Environment and natural resources
Forests and forestry
Cambodia’s forests have seen a significant reduction of total forest and dense forest cover in recent years, the growth of plantations, particularly rubber, and an ongoing problem with illegal logging. ...
Pollution and waste
The rapid economic and population growth in Cambodia is leading to significant environmental pollution. The economic development activities have generated major environmental consequences, including air pollution, water pollution, noise pollution and solid wastes. ...
Mitigation
Together, fighting climate change. Photo by 350.org, taken on 12 October 2010. Licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.Clean Development MechanismThe Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), defined in Article 12 of the Kyoto Protocol, allows a country with an emission-reduction or emission-limitation commitment under the Kyoto Protocol to ...
Climate change
Voice from Cambodia--Time is running out. Photo by Oxfam International, taken on 21 October 2009. Licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.Climate change is the long-term change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns. While the climate of the earth has always gone through periods of change, modern scientific evidence ...
Environmental and biodiversity protection
Cambodia is one of the most biodiverse countries in Southeast Asia. Biodiversity supports Cambodians ecologically, economically and culturally. It plays an important role in providing ecosystem services and economic development to achieve the Cambodian Millennium Development Goals including poverty reduction. ...
Water resources
Geographically, Cambodia is rich in rivers and water bodies. These water resources play an important role in economic and social development, particularly in agriculture, industry, environmental protection and tourism sectors. ...
Deforestration drivers
Deforestation has been one of the most significant changes the Cambodian landscape has undergone in recent decades. Key drivers of this process have been land concessions and subsequent land conversion, and large-scale illegal logging. ...
Community forest
The Forest Law of 2002 provides a legal basis for rural communities to use and help manage forests through community forestry. ...
Overview of policy and legal framework
Environmental protection and conservation are given high priority in the Royal Government of Cambodia’s guiding strategy, the Rectangular Strategy Phase III (2014–2018). ...
Relevant ministries
The Ministry of Environment is the main authority mandated to oversee environmental issues, including protected areas, environmental impact assessments, and management of natural resources. ...
Environment and natural resources policy and administration
The 7th National Consultation Workshop on the Draft of the Environment and Natural Resource Code of the Kingdom of Cambodia. Photo by Open Development Cambodia, taken on 22 March 2018. Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.With 76% of its people living in rural areas,1 Cambodia holds ...
Types of state-protected areas
Flooded forest in Cambodia. Photo by Andrea Kirkby, taken 11 May 2014. Licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0.A 1993 royal decree designated 23 protected areas covering about 3,273,300 ha, equal to around 18% of the country’s total land area, and brought them under the jurisdiction of the Ministry ...
Environment and natural resources
Around three quarters of Cambodia’s population depend on agriculture, forest products and fisheries for their livelihoods, so the management of the environment and natural resources is of great importance. Deforestation has occurred on a large scale. Cambodia lost six percent of its remaining primary forest ...
Environmental impact assessments
The primary legal requirements for environmental impact assessments (EIAs) in Cambodia are set out in Content II, Book V of the Environment and Natural Resource Code1, Chapter III of the Law on Environmental Protection and Natural Resource Management 19962(EPNRM Law), and the Sub-Decree no. 72 ...
