Environment and natural resources

More than 560 endangered Asian giant softshell turtle hatchlings were released on Thursday into their natural habitat along the Mekong River in Kratie province, the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) said. ...

Forest activists in Ratanakkiri province’s O’yadav district said on Thursday that a group of Cambodian and Vietnamese traders are colluding with officials and transporting timber from their community forest to Vietnam after they had illegally felled trees there early this month. ...

The ministry’s report, which it shared on its Facebook page, said CRCK II Rubber Development and Bean Heack Investment Co Ltd have been respectively allowed to develop 7,121.78ha and 4,128.66ha within Boeung Pear Wildlife Sanctuary in Kampong Thom province. Following the granting of the concessions, the ...

The United States Agency for International Development has awarded $21 million to Tetra Tech for the next five years to improve nature conservation and strengthen sustainable development in the Prey Lang region, Tetra Tech said on Tuesday. ...

Authorities from Kampong Thom province’s environmental department seized 11 buffalo carts and 10 logs found at Prey Ang Ten wildlife sanctuary on Wednesday. ...

The Wildlife Conservation Society has found seven nests of the globally-threatened Lesser Adjutant Stork in Mondulkiri province’s Keo Seima Wildlife Sanctuary. Sot Vandoeun, WCS’ wildlife monitoring team leader, said on Tuesday that it is the first time that WCS has found the bird’s nest in ...

The Kampong Thom provincial Forestry Administration yesterday seized three vehicles that were illegally transporting timber. Mom Sophal, Forestry Administration division chief in Kampong Thmar, said his officials seized three vehicles transporting small trees and firewood without permission from authorities at about 10.30am in Baray district. ...

A forest activist from the ethnic Tumpuon community in Ratanakkiri province’s Lumphat district is set to appear at the Lumphat Wildlife Sanctuary bureau today for questioning over alleged unauthorised logging and forest clearing in the sanctuary. ...

Some 100 ethnic Banong villagers from Sre Hoy commune’s Chhul and Chhong Pang villages in Mondulkiri province’s Koh Nhek district protested on Tuesday after Srepok Wildlife Sanctuary officials allegedly uprooted wooden posts used to demarcate their ancestral burial sites. ...

After receiving an order from Hun Sen, Minister of Land Management Chea Sophara led a team of experts and relevant officials to Sihanoukville to call a halt to the illegal development of a beach. The prime minister ordered the Prek Treng beach in Otres commune ...

The National Committee for the Management and Development of Coastal Zones is taking action against an unnamed company accused of reclaiming parts of Prek Treng beach in Preah Sihanouk province. ...

Stung Treng provincial police have detained six illegal loggers from Laos who were caught crossing in the province on Friday. Provincial police chief Major General Mao Dara yesterday said that the six men are awaiting repatriation to Laos under an agreement between the countries on ...

The Ministry of Tourism has formed a special committee to investigate a private company’s involvement in a condominium construction on coastal land at Prek Treng beach in Preah Sihanouk province. This follows a strong backlash from the public against land reclamation involving the project. ...

September 15 is World Cleanup Day and Cambodia will be participating with 20 million people from 150 countries across the globe, said Ministry of Environment spokesman Neth Pheaktra. He said that this year, working under the theme “Together for a Clean World”, participants in the ...

The Ministry of Environment issued a warning on Wednesday against encroachment on protected natural areas following some instances of intruders clearing forest land for personal gain. It cited examples of encroachment in the Ream, Bokor and Kirirom national parks and the multi-purpose Kbal Chay freshwater ...

While hunting in the Kingdom’s wildlife sanctuaries has abated, the use of traps have become widespread. That, coupled with deforestation, has caused grave concerns among conservationists who fear the extinction of the endangered yellow-cheeked crested gibbons. ...

The Kampong Chhnang provincial department of agriculture, forestry and fishery is working to identify suspects who had mobilised tractors to illegally clear flooded forest in Toek Phos district’s O’krabey Ngob and O’Klong in Chieb communes. ...

Interior Minister Sar Kheng on Wednesday claimed the recent influx of Chinese visitors to Preah Sihanouk province was raising concerns over the condition of ecosystems on the Kingdom’s coast. Speaking during a ceremony to appoint leaders to posts at both the National Authority for Combating ...

The floodwaters of the Mekong River have begun to recede across the country, but concerns remain over damage caused in Stung Treng and Kratie provinces. The Mekong River Committee (MRC) plans to hold an open forum this month on the development of hydropower dams along ...

Stung Treng provincial police yesterday cracked down on an illegal timber operation that was transporting logs along the Sekong river in Stung Treng city. Provincial police chief Major General Mao Dara said the illegal timber operation was using rafts to float illegally felled trees along ...

The Prey Lang Community Network (PLCN) has recorded 2,926 cases of forestry crimes in four provinces since February 2015, a report it released on Thursday said. It was based on data collected with a novel smartphone app. ...

Fourteen villagers arrested for illegal logging in Phnom Kravanh district by the national military police on Friday were released with a warning after they agreed not to repeat the offence, officials said. ...

Hundreds of rosewood trees will be planted in Siem Reap province as a natural tourist site and to preserve the rare trees in Cambodia. The provincial information department said on Wednesday that the government planned to plant 500 rosewood trees on 1,888 hectares in Banteay ...

A hual of rosewood timber was confiscated in Pursat province’s Krakor district yesterday, said a military police officer involved in the crackdown. The bust, resulting in the seizure of hundreds of timber pieces and a car that transported them, was carried out by the Pursat ...