Pollution and waste

The Environment Ministry is studying water samples from Preah Vihear province to find out what has been killing thousands of fish in the Stung Sen River, where villagers are reportedly blaming a sugarcane plantation. ...

Phnom Penh deputy governor Ieng Aunny yesterday acknowledged that the capital continues to struggle with waste management despite recent decentralisation measures, laying the blame with districts’ and communes’ lack of awareness of their new responsibilities, as well as what he characterised as contractor CINTRI’s ongoing ...

Kampong Chhnang provincial authorities have outlined plans to relocate thousands of families living on the Tonle Sap river in an effort to curb water pollution.   ...

In celebration of World Water Day on Wednesday, the US embassy held the Cambodian premiere of the US documentary “A Plastic Ocean” – an award-winning documentary on the impact of plastic waste around the world – at Aeon Mall’s Major Cineplex.   ...

Japan has signed a three-year deal to help train government officials on attracting environmentally friendly investment. The Environment Ministry and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) yesterday signed the agreement to educate officials about how to use environmental impact assessments and enforce pollution controls. ...

Locals in Siem Reap province’s Kralanh district and Banteay Meanchey’s Preah Netr Preah district yesterday alleged that a sand-dredging company is polluting a river that straddles the two districts and stoking fears of bank collapse. ...

Cambodia could reduce its projected carbon emissions by 57 percent over the next 30 years without taking a financial hit if it implements low-carbon development policies in five key sectors, according to a new report in the journal Energy Policy. ...

To safely dispose of hazardous medical waste, Japan-based Tesna Energy has proposed plans to build a factory in the Kingdom producing incineration machinery. ...

Members of the Environment and Natural Resources Student Network, which is made up of students from six universities, found a factory processing an indigenous vine believed to be used in the production of narcotics in Koh Kong province last week.​ ...

Cambodia is considering adopting an aviation tax for flights leaving the Kingdom, local media reported yesterday. The announcement came as Environment Minister Say Samal delivered remarks at the COP22 UN Climate Conference in Morocco. The conference comes one year after the historic signing of the Paris ...

Eight markets in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap and Preah Sihanouk provinces have started trialing a campaign to reduce the number of plastic bags given to customers. Thol Buntha, a media relations officer for Italian-based NGO Fondazione ACRA, told Khmer Times that the markets, which include ...

City Hall yesterday held a meeting with trash-collection companies and district authorities to address the longstanding garbage problem at the capital’s Phsar Doeum Kor Market in Tuol Kork district. ...

Phnom Penh’s much-maligned waste-collection firm Cintri yesterday used a meeting with City Hall to ask for help in collecting between $10 million and $20 million in unpaid fees it says it’s owed by residents in the capital. ...

A delegation of Cambodian officials told attendees at seminar at the Global Green Growth Institute’s Green Growth Week conference yesterday that waste management was the biggest environmental challenge facing Phnom Penh. The seminar heard examples from 10 countries – Cambodia, Columbia, Ethiopia, Fiji, Mongolia, the Philippines, ...

A Japanese firm, Gomi Recycle 110, plans to invest in a factory in Svay Rieng province to recycle plastic waste into finished products for local markets. Yusuke Okumura, director of Gomi, met with Cambodia’s Minister of Environment Say Samal on Tuesday seeking support from the government ...

A study of drinking water sources in Kandal province found widespread contamination from human excrement, posing a health risk to residents that likely mirrors the situation across Cambodia, the authors say.   ...

A start-up initiative aimed at reducing plastic waste in the Kingdom is asking locals and expats to live plastic-free in July. The goal of the campaign is relatively simple: eliminate plastics’ harshest offenders from daily consumption. That means plastic straws, bags, bottles, cups and Styrofoam, or ...

The government has proposed slugging shoppers 500 riel for plastic bags in a bid to reduce environmental pollution. A draft prakas on plastic bags that would include the fee was reviewed yesterday in a Department of Environment workshop attended by government representatives along with mall and ...

Sihanoukville officials have prioritised cracking down on businesses that allow sewage to drain into the sea, deputy governor Chhin Seng Nguon said yesterday.   ...

The government has allocated $5 million across the Kingdom’s 46 sub-districts and towns to help with waste management by national and local institutions. ...

About 60 families in Battambang town gathered yesterday to demand that the owner of an ice-making factory stop releasing polluted water into the creek that runs through their neighborhood in Romchek village 5 as well as on their land. ...

Cambodian airports are preparing to install a satellite-guided performance-based navigation (PBN) system that will save carriers time and fuel, and reduce air pollution, according to the State Secretariat of Civil Aviation. ...

Cambodia is suffering disproportionately from the impacts of greenhouse gas emissions from more developed nations, according to a new study published in the journal Nature on Friday. ...

As airline passenger numbers in the country rocket, Cambodia has taken its first step toward greener air travel by earning the initial level of accreditation from a body that monitors the carbon footprint of airports. ...