Environment and natural resources

A senior Ministry of Environment official said pangolins were the most traded species of mammal in the world due to their use in traditional Chinese medicine while in Cambodia the species is widely threatened by illegal hunting and trapping carried out to supply that industry. ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen presided over the groundbreaking ceremony of the Choeung Ek Wastewater Treatment Facility – to be built using more than $20 million in aid from Japan – in Chak Angre Leu commune’s Prek Ta Kong I village of Phnom Penh’s Meanchey district. ...

More than 60,000ha of flooded forest land in Zone 3 in the six provinces around the Tonle Sap Lake has been reclaimed from nearly 15,000 families and returned to the state. Officials have since reforested the area with different kinds of trees, bamboos and palm ...

The Ministry of Environment inaugurated the Prek Toal Ramsar-site Core Area Management Centre building in Battambang province on February 18, with German ambassador Christian Berger in attendance. ...

Many rare species of wild animals such as clouded leopards and bears continue to be found in the Cardamom Mountain range. This is the result of Cambodia’s improved conservation of natural resources, according to a report released by the Ministry of Environment on February 18. ...

The Wildlife Conservation Society Cambodia Programme (WCS) has said it safely released 35 Cantor’s giant softshell turtle hatchlings into the wild along the Mekong River on February 17, in Kratie province’s northernmost district of Sambor. ...

An activist monk from the Sorng Rukhavoan Forest Community called on authorities to search for poachers who trapped and killed a banteng in Oddar Meanchey province’s Anlong Veng district on February 18. ...

Interior Minister Sar Kheng on Saturday urged Battambang provincial authorities to prevent the encroachment of flooded forest land along in the Tonle Sap lake in Mong Russei, Sangke, Ek Phnom and Thmar Koul districts. ...

The WWF has expressed regret over the death of the last known river dolphin in the transboundary pool in the Mekong between Laos and Cambodia. ...

On the border between Cambodia and Laos, the last known Irrawaddy dolphin has died, reportedly as a result of becoming caught in a net, ...

The Banteay Meanchey Provincial Court has summoned the Preah Netr Preah district governor and Prasat commune chief to testify next month in cases concerning the clearing of three forest areas near the Tonle Sap Lake. ...

The Kingdom is studying the environmental impacts from the construction of undersea fiber optic cables connecting Hong Kong to Preah Sihanouk province at a distance of over 300km.   ...

Cambodia is all set to reduce deforestation by half by the year 2030 and achieve zero greenhouse gas emissions in its forestry sector by 2040. ...

The Cambodian authorities as of Dec. 2021 have granted for development more than 2,000 of Boeung Ta Mok lake’s 3,239.7 hectares in response to 43 requests from public and private institutions, leaving the future of the lake uncertain. ...

Monks protecting the Sorng Rukahvorn Community Forest in Oddar Meanchey province are committed to turn the area into a Buddhist-style natural tourist attraction for Cambodians and foreigners. ...

The Kingdom will strive to increase environmental sustainability and address climate change issues to build a “green ASEAN” and ensure a more resilient and inclusive future, according to Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC) secretary-general Sok Chenda Sophea. ...

An international development program, funded by the New Zealand government, that powers subsistence farmers in Cambodia to build resilience to climate change and lift themselves out of poverty, has shown remarkable success, according to the American NGO that implements it, International Development Enterprises (iDE). ...

The Ministry of Industry, Science, Technology and Innovation is preparing the 2022-2026 salt development strategy to develop, manage and conserve fields in the Kingdom – almost exclusively in Kampot and Kep provinces – and improve the economic efficiency of salt production. ...

The government and partner organisations are seeking new markets in which to sell carbon credits in order to raise funds for its efforts to increase and strengthen the protection of natural resources in the Kingdom. ...

The hog badger persists in the Kingdom although in unknown numbers, despite continuing illegal poaching for their lard – used in traditional medicines largely based in superstition – as well as their meat and bones, affirmed Ministry of Environment spokesperson Neth Pheaktra. ...

The Ministry of Environment held World Wetlands Day on February 2 in Pursat province – which is rich in wetlands – to celebrate the importance of ecosystems and protect biodiversity in local communities. ...

Under the “Cambodia Sustainable Landscape and Ecotourism Project”, the Ministry of Environment is developing its vision and investment plans for tourist destinations in the Cardamom Mountains, with a focus on establishing ecotourism in protected areas of Siem Reap, Kampong Speu and Koh Kong provinces. ...

The Ministry of Environment has instructed its municipal and provincial departments to take measures to control air quality, after some control stations showed that air quality levels have dropped. Of particular concern was the increase in particulate matter (PM10) and fine particulate matter (PM2.5), which ...

This year’s dry season is no different from last year, with people in the suburbs of Phnom Penh beginning to complain about the lacking of clean water.   ...