoidable'
Better communication from authorities in Cambodia and Vietnam might have prevented the deaths of villagers and the destruction of homes in Ratanakkiri at times when water has been released from Vietnam’s Yali Falls dam, researchers said yesterday. Speaking at a national workshop about the Yali Falls ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2012102559406/National-news/ratanakkiri-deaths-avoidable.html
Climate action plan needed
World Bank President Jim Yong Kim said yesterday that climate change will be a concern in some Asian countries, including Cambodia. He encouraged the countries to find ways to manage any affects on their economies. Economists recognize it will lower growth in some main sectors of the economy – ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2012101259257/Business/climate-action-plan-needed.html