Environment and natural resources

Lists and describes protected areas and community forests in Cambodia, which may also be viewed on an interactive map. ...

The Cambodian economy faces major problems for its predominantly rural population in the event of more erratic climate shifts, according to the United Nations Development Programme’s 2011 Cambodian Human Development Report. “This is an agrarian economy that depends very much on weather. And we are among the ...

Democrat MP for Surat Thani Suthep Thaugsuban denies he held secret talks with Cambodian officials about oil and gas interests in the overlapping marine area during the tenure of the Democrat-led government. Mr Suthep, a former deputy prime minister, conceded yesterday he met Cambodian Deputy Prime ...

The number of visitors arriving by cruise ship in Sihanoukville dropped steeply in the first six months of the year compared to the same period last year, a Tourism Ministry official said yesterday. A lack of attractions in Sihanoukville and high visa fees were keeping ...

Officials working in Boeng Per Wildlife Sanctuary and in nearby communities said yesterday that they were receiving new motorbikes and digital cameras from businessman Try Pheap, who in recent months received large-scale rubber concessions in the Preah Vihear province sanctuary. Earlier this week, it was ...

Finance minister Keat Chhon yesterday identified reforming the management of natural resources as a priority in the government’s efforts to reduce poverty.  Keat Chhon also called on wealthier nations to help fund climate change-related projects in developing nations like Cambodia. Minister of Environment Mok Mareth said ...

Government officials and armed police burnt down 25 homes in Oddar Meanchey province’s Anlong Veng district yesterday claiming they were in the protected Kulen Prumtep Wildlife Sanctuary, villagers and a rights group investigator said yesterday.  The houses, which are part of larger community of about ...

Almost  650,000 hectares of ecologically-rich flooded forest surrounding the Tonle Sap lake has been protected by a sub-decree signed by Prime Minister Hun Sen on Monday. The 647,406 hectare area spans sections of Kampong Chhnang, Pursat, Battambang, Banteay Meanchey, Siem Reap and Kampong Thom provinces. ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen on Monday signed off on a sub-decree that officially created a 640,000-hectare protected zone covering the flooded forest and floodplains of Tonle Sap lake. The sub-decree determined that 647,406 hectares of flooded forest around Tonle Sap lake in Kompong Chhnang, Pursat, ...

Businessman Try Pheap, who in recent months received large-scale economic land concessions in Boeng Per Wildlife Sanctuary in Preah Vihear province, has donated $130,000 to the sanctuary’s environmental management and the local CPP office,  officials said yesterday. Recipients of the funds denied that there was ...

The first-ever report on the direct effect of climate change on Cambodia’s population was launched yesterday in Phnom Penh, highlighting significant flaws in the country’s ability to deal with future health, finanace and food supply issues. The UN Development Program’s Cambodia Human Development Report 2011, ...

Climate change posed a major threat to Cambodia because of its extreme poverty and predominantly rural population, development experts told a conference yesterday. “This is an agrarian economy that depends very much on weather.  And we are among the poorest countries in the world,” Dr ...

The government is drafting a new law that will aim at improving auditing standards and management practices at all of Cambodia’s ports on the coast and rivers and at dry ports inland, officials said yesterday. Speaking at a workshop on port regulation in Phnom Penh, ...

Destruction of Cambodia’s forests is one of the biggest threats to the country’s ability to effectively deal with the effects of climate change, the UN warned in a new report to be released today. Cambodia is one of the most vulnerable countries in the region ...

Phnom Penh municipality is set to launch a campaign today at Daun Penh district’s Kandal market aimed at educating residents about disposing their garbage correctly in an effort to reduce flooding in the area. The campaign comes after the area experience several bouts of severe ...

Cambodia Angkor Air will launch a regular flight service between Siem Reap and Sihanoukville by the end of the year, an official at the Council of Ministers said yesterday. There are currently no flights to Sihanoukville, the country’s premier coastal resort, even though the airport ...

PHNOM PENH– The China-made Sanya-branded motorcycles have officially entered Cambodian market on Wednesday to compete in the country’s crowded motorcycle market. Pan Sorasak, Secretary of State for the Ministry of Commerce, expressed congratulations to the SCI Company Limited for being selected to be the exclusive distributor ...

Ha Noi–The Vietnamese Government would do its best to work with the Cambodian Government to raise bilateral ties to a more effective and fruitful level, said Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung in Ha Noi yesterday. Dung told the Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign ...

KOH KONG, Cambodia (AP) — Round a bend in Cambodia’s Tatai River and the virtual silence of a tropical idyll turns suddenly into an industrial nightmare. Lush jungle hills give way to a flotilla of dredgers operating 24 hours a day, scooping up sand and piling ...

A simmering land dispute in Kratie province’s Snuol Wildlife Sanctuary flared up Friday as hundreds of desperate villagers blocked National Road 76A for four hours in an effort to prevent the clearing of their homes and farms by a rubber company, villagers and human rights ...

Authorities in Phnom Penh briefly detained about 100 villagers yesterday who were distributing leaflets to raise awareness of the ongoing destruction of Prey Long, one of Cambodia’s largest remaining primary forests. The leaflet distributors had their materials confiscated and were escorted to six commune offices ...

Singapore-listed firm HLH Group is planning to expand its presence in Cambodia with 90,000 hectares of corn, rice and soybean plantations planned over the next decade in Kompong Speu and Koh Kong provinces, an official at the company said yesterday. HLH Group came under scrutiny ...

More than one hundred villagers dressed as the forest people from the hit film “Avatar” protested in the Cambodian capital Thursday against the destruction of the country’s Prey Lang forestThey say the forest, which is a source of livelihood for some 200,000 mainly indigenous people, ...

Conservation group WWF on Wednesday called for urgent action to prevent the extinction of freshwater dolphins in the Mekong River, including the creation of special conservation zones. Entanglement in fishing nets, low calf survival rates and a steady degradation of the creature’s habitat are threatening ...