News
One ministry allows yellow vine, one stops it
While one government ministry gave approval to a Chinese company to collect yellow vine in Koh Kong province, another ministry told the provincial governor on November 24 to halt the construction of processing facilities for the vine, according to letters obtained on November 24. The Ministry ...
ELCs bring no benefits to local communities: study
A study looking at economic land concessions in Ratanakkiri province has found that, contrary to the oft-repeated government narrative, they have brought almost no benefits to local communities. Speaking at a launch event for the study yesterday, one of the researchers behind it, Dr Neth ...
Deeper water expected to yield more fish
Just weeks ahead of the main fishing season on the Tonle Sap river, which supplies the majority of the fish used in the Kingdom’s traditional cooking sauce, prahok, government officials are predicting a better catch this season as water levels have recovered from last year’s ...
Don Sahong dam ‘no problem’, says premier
Just weeks after Laos announced its plans to begin constructing a third mainstream dam in the Lower Mekong River region, Prime Minister Hun Sen used a bilateral meeting with his Laotian counterpart to signal that the controversial Don Sahong dam will no longer receive opposition ...
Labour Ministry forms new body to monitor workplace safety
A new National Committee on Occupational Safety and Health established under a sub-decree signed by Prime Minister Hun Sen on November 21 will advise the government on all work-place safety issues – but excludes transportation accidents, which one observer said make up the majority of work-related ...
Banned rosewood trade up
Despite the presence of a blanket ban by the Cambodian government on all trade in Siamese rosewood since 2013, exports of the precious timber to Vietnam increased in the third quarter of this year, according to Vietnamese customs data compiled by US-based NGO Forest Trends. ...
Geneva meet waiting on labour union input
An International Labour Organization official on Sunday urged local unions to present their views on the contentious Trade Union Law to the body’s Committee of Experts, a request that has so far found little traction. The ILO’s Committee of Experts will meet in Geneva, Switzerland, ...
New fertiliser venture aims to satisfy growing demand
Fertiliser manufacturer Nangoku Agriculture Development, a Japanese-Cambodian joint venture, launched operations on November 21 with the aim of supplying locally manufactured fertilisers to Cambodian farmers at affordable prices. Cambodia’s Bayon Heritage Holding Group Co Ltd holds a 60-percent stake in the $2.2-million joint venture with partner ...
New Laos dam draws criticism
News that Laos will move ahead with the proposed 912-megawatt Pak Beng dam, which would be the third mainstream dam in Laos’ Lower Mekong River, has sparked criticism from environmental groups who say downstream countries should decide the fate of potentially harmful development projects. Laos ...
Migration blamed for low voter registration figures
National Election Committee spokesman Hang Puthea on November 20 said the body will likely miss its target of registering 9.6 million eligible voters because of the large number of Cambodian migrant workers who have failed to register. The NEC and political parties have been appealing ...
