Land

Nobody here seems to know much about Company 72.Locals know they are living on land the company cultivates under a government-granted economic land concession (ELC)—some have tak­en menial jobs tending the crops, all have seen lush forests decimated to make way for them—but beyond that, ...

French owned plantation firm Socfin has restarted talks with indigenous villagers affected by its plantations in Mondulkiri province, with the UN saying the process could be replicated across a region dominated by agro-industrial firms. ...

A senior environment official yesterday alleged that the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party and human rights groups should shoulder much of the blame for the destruction of the country’s protected areas. ...

Thirteen ethnic Tumpuon villagers have been summonsed to appear at Ratanakkiri Provincial Court on Wednesday over a long-running land dispute with a rubber firm in Bakeo district. ...

More than 100 family representatives yesterday filed complaints at Ratanakkiri Provincial Hall and the Interior Ministry, claiming that requests to be issued with identity cards so they could vote in upcoming elections were denied by local police officials. ...

A local conservation NGO has accused two people, one of them a soldier, of buying up and attempting to sell a parcel of state land near the Phnom Oral Wildlife Sanctuary in Kampong Speu province. ...

Two economic zones in Svay Rieng province’s Bavet City closed down on Thursday, sending some 30,000 workers home over what local officials said were violent protests by groups of workers demanding higher wages. ...

The Council of Ministers yesterday approved a sweeping new master plan for managing urban development in Phnom Penh over the next 20 years, according to a statement from the cabinet, although it was scant on specifics. ...

About 30 members of the displaced Borei Keila community rallied outside Phnom Penh City Hall on Friday, seeking clarification about the compensation on offer to them amid complaints that municipal authorities have not been keeping the community informed. ...

The government’s Apsara authority will join forces with the Preah Vihear administration to establish a joint committee to prevent illegal logging and to manage state land in the protected areas around Koh Ker, officials said yesterday. ...

The Preah Vihear Provincial Court has ordered nine villagers to appear on Wednesday to respond to allegations that they dismantled the office of a Malaysian rubber plantation company five months ago. ...

When 112 families gathered to demonstrate for four hours in front of the Ratanakkiri provincial court last Wednesday, most of their invective was directed toward the court itself, and toward someone they termed “a rich man from Phnom Penh,” a Mr. Heang Socheat, whom, they ...

More than 200 people living on a contested plot of land in Ratanakkiri province on Thursday lodged a petition with the provincial court calling for the release of three community leaders who were convicted and jailed on Wednesday over a dispute with a wealthy businessman, ...

About 150 villagers, enraged by the conviction and imprisonment of three of their community representatives, yesterday destroyed the gates of Ratanakkiri Provincial Court, bursting into the courtroom only to find that the three men had already been sent to jail.The representatives – Chroeung Touch, Em ...

The governor of Battambang province has promised to attempt to find a resolution in a long-running land dispute after 250 people held a protest in front of Battambang Provincial Hall yesterday. ...

Phnom Penh Special Economic Zone (PPSEZ), the private firm that operates Cambodia’s most developed industrial park, will hold a bookbuild for investors later this month for an initial public offering it hopes will raise up to $11.6 million for expansion and debt repayment, according to ...

The government has reclassified 34,000 square meters of state public land to state private land, clearing the way for the ministries and other authorities in control to sell or rent the properties for private development. ...

Cambodia is likely to come under scrutiny as parties to the UN’s anti-landmine convention gather in Geneva this week, with a recent report saying the Kingdom is unlikely to hit its mine clearance targets, even under an already-extended deadline.The 14th meeting of states parties to ...

Global Witness says Cambodia’s ongoing land crisis is part of a larger global trend, one driven by economics and resource shortages. ...

Cambodia needs more land mapping if it is to start to resolve many disputes that have become a major issue and potential source of instability, a development group says. ...

Cambodia continues to lack an effective way to resolve land disputes, which remain a major destroyer of livelihoods for many families, according to a study released by the NGO Forum yesterday.The study examines 26 sample villages in Battambang, Kampong Speu, Pursat and Kampong Chhnang provinces, ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen has issued a directive banning people from renting or selling border land to people from neigbouring countries in an effort to maintain Cambodia’s “national sovereignty and territorial integrity”. ...

Amid rising tensions, authorities in Tbong Khmum province yesterday pledged to intervene in a long-running land conflict between Dambe district residents and a Chinese company by demarcating the disputed area with wooden posts. ...

More than 200 families in Battambang’s Rokhakiri district are preparing to file a petition against local officials who they allege destroyed their homes on Monday in the Prey Tralach community forest. ...