Environment and natural resources

Five jailed activists from the environmental group Mother Nature appeared at the Supreme Court on Wednesday seeking provisional release nearly a year after they were sentenced to six to eight years in prison for plotting against the government and insulting the king – charges widely ...

Chi Phat, a renowned ecotourism community nestled in the Cardamom Mountains of Koh Kong province, is facing a challenge which it shares with so much of today’s natural world, plastic waste. ...

Recent prolonged cold weather has not affected the quality of Cambodian cashew nuts, while the harvest from three modern agricultural communities has reached over 55%, according to an April 21 statement from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. ...

The authorities are scheduled to meet on Tuesday, tomorrow, to discuss finding a solution to an issue which has arisen in the Tonle Sap Lake. ...

The invasive species Mimosa pigra, commonly known as Vietnamese thorns, has been cleared from more than 100 hectares of the Boeung Prek Lpov landscape protection area in Takeo province. ...

The Ministry of Environment is working with national authorities to identify a group of heavily armed poachers who engaged in an April 5 shootout with rangers in a Mondulkiri wildlife sanctuary. ...

For the past three years, Ly Senserey has not yet made a profit from his Koh Kong province eco-tourism business. ...

Members of forest communities have expressed growing concerns about the continued loss of Scaphium affine trees, which are felled for their fruit.  Known as Samrong, or malva nut trees, their fruit is widely used in traditional medicine across the region. ...

Hun Manet has announced the allocation of 70 hectares in the capital’s Kob Srov area for a new public park, emphasising the importance of green spaces and encouraging all provinces to dedicate similar areas for public use. ...

As part of ongoing efforts to protect the Tonle Sap Lake, residential waste collection services have been expanded into rural villages across Boribour district in Kampong Chhnang province. ...

The Pursat town administration will begin trialling a digital payment system for waste collection in Pursat town from the beginning of next month. ...

The presence of at least ten current and future REDD+ projects places Cambodia among the leading countries in the world for REDD+ implementation. In the near future, Cambodia is set to receive $40 million in funding to support its national REDD+ program. ...

The Ministry of Environment has called on the public to regularly monitor air quality updates provided by the ministry. This appeal comes after reports of moderate air pollution levels in several provinces, including Banteay Meanchey, Kandal, Koh Kong, Phnom Penh, Preah Vihear, Ratanakiri, and Siem ...

The Te Teuk Pus (Hot Water) geothermal site is being developed into a community-protected natural area and nature tourism corridor, adding to the almost 200 community-based conservation sites that the Ministry of Environment manages, across 15 provinces. ...

A new micro-snail species, Clostophis udayaditinus was recently officially described. The tiny specimen’s were identified in a karst – or limestone topographic formation – on Battambang’s Phnom Banan. ...

A Chinese-owned fruit processing factory has been identified as the source of a polluted stream in Battambang province. Environmental officials have determined that the water source of around 500 households in two villages in Ratanak Mondul district’s Treng commune was affected. ...

Nearly all of the 93,583 hectares of drought-affected rice fields across 17 provinces and the capital, have been irrigated since December last year, announced the Ministry of Water Resources and Meteorology. ...

Five representatives of the Metta Forest Protection Community have asked that criminal charges against them be dismissed by the Kampong Speu Provincial Court. ...

Mango processing company Cangxinlong Food (Cambodia) Co., Ltd has been fined 300 million riel (approximately $75,000) for failing to manage wastewater discharge, which polluted a public water source in Pailin province’s Stung Kach commune in Sala Krau district for the second time. ...

To ensure their protection, two of the Kingdom’s monsters of the deep, the giant freshwater stingray and the giant salmon carp, are being considered for inclusion on a government list of endangered aquatic species. ...

The 9th Tonle Festival, which will be held in Takeo province this weekend, is expected to attract many national and international visitors. This year’s celebrations, themed “The Value of the River: Connecting Culture and Natural Tourism”, will see crowds enjoy artistic performances, music shows, sporting ...

Ireland has announced a funding package of €800,000 ($872,00) for a climate-related programme, led by Oxfam Cambodia. The initiative aims to support rural communities in the northern part of the Kingdom through climate-smart agriculture, renewable energy, climate resilience and rural development. ...

Vessels from the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force will be the first international visitors to the Ream Naval Base when it opens next month, following the completion of phase one of its current upgrade work. ...

Cambodia’s potential membership of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) holds significant promise for strengthening the country’s maritime rights and sovereignty. ...