Environment and natural resources

The Ministry of Environment on Wednesday approved the environmental impact assessment for a new special economic zone in Kandal province. Plans to build Suvannaphum SEZ, which will be located 46 kilometres away from Phnom Penh, can continue after the EIA for the project was approved ...

The United States has begun making payments towards its $37 million aid for the protection of the Prey Lang protected area.​ The Prey Lang protected area encompasses four different provinces, including Kampong Thom, Kratie, Stung Treng and Preah Vihear. ...

Two men who allegedly led some 30 villagers to illegally grab and clear forest land within the Ream National Park for private ownership were detained by the Preah Sihanouk provincial authority on Saturday. Neth Pheaktra, secretary of state and spokesperson of the Ministry of Environment, ...

As a member of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (Cites), Cambodia has been pursuing ways to improve its law enforcement activities to prevent and crack down on the trafficking of elephant ivory and rhinoceros horn. ...

Officials have said that four facilities designed to prevent waste water from reaching the sea in Preah Sihanouk province would be ready for testing on Monday, as engineers readied to complete the projects before deadline. Yos Chorm Narady, under-secretary of state at the Ministry of ...

The Ministry of Health has issued advice on avoiding health problems as temperatures continue to rise this hot season, warning some conditions brought risks to life. The announcement comes as the weather heated up across Cambodia, with the dry season predicted to prolong into the ...

A forest ranger protecting the Prey Ang Ten biodiversity conservation corridor in Kampong Thom province was attacked on Tuesday by an unidentified perpetrator, causing injuries to his head, neck and wrist. Neth Pheaktra, spokesman of the Environment Ministry, yesterday said the incident occurred as five ...

Cambodia produced more that 13 million tonnes of cassava last year, a drop on 2017 despite a six per cent increase in cultivation to 650,510ha nationwide, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. The data shows Cambodia produced 13,750,076 tonnes of cassava last ...

Civil society organisations monitoring land disputes in Preah Sihanouk province continue to voice concerns over the environmental impact of developing public land after permission was granted to reclaim a site in the O’Touk area to build a boat terminal. Sok Sokhom, the director of the ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen on Saturday said the country is now facing an electricity shortage of about 400 megawatts, leading to power outages, and appealed to people, especially those in the business sector, to understand that this is because of an ongoing dry spell. Speaking ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen on Saturday ordered all ministries and relevant institutions to prevent illegal sand dredging, fishing and the cutting down of mangrove trees. Presiding over the 5th River Festival held in Kampong Chhnang province, Mr Hun Sen said that he ordered all relevant ...

Inspired by their affection for the environment, a desire to have a clean and beautiful city, and wanting to send a message to people to stop littering, a group of some two dozen volunteer youths have taken to picking up trash day and night from ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen on Thursday urged relevant authorities to stamp out the export of timber abroad without authorisation and transparency. Speaking during an annual meeting of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries on Thursday, Hun Sen called on officials to work together in ...

Ten villagers were briefly detained by Ream National Park rangers in Preah Sihanouk province on Wednesday and instructed to dismantle their tarpaulins from aconservation area. Authorities said the villagers had secretly erected their tents there in order to illegally settle down and clear state forest ...

Hundreds of hectares of forest in Siem Reap and Kampong Thom provinces have been destroyed by a fire that raged on Monday and Tuesday, according to provincial authorities. The blaze, which authorities said was caused by human negligence, destroyed both natural forest and state-administered forest ...

The Ministry of Mines and Energy has suspended the licences of 90 mining companies across Kampong Speu province for a week for failing to properly repair and water roads, tormenting residents with clouds of dust. Yos Monirath, General Department of Mineral Resources director-general at the ...

Community representatives and civil society groups have hit out at plans for a petrol station on Preah Sihanouk province’s Koh Rong Samloem, expressing concern at the environmental impact the project will have on the tourist hotspot. ...

The Ratanakkiri provincial Military Police intercepted two four-wheel drive vehicles in Veun Sai district that were used to transport first-grade timber logs. The timber has been seized but the police said the drivers were not found at the scene and authorities are on the lookout ...

Siem Pang and Siem Pang Khang Lech wildlife sanctuaries’ enforcement teams this month confiscated a total of three chainsaws, two homemade guns, a fish electrocution device and 608 snares, said a BirdLife International Cambodia Programme broadcast on Wednesday. ...

The municipal Department of Public Works and Transport said on Thursday that it planned to remove tonnes of waste disorderly disposed of in the capital’s sewage canal next week. The move followed widespread criticism of mass floating rubbish and the municipal authority’s alleged inaction. ...

The Ministry of Environment has said concerns over Phnom Penh’s air quality are being fuelled by “fake news” on social media sites by companies aiming to promote the sale of air quality testing kits.​​ “There has been a lot of fake news claiming that air ...

Local communities in rural areas across the Kingdom have expressed grave concerns over the severe lack of water for their daily consumption amid a prolonged drought that has caused streams, creeks, lakes and ponds to gradually dry up. Due to high demand for water to ...

Civil society organisations dealing with environmental issues yesterday urged the Environment Ministry to disclose environmental impact assessment reports due to a lack of public information on whether or not companies comply with their reports after development projects have been approved. In a workshop on “Promoting Environmental ...

Some areas in Pailin and Banteay Meanchey provinces are facing water shortages due to prolonged drought, though no major impacts have been reported, according to a spokesman for the Ministry of Water Resources and Meteorology. ...