Environment and natural resources
Six Planned Dams Could Be 'Disaster' for Northeast Region
The hydro-power dams planned for three tributary rivers in north-eastern Cambodia will have unforeseeable social and environmental consequences for the regional and its people, according to a report released yesterday. Authored by International Rivers and 3S Rivers Protection Network, the report focuses on six hydro-power dams planned for the Sesan, ...
Show the licenses: SRP
An opposition lawmaker is calling for the government to publicise its licensing of Cambodian mines, claiming that parliament has never received formal documentation of licensed mining companies. In a letter to Minister of Industry Mines & Energy Suy Sem last week, Sam Rainsy Party lawmaker Son ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2012083158408/National-news/show-the-licences-srp.html
Country Is Prepared for Heavy Rains, Disaster Committee Says
To make sure Cambodia is ready for potential devastating floods, government officials have created an emergency preparedness plan that includes storing 16,000 tons of milled rice and putting 3,500 armed forces on reserve. [Nhim Vanda, first vice president in charge of the National Committee for Disaster Management ...
Disaster management officials prep for floods
The National Committee for Disaster Management was preparing to ensure end-of-season floods did not compound the woes caused by months of drought, officials said yesterday. To minimise the effects of flooding, the NCDM had sent a request to the Council of Ministers for 16,000 tonnes of food and ...
Ministry plans Xayaburi trip
Cambodia has been asked to send a delegation to the site of the proposed Xayaburi hydro-electric dam in northern Laos, Minister of Water Resources and Meteorology Lim Kean Hor said yesterday. Kean Hor, who is also chairman of Cambodia’s National Mekong Committee, said the equivalent body ...
IP rights discussed for Angkor
The ancient works of Cambodia’s King Suryavarman II could become a protected intellectual trademark if the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) finalizes a treaty recognizing cultural heritage, the organisation’s head said yesterday. Angkor Wat, a 12th century temple complex and the Kingdom’s No 1 tourist destination, became an area of contention ...
Xayaburi dam project proceeds as protest grows
In Laos, the construction of controversial hydroelectric dam in Xayaburi province is under way, despite disagreement from its neighbors, Cambodia and Vietnam. The Xayaburi dam project started when the Laotian government and Thailand’s giant construction company, Ch Karnchang Pcl, signed a Memorandum of Understanding in ...
Late Monsoon Rain Causes Damages to Cambodia's Rice Crop
Cambodia continues to suffer from drought with tens of thousands of hecters of rice seedlings in the cities and provinces affected. A report from the National Committee for Disaster Management said on Wednesdasy as of August 21st drought has damaged 11,350 hectacres of rice seedlings ...
Provincial Governor Seeks Hun Sen's Forgiveness
Kampong Thom’s provincial governor wrote to Prime Minister Hun Sen last month to apologize and explain why district and fisheries officials were involved in clearing an area of protected flooded forest, according to a copy of his letter obtained yesterday. In the July 9 letter, written ...
Pailin land dispute brought to capital
About 100 villagers from Pailin province travelled to Phnom Penh yesterday to ask Prime Minister Hun Sen to intervene in their 70-hectare land dispute with the provincial governor, a village representative said. Dem Deam, 40, a resident of Pailin’s Stung Trang commune in Sala Krao district, ...
Construction of Dams Would Strain Land, Water
Cambodia would significantly strain its land and water resources if a projected series of large-scale hydro-power dams are built along the Mekong, according to projections released this week. Fish remains the primary source of protein and researchers [from the Australia National University in Canberra and World Wildlife Fund] ...
Mekong dams put millions at risk of hunger
The economic, social and environmental consequences of the construction of dams on the Mekong River could be devastating.. ANU research suggests that millions of people are in danger of going hungry if the dams proceed. Replacing fish as a protein source with alternative food would use ...
http://theconversation.edu.au/mekong-dams-put-millions-at-risk-of-hunger-9087
Millions of lobsters released into Cambodian waters
In an attempt to replenish the nation’s shellfish stocks, the Fisheries Administration has released seven million young lobsters into Cambodian rivers and the Tonle Sap Lake this year, officials said. Cambodia harvests about 100 tons of wild lobsters annually, although the market demand is for about ...
PM gives pro-dolphin decree
Prime Minister Hun Sen on Friday approved a new sub-decree geared toward increased protection of the endangered Mekong river dolphin through a series of fishing and motorised transport restrictions in the Mekong river in Kratie and Stung Treng provinces. The Council of Minister’s sub-decree, obtained on ...
Energy mix
At the turnoff of Sihanoukville outside Phnom Penhmetal shop owner Kuch Sareun watches the sparks fly as his emplyees join pieces of steel. This year, he installed a diesel-run generator at his business since the frequent electricity outages were hurting his bottom line. Electricity is ...
Sinking feeling on river's edge
About 50 villagers in Kandal province protested yesterday in an attempt to halt the activities of a Vietnamese sand-dredging company, which they said has caused a huge swath of their land to slide into the Mekong River. Residents of Kien Svay district’s Koh Prak village said ...
Improve yields while the sun shines: NGO
This year’s dry spell could be an opportunity rather than a disaster for farmers, Cambodian Center for Study and Development in Agriculture (CEDAC) officials said yesterday. Although drought has destroyed several thousand hectares of crops in the past two months, Cambodia’s largest agricultural NGO is encouraging farmers to ...
Officials to Be Questioned Over Destruction of Flooded Forest
A district governor and two fisheries officials are among 10 people who will be questioned at the Phnom Penh Municipal Court next week over the destruction of flooded forest to make way for dry-season rice fields in Kampong Thom province, an official said yesterday. On July 27, ...
Cambodia: Mekong River Dredging Causes Major Concerns
The Sahrika reports that around 50 villagers in Kandal province protested yesterday in an attempt to stop the sand dredging operation on the Mekong River. “The activity of sand dredging has severely affected our villagers’ lands and houses”, said village representative Tuy Phy. Kandal province residents believe ...
http://www.dredgingtoday.com/2012/08/27/cambodia-mekong-river-dredging-causes-major-concerns/
Cambodian Transparency Organization Applauds US Rule On Oil, Gas and Mining Payments Disclosure
Cambodians for Resource Revenue Transparency (CRRT) wrote a letter to Ms. Elizabeth M. Murphy, Secretary of U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on February 7, 2012 to back up PWYP’s recommendations and to encourage the Commission to define the “Project” in relation to each lease, license ...
Cambodia Proposes New Initiatives For Green Tourism
In line with Royal Government policy determining tourism as the Green Gold, 2011 is the year that we commenced mainstreaming the green tourism concept to all stakeholders. Cambodia started some new initiative to inspire green tourism in the country. “The Clean and Green Concept is basically ...
Cambodia Expects To Gain Carbon Credit For Forest Community Development
Cambodia expects to gain money from carbon credit next year and it will take their money to develop forest community to support sustainable development, officials said this week. An environmental officials said: Cambodia will likely get money from carbon credit through selling carbon credit to foreign ...
Council of Ministers Approves Draft Report on Human Rights
The Council of Ministers on Friday approved a draft report on political rights in Cambodia, which made outline efforts being made by the government to reduce poverty and secure land titles for millions across the country, a measure that Cambodia must complete as a signatory ...