Environment and natural resources

Some 39,966ha of paddy fields across seven provinces have been hit by drought, with the Ministry of Water Resources and authorities using pumps to save crops in areas near sources of water. Officials said the drought in these areas could continue for more than another month. ...

Mondulkiri provincial court prosecutor Hieng Sopheak on Wednesday summoned three Forestry Administration officials to appear at the provincial Military Police headquarters by August 24 for questioning over misconduct and alleged collusion with timber traders. ...

The plastic waste found in 83 containers at the Sihanoukville Autonomous Port on Tuesday came from the US and Canada, the Ministry of Environment said. The huge shipment of rubbish weighed some 1,600 tonnes. ...

The government has decided to develop Bokor National Park into a futuristic and historic tourism city, a sub-decree on the introduction of the master plan for Bokor town’s development said. The area will be connected to the Kingdom’s southern coastal tourism corridor. ...

Eng Hy, the spokesperson for the National Committee for Prevention and Crackdown on Natural Resource Crimes, told The Post on Monday that the four went into hiding after Military Police arrested Sam Ol, who holds the honorific oknha, and impounded more than 40 vehicles reportedly ...

Cambodia could soon become the next Asian country to reject the importation of rubbish from overseas, despite suggestions from the private sector that Cambodia could burn waste to produce electricity. According to The Guardian, China’s ban on foreign waste last year left developed nations struggling to ...

Kampong Thom provincial police on Sunday questioned three men suspected of attempting to smuggle more than 1,000 lesser whistling ducks into Phnom Penh from the Cambodia-Thai border area, said provincial Forestry Administration head Bun Sothy. ...

Tycoon Soeng Sam Ol and three alleged accomplices have been placed in pre-trial detention after being charged with illegal logging, while more than 40 vehicles reportedly used to carry out the offences were handed over to Mondulkiri provincial authorities on Sunday. ...

New Preah Sihanouk provincial governor Kuoch Chamroeun will launch a campaign to improve sanitation and keep the environment clean in Sihanoukville. A one-day event has been scheduled for Saturday to conduct a major clean-up and stress the importance of the issue to civil servants, the ...

Following their arrest on Tuesday, tycoon Soeng Sam Ol, owner of the Master K Sun company, two supervisors and a driver were sent to Mondulkiri provincial court on Thursday on grounds of alleged illegal logging. Meanwhile, National Military Police commander Sao Sokha announced that the ...

Officials from the Public Works and Transport Ministry and the Preah Sihanouk Provincial Administration are studying how to jointly address damaged infrastructure and have decided to first tackle water and road problems. In May, an inter-ministerial committee made up of officials from various ministries agreed to ...

Vehicles used in the alleged illegal logging that led to the arrest of Soeng Sam Ol were blown up on Wednesday, as the tycoon and three alleged accomplices were sent to Phnom Penh Municipal Court by National Military Police. ...

International wildlife and forest conservation organisation, Wildlife Alliance, said on Monday that 2,300 chainsaws were seized from illegal loggers in the Southern Cardamom Mountains in the last two years. The seizing of the chainsaws is a joint programme initiated by the Ministry of Environment and ...

A senior forestry official, based in Oddar Meanchey province’s Trapaing Prasat district, on Wednesday, denied villagers’ accusations that he had colluded with an alleged timber trader – a soldier who also denied any wrongdoing. Residents of Trapaing Prasat village say that Trapaing Prasat district Forestry ...

Tycoon Soeng Sam Ol, the owner of the Master K Sun company, two supervisors and a driver were arrested on Tuesday for illegal logging in a crackdown in Mondulkiri province which was led by Commander Sao Sokha, the chief of the National Military Police. ...

The Preah Sihanouk Provincial Hall ordered the demolition on Monday of two Chinese-owned steel-framed buildings on Otres Beach I in Stung Hav district’s Otres commune that were found to have encroached on the public beach. ...

On a visit to Kratie province on Tuesday to celebrate Arbour Day, also known as National Tree Planting Day, King Norodom Sihamoni called on the people to plant trees in public areas and on their farmland and join together to prevent deforestation and environmental crimes. ...

The Agriculture Ministry has ordered officials to investigate and take action against people who illegally cleared state land in Kampong Chhnang province’s in Rolea Ba’ier district. Agriculture Minister Veng Sakhon yesterday said that after receiving information about the land grab in the district’s Trapaing Ampil, Pra ...

The National Assembly has asked relevant authorities to clarify if there is any problem related to the reclamation of parts of Boeng Tamouk Lake following a petition filed by the Grassroots Democratic Party. Prach Chan, National Assembly human rights and complaints commission chairman, yesterday said he ...

The National Military Police vowed to act on the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries’ order to crack down on forestry crimes which allegedly occurred beyond the perimeter of concession land near the Vietnamese border in Mondulkiri province. Eng Hy, National Military Police spokesperson, claimed ...

In order to preserve the Kingdom’s forests, the National Committee for Forest Crime Prevention has warned it will take strict action against offenders by burning any vehicles used to transport timber at the crime scene itself. But environmental activists said this course of action would ...

The government has created a new national committee to tackle forest land clearing and grabbing. However, the move was immediately shot down by a prominent forest activist who said it would be ineffective, given the systemic collusion between the authorities and land grabbers. ...

The Environment Ministry yesterday noted that cases of illegal land encroachment and occupation of protected areas in four provinces have decreased due to measures implemented by national and local environment officials. Last year, the Environment Ministry took action against forestry crimes, such as illegal logging ...

Ratanakkiri provincial authorities and BirdLife International Cambodia Programme have urged Hoang Anh Lumphat Co Ltd to preserve the habitat of endangered fauna species in a protected area and discontinue forest clearing. ...