Environmental and biodiversity protection

Nine critically endangered Mekong Irrawaddy dolphins, were born this year, but two of them died, the World Wildlife Fund has said. In a statement issued on Friday, the WWF said the population continues to be threatened by illegal fishing and hydropower dams. ...

Preah Sihanouk Provincial environmental officials and Military Police yesterday dismantled five homes that were built illegally in the Prey Toeksap Kbal Chhay protected area, leaving the inhabitants homeless. ...

Officials from the forestry administration raided a home in Mondulkiri province’s O’Raing district on Tuesday, confiscating the remains and horns of various endangered animals and making one arrest. ...

Nine photographs of rare Cambodian animals are being displayed at the Ministry of Environment, urging the public to participate in preserving critically endangered species. ...

The Wildlife Conservation Society has made its first discovery of Siamese crocodile eggs on the Sre Ambel River in Koh Kong province in six years, it announced yesterday in a statement. ...

The Japan International Cooperation Agency has agreed to oversee a project to help recover water quality in the Tonle Sap lake in response to the appearance of a large bloom of algae. ...

A government minister has sounded the death knell for Tonle Sap picturesque floating villages after outlining a long-term plan to rehome all those living on the lake. Agriculture Minister Veng Sakhon yesterday told Khmer Times he wants to relocate thousands of families living on the lake ...

Japan has signed a three-year deal to help train government officials on attracting environmentally friendly investment. The Environment Ministry and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) yesterday signed the agreement to educate officials about how to use environmental impact assessments and enforce pollution controls. ...

Forest activists and community representatives have urged the government to post markers at protected natural areas to prevent encroachment of loggers and the clearing of forest. ...

Recently, Cambodia’s prime minister signed a series of decrees placing the responsibility of Prey Lang protection with the Ministry of Environment and provincial governments. It’s a promising change, development professionals and conservation activists tell Devex, as a combination of stronger national and local government cooperation ...

The Ministry of Environment signed a framework agreement yesterday with Conservation International and the Mitsui Banking Corporation to launch the planning phase of a new REDD+ project for the Prey Lang forest, officials confirmed.   ...

The new Environmental Code, a sweeping piece of legislation that is set to overhaul how protected and communal land are governed and give unprecedented control to the Environment Ministry, was finalized on Sunday and will be released to the public this week, those involved in ...

Residents of Stung Treng province’s Preah Romkil commune are reluctant to express their concerns over Laos’s Don Sahong hydropower dam since it was endorsed last month by Prime Minister Hun Sen, despite the impacts of the dam already being keenly felt, activists and researchers said ...

News that Laos will move ahead with the proposed 912-megawatt Pak Beng dam, which would be the third mainstream dam in Laos’ Lower Mekong River, has sparked criticism from environmental groups who say downstream countries should decide the fate of potentially harmful development projects. ...

About 20 environmental activists called on the government to stop all new dam projects on the Mekong River to protect fish stocks and communities slated to be affected by construction. The appeal was made by the group as they gathered in front of the parliament building ...

Delegations from the five lower Mekong states met with officials from the Asia-Pacific region, the US and Europe yesterday to convene the 9th Lower Mekong Initiative (LMI) and Friends of the Lower Mekong (FLM) Regional Working Group aimed at devising strategies to strengthen infrastructure, connectivity ...

Eight markets in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap and Preah Sihanouk provinces have started trialing a campaign to reduce the number of plastic bags given to customers. Thol Buntha, a media relations officer for Italian-based NGO Fondazione ACRA, told Khmer Times that the markets, which include ...

As a signatory to an international treaty to protect endangered species, Cambodia has made the sale of shark fins completely illegal. In practice, however, fins are sold openly and without repercussions from authorities. ...

Yesterday was hailed as a “good day for pangolins” after a meeting of signatories to the CITES wildlife protection treaty decided to move the Asian species of “scaly anteater” to the agreement’s Appendix 1 category, which bans all commercial trade in the small mammals in ...

Environmental campaigner and Areng Valley community leader Ven Vorn lost his appeal against his one-year suspended sentence for “collecting forest products without permission” yesterday at the Appeals Court. Judge Kim Danny did not give reasons why the court decided to uphold the March ruling of the ...

Eleven Cambodian environmental campaigners received “moniseraphon” medals from the government last month in recognition of their work to support the nation, according to a sub-decree signed by Prime Minister Hun Sen. But Buntenh, the founder of the Independent Monk Network for Social Justice, and social media ...

Sixty Cambodian wildlife park rangers will be trained by South African experts next year, funded by video streaming content revenue generated by a partnership between  the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) International  and the Canadian-based  international English-language TV channel, Love Nature. WWF International will leverage scenes from ...

As a way to possibly boost funding for environmental protection in the Kingdom, Prime Minister Hun Sen yesterday floated the idea of an extra tax on cigarettes and alcohol. Speaking at a forum on the protection and conservation of natural resources in Phnom Penh, the prime ...

With a mixture of hope and hard-earned scepticism, environmentalists from around the country will today get an opportunity most had never dreamed possible: an audience with the prime minister. About 500 civil society activists have been invited to Phnom Penh for the first National Forum ...