Environment and natural resources

Hundreds of hectares of forest in Siem Reap and Kampong Thom provinces have been destroyed by a fire that raged on Monday and Tuesday, according to provincial authorities. The blaze, which authorities said was caused by human negligence, destroyed both natural forest and state-administered forest ...

The Ministry of Mines and Energy has suspended the licences of 90 mining companies across Kampong Speu province for a week for failing to properly repair and water roads, tormenting residents with clouds of dust. Yos Monirath, General Department of Mineral Resources director-general at the ...

Community representatives and civil society groups have hit out at plans for a petrol station on Preah Sihanouk province’s Koh Rong Samloem, expressing concern at the environmental impact the project will have on the tourist hotspot. ...

The Ratanakkiri provincial Military Police intercepted two four-wheel drive vehicles in Veun Sai district that were used to transport first-grade timber logs. The timber has been seized but the police said the drivers were not found at the scene and authorities are on the lookout ...

Siem Pang and Siem Pang Khang Lech wildlife sanctuaries’ enforcement teams this month confiscated a total of three chainsaws, two homemade guns, a fish electrocution device and 608 snares, said a BirdLife International Cambodia Programme broadcast on Wednesday. ...

The municipal Department of Public Works and Transport said on Thursday that it planned to remove tonnes of waste disorderly disposed of in the capital’s sewage canal next week. The move followed widespread criticism of mass floating rubbish and the municipal authority’s alleged inaction. ...

The Ministry of Environment has said concerns over Phnom Penh’s air quality are being fuelled by “fake news” on social media sites by companies aiming to promote the sale of air quality testing kits.​​ “There has been a lot of fake news claiming that air ...

Local communities in rural areas across the Kingdom have expressed grave concerns over the severe lack of water for their daily consumption amid a prolonged drought that has caused streams, creeks, lakes and ponds to gradually dry up. Due to high demand for water to ...

Civil society organisations dealing with environmental issues yesterday urged the Environment Ministry to disclose environmental impact assessment reports due to a lack of public information on whether or not companies comply with their reports after development projects have been approved. In a workshop on “Promoting Environmental ...

Some areas in Pailin and Banteay Meanchey provinces are facing water shortages due to prolonged drought, though no major impacts have been reported, according to a spokesman for the Ministry of Water Resources and Meteorology. ...

An elephant was found dead at a cashew nut plantation in Keo Seima Wildlife Sanctuary in Mondulkiri province’s Keo Seima district on Sunday. Experts initially thought the elephant may have been poisoned by a chemicals used by locals, but later confirmed it had been shot. ...

Following public outcry after waste from construction projects in Sihanoukville was found being dumped directly into the sea, provincial authorities have said four sewage systems are now almost complete. The construction of sewage systems at four beaches was 80 per cent finished, while two pumping ...

Pursat provincial authorities on Wednesday raided a sawmill operating without a licence and confiscated 21 logs totalling 13 cubic metres at Kset Borei village in Phnom Kravanh district’s Santre commune, while the owner escaped. ...

Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Prak Sokhonn on Wednesday said the Japanese government had provided the Kingdom with $134.38 million in aid packages in the past 12 months – $19.42 million in grants and the remaining $114.96 million in loans. ...

Nearly 50 families living near a rubbish dump in Siem Reap province’s Prasat Bakong district on Tuesday demanded authorities quickly find an alternative site. They said the current dump in Trapaing Thom commune’s Anlong Pi village is unhygienic, causing people to fall sick and producing ...

Police forces on Sunday raided a lumber mill that was being operated illegally within Phnom Oral Wildlife Sanctuary in Kampong Speu province. At least 100 timber logs, three wood processing machines – including one shredder – and several lumber planks had been found and confiscated, ...

The Ministry of Environment and 300 villagers from natural protection communities across four provinces gathered at Prey Lang Wildlife Sanctuary this weekend for a tree ceremony calling for the protection of natural resources, ministry spokesman Neth Pheaktra told The Post on Sunday. ...

The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries has reversed its previous order to allocate land to 48 families in Preah Sihanouk province’s Koki village – the scene of violent clashes between protesters and security forces – in order to follow procedure in trying to resolve ...

Voek Pisei, O’Khla Khmum village chief in Samrong district’s O’Smach commune, told The Post on Thursday that early last month, one villager identified as Roeun Sela was detained by Thai border guards for smuggling luxury wood from Thailand. ...

Membes of Battambang province’s forest community and relevant authorities on Tuesday claimed that over 100ha of forest land in Samlot Protected Area have been illegally cleared by wealthy citizens and armed forces in order to place it under their ownership. Samlot community representative Yat Neang, ...

The government reshuffled members of the National Committee for Coastal Management and Development in late January, according to a government statement received by The Post on Tuesday. Prime Minister Hun Sen continues to serve as the committee’s honorary president, while Minister of Land Management, Urban ...

Minister of Environment Say Sam Al said on Monday that his ministry is working with the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries to identify whether transported timber is from legal or illegal sources. Cambodian Youth Party (CYP) president Pich Sros, who is also a member ...

The Mondulkiri agriculture department yesterday denied claims by an environmental activist that it allowed two private firms to transport timber to Vietnam. Activist Heng Sros, 24, from the Cambodian Human Rights Task Force, yesterday said that the private companies received permission to transport high quality ...

The Ministry of Environment has funded a Cambodia Climate Change Alliance project and selected five schools to test climate change response strategies by planting trees and developing gardens with increased biodiversity. ...