News
Endangered Species Are Paying the Price of COVID-19
The table we’re writing on is made of rosewood, the most trafficked wildlife product in the world. For months, we’ve been researching the uptick in logging and poaching, which are gradually emptying out the forests here in Cambodia as well as neighboring Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, ...
Lindsey Kennedy, Nathan Paul Southern
Khun Sea Development Fills In Mekong River Near Arey Ksat Ferry Stop
A representative for prominent tycoon Khun Sea’s company confirmed the firm was responsible for in-filling in the Mekong River very near to the ferry stop at Kandal’s Arey Ksat – after social media users and ferry passengers posted photos of large stony embankments. Photos emerged on ...
Sun Narin, Lors Liblib, VOA Khmer
Do Cambodia’s Human Rights Groups Ignore Ethnic Vietnamese?
Prominent Cambodian human rights organizations ignore discrimination and violations committed against ethnic Vietnamese communities in the country, fearful of backlash from nationalists and supporters of the now-dissolved opposition party, according to sources who spoke to The Diplomat. Since early June, for instance, Cambodian authorities have been evicting hundreds of ...
David Hutt
Groups call for the release of Mother Nature environmental activists in Cambodia
Human rights groups in and outside of Cambodia are calling for the immediate release of Mother Nature activists who were detained for filming a sewage flow near the Royal Palace. Mother Nature members Sun Ratha 26, and Yim Leanghy 32, were arrested on June 16 while documenting the ...
Mong Palatino
Draft social protection law unveiled
The government has drawn up a “Draft Law on Social Protection System” to ensure minimum standards of well-being and reduce economic and financial vulnerabilities. The draft law is designed to strengthen the income security of the people and promote social equality through the creation and management ...
Thou Vireak
Carving up the Cardamoms: Conservationists fear massive land grab in Cambodia
A new regulation signed into law in March this year but only unveiled publicly in May will see almost 127,000 hectares (313,800 acres) of previously protected land in Cambodia made available for sale or rent, prompting fears among conservationists about a land grab for some ...
GERALD FLYNN & ANDREW BALL & PHOUNG VANTHA
UN Calls for End to ‘Punitive Measures’ Used Against Cambodian Environmental Activists
United Nations human rights and environmental officials called on Wednesday for an end to Cambodian authorities’ use of “punitive measures” against protectors of the country’s environment, following the arrests this month of four young environmental activists. The four activists, members of the Cambodian environmental protection group ...
Reported by RFA’s Khmer Service. Translated by Sok Ry Sum. Written in English by Richard Finney.
Low dry season flows in Mekong drive down Cambodia’s Tonle Sap, countries urged to improve basin-wide management
The Mekong River Commission (MRC) Secretariat has urged the wider exchange of data and information as part of recommendations to improve water resource management in the Lower Mekong Basin, in a bulletin released today. The 18-page Situation Report encourages MRC Member Countries and Dialogue Partners to share ...
Sweden supports Cambodia towards a circular economy
On 28 June, the Cambodian National Council for Sustainable Development of the Ministry of Environment launched the implementation of the National Strategic Plan and Action Plan for a circular economy with financial support from Sweden, Japan, and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). The strategy includes ...
Mette Larsen
Cambodia Charges Eco-Activists With Conspiracy, Royal Defamation
Cambodian and international rights advocates have condemned the harsh charges imposed on three 20-something environmental activists in the country earlier this week, the latest sign of the Cambodian government’s determination to stamp out the last traces of independent political advocacy. On June 16, Sun Ratha, 26, ...
Sebastian Strangio