Environment and natural resources

Cambodia has not yet attained full water security, the water resources minister said yesterday at an Asia-Pacific summit. ...

Environmental NGOs expressed concerns this week about a requirement from the Ministry of Environment to get advanced permission to patrol the Prey Lang protected forest, saying doing so could lead to illegal loggers getting tipped off, given the history of collusion with officials in the ...

Cambodia’s beloved Irrawaddy dolphins are facing troubled waters, with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) yesterday flagging the riverine mammal as ‘critically endangered’ in an update to its ‘Red List’. ...

Sihanoukville residents are benefiting from cheaper rubbish collections after Preah Sihanouk province changed the price of waste disposal services amid complaints it was too expensive. ...

Local authorities have agreed to allow the last families refusing to relocate from their homes near the Lower Sesan II dam to establish a new village on their community forest and ancestral lands. ...

Even as floodwaters pour into their villages and encroach upon their resettlement sites, villagers displaced by the controversial Lower Sesan II Dam in Stung Treng province say they are now facing shortages of potable water. ...

The Ministry of Environment has fined a Chinese garment factory in Takeo province $7,500 after villagers complained the factory was polluting nearby streams with untreated waste. ...

More than 30 families living in Koh Kong province’s Kiri Sakor district yesterday protested against the work of a Special Economic Zone company owned by tycoon Ly Yong Phat. ...

The Ministry of Environment has appealed to authorities and the community to protect a temple discovered in Prey Lang forest in Kampong Thom province’s Sandan district. Minister of Environment Say Sam Al lead a delegation to visit Trapaing Prers temple in Prey Lang forest last ...

Two men were arrested Friday by Pursat Provincial Military Police for allegedly logging in a protected area, only to be released yesterday at the request of the provincial Military Police commander, officials said yesterday. The men were identified as Oum Ngat Say, 18, and Sou ...

The Ministry of Environment has recognised nine new natural protected communities in Mondulkiri province. The purpose of these communities is to ensure the stability of local ecosystems and the protection of the natural habitat in the region. ...

Speaking at a workshop hosted by the World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF) on the past four years of conservation in the so-called Eastern Plains Landscape – a project with $1.42 million in funding from the EU and an additional $420,000 from USAID and the ...

The environment minister has promised to investigate allegations that a tycoon-owned company is using a land concession to illegally log wood in a protected area in Preah Vihear province. ...

Seven Vietnamese nationals who are tied to a timber smuggling ring along with top Mondulkiri provincial officials were sentenced to one year in prison yesterday. ...

Conservation NGOs yesterday raised the issue of alleged land grabs in the country’s protected areas by the military and local authorities at a resources protection forum, asking Environment Minister Say Sam Al to intervene.​ ...

The Prey Lang Community Network in Preah Vihear province has asked the government to investigate the building of homes in a protected area by a group of families claiming they were granted a social land concession.​ ...

A prominent Vietnamese timber trader was arrested and put in pre-trial detention for the second time this year after some two tonnes of rosewood allegedly connected to her were discovered in Oddar Meanchey province, authorities said yesterday. ...

Kampong Chhnang Provincial Military Police Commander Sak Sarang was questioned yesterday at the Phnom Penh Municipal Court in relation to allegedly taking bribes from illegal loggers in Mondulkiri, where he was previously stationed. ...

Some 124 logs of luxury timber were discovered on a riverbed on Sunday within Mondulkiri’s Srepok Wildlife Sanctuary some 500 metres from a military base, officials said yesterday. ...

Nine critically endangered Mekong Irrawaddy dolphins, were born this year, but two of them died, the World Wildlife Fund has said. In a statement issued on Friday, the WWF said the population continues to be threatened by illegal fishing and hydropower dams. ...

Families living in a commune flooded by the Lower Sesan II dam have set up a new village on their community forest without the permission of local authorities. Residents of Sre Ko commune were offered new homes in a different area and compensation to leave ...

An oknha accused of overseeing a massive illegal logging scheme in Mondulkiri has yet to appear for a court summons issued more than a month ago, according to the investigating judge. ...

Authorities in Kandal province arrested 19 people in a timber raid at a Metfone shop, but released 15 after questioning, including the branch’s director. ...

Irregularities have been found in the Mondulkiri provincial administration over clearing state land to make way for timber smuggling to Vietnam. An investigation has been launched to find the officers responsible. ...