Environment and natural resources
After Thai floods, flow of migrant labor soars
Thailand’s ongoing recovery efforts from recent flooding have led to a resurgence in the country’s demand for labor, resulting in a record number of Cambodian migrants crossing the border in search of work, officials and experts said yesterday. Ouk Keorattanak, Banteay Manteay provincial deputy administration chief, ...
Visitors fill hotels in Sihanoukville
Year-end travelers have fully booked Sihanoukville province’s hotels and guesthouses for the first-ever Sea Festival, which is expected to attract thousands of visitors this year, tourism officials said. Tith Chantha, general director at the Ministry of Tourism, confirmed that all hotel and guesthouse rooms were booked ...
Despite deal, Mekong's future still a concern
The agreement by Mekong River Commission Countries to conduct more studies before they decide on Laos’ proposal for the first Lower Mekong dam received further support on Friday, with an influential US senator and an environmental group welcoming it as an important step in preventing ...
Laos dam looms over fish quota
A new government plan has set a goal for an annual 1.2 million tonnes of fish by 2019, but officials and environmentalist have said the construction of Xayaburi dam in Laos could stymie Mekong fisheries. The plan would push fish exports to 500,000 tonnes of fish ...
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2011120953255/Business/laos-dam-looms-over-fish-quota.html
Decision on first Mekong dam delayed
The Mekong River Commission (MRC) agreed yesterday to delay a decision on Laos’ proposal to build the first hydropower dam on the Lower Mekong River in order to allow Japan to conduct further environmental impact studies on the dam project. Although Cambodian officials welcomed the outcome, ...
IMF cuts 2011 growth outlook to below 6%
Damage to Cambodia’s rice crop from widespread flooding earlier this year will likely cause economic growth to fall below 6 percent, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which yesterday offered the lowest gross domestic product (GDP) prediction so far In a statement, the IMF chose ...
Nation's largest hydropower dam to open
Prime Minister Hun Sen will officially open the Chinese-made Kamchay dam in Kampot province today, the largest hydropower dam to date to operate in Cambodia and capable of supplying an extra 193.2 megawatts of energy. Environmental and human rights groups yesterday criticized the dam’s builder and ...
Villagers block national road in call for land
More than 250 villagers blocked National Road 48 yesterday in Koh Kong province while protesting against their eviction from their Kiri Sakor district homes, slowing traffic for more than eight hours, officials said Prom Sann, a representative for the villagers, said the protesters represented 250 families ...
Nations convene to consider first Mekong dam
The water and environment ministers of the four Mekong River Commission (MRC) countries are scheduled to meet in Siem Reap today and tomorrow to reach a key decision on the future – some say the survival – of the Mekong River. The ministers – from Cambodia, ...
Hun Sen calls for flood-deaths probe
Prime Minister Hun Sen yesterday urged provincial governors to investigate the deaths of the about 250 people who died during the flooding disaster this year in order to develop a strategy to reduce deaths from flooding. If officials could identify the factors that caused the deaths ...
Fishing-lot owner ignores voided bid
The owner of a fishing lot in Kampong Cham province, whose bid for his lot was cancelled more than a week ago, has been attempting to keep villagers from fishing the area he previously laid claim to by destroying their equipment and sinking their boats. On ...
Villagers to block roads in protest
Hundreds of people whose land has been swallowed by a giant Chinese tourism project on the coast of Koh Kong province will attempt to demonstrate their grievances today by blocking national roads 4 and 48, villagers and human rights workers said Protesters have been resisting China’s ...
Group angered after Thailand says it will not oppose dam
An environmental group yesterday criticized Thailand’s announcement last week that it would not oppose Laos’ proposal to build the first Lower Mekong dam at the upcoming Mekong River Commission (MRC) meeting, as long as Laos addresses the dam’s environmental impacts. Water and environment ministers from Cambodia, ...
Fraud, forgery charges over rosewood logging
Phnom Penh Municipal Court yesterday charged a businessman with fraud and forgery stemming from a complaint made by the director of Win World Trading Co. Ltd. over a deal involving the selling of rosewood logged in Laos to Vietnam. The provincial military police detained Sann Dichham ...
Controversial dam: Thailand not objecting to Xayaburi
Thailand will not object to the proposed Xayaburi hydropower dam in Laos, but Vientiane must shoulder responsibility for potential environmental damage caused by the US$3.8 billion project, the Bangkok Post reported yesterday. “Laos has the right to construct the dam as it is located inside Lao ...
Climate vulnerability in focus
The Royal Government needs to address the environmental impacts not only from climate change but from man-made, water-based infrastructure such as dams before another natural disaster like the recent flooding claims hundreds of lives, community representatives said yesterday. At the first NGO Forum conference on climate ...
Forestry department confiscated rosewood in Ratanakiri
The Ratanakiri provincial forestry department over the past week in Andong Meas district confiscated more than 600 pieces of the luxury rosewood species of timber, a forestry official said. Vong Sok Serie, Ratanakiri provincial administration chief, said his officers collected a total of 610 pieces of ...
Hun Sen extends Tonle Sap fishing lot closure
While crediting his efforts to quash illegal fishing with a surge in this year’s fish stocks, Prime Minister Hun Sen said yesterday that he would extend the closure of 35 large Tonle Sap lake fishing lots until 2014. Speaking at a road paving project inauguration in ...
Recent floods underscore need for action
A regional meeting on disaster risk reduction and climate change wrapped up yesterday with officials pointing to the recent flooding as a reason to take immediate action to prepare for disasters. “We must not sleep or wait for donors to take action,” Ross Sovann, deputy secretary-general ...
Another logger shot dead along Thai border
Thailand has repatriated the body of an Oddar Meanchey man fatally shot Tuesday while illegally logging for rosewood in Thailand, border officials said yesterday. Torn Kimsann, 22, was among a group of four men from Samraong City’s O’Smach commune who had ventured about 1km into Thailand ...
Protest over fishing lot bidding continues
Government officials sent conflicting messages yesterday over how they would handle the complaints of about 50 businessmen from Kompong Cham province who continued to protest at the Fisheries Administration over Prime Minister Hun Sen’s decision to cancel their bids to operate fishing lots. Por Try, secretary ...
US Senate calls for delay of Mekong dams
As Mekong River Commission (MRC) countries prepare for a crucial meeting next week to debate Laos’ proposal to build the first Lower Mekong River dam, the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee has called for a delay of the controversial project. The US Senate’s concern was echoed ...
60 businessmen protest annulment of fishing lot licenses
About 60 businessmen from Kompong Cham province protested at the Agriculture Ministry yesterday over Prime Minister Hun Sen’s decision to cancel their bids to operate fishing lots. Mr Hun Sen on Friday annulled the results of an October bidding process for companies interested in operating fishing lots ...
Six arrested in Cambodia for trying to log in Thailand
Six Oddar Meanchey villagers were arrested Monday afternoon while attempting to cross into Thailand to illegally log rosewood in the same area where three loggers were shot and killed by Thai authorities last week, officials said yesterday In a separate case, two loggers were reported missing ...