Over 400 people joined in WWF’s “Dolphin Day” celebration in Kratie town Tuesday morning, parading in dolphin-emblazoned T-shirts up the riverfront and through the market. Though local enthusiasm is palpable, the bottom line is sobering. The number of endangered Irawaddy dolphins in the Mekong River continues to drop, the WWF announced in a press conference following the celebration. A population that once numbered in the hundreds has now fallen to just 80 adult animals.
Category: Cambodia
Cambodian Troops Bulldoze Villagers’ Crops in Bid to Seize Land
Troops assigned to a light infantry unit destroyed village fields in southern Cambodia’s Kampot province on Monday in a bid to expand the property used by a commune set up for retired army soldiers, sources said.
Environmental Group Says ‘Inactive’ Government Has Failed Its Forests
The Prey Lang Community Network, which works to protect Cambodian forests, has been selected by UNDP for an Equator Prize, for outstanding community organizing. In an interview with VOA Khmer, the group’s spokesman, Seng Sok Heng, says the government is “inactive” in protecting Cambodian forests, some of the last rainforest in Southeast Asia.
Cambodian Official Urges Provincial Government to Shutter Illegal Gold Mine
A top mining official on Wednesday urged the government of northeastern Cambodia’s Ratanakiri province to crack down on a group of Vietnamese running an illegal gold mining operation villagers and rights groups say is being protected by local authorities.
Group Proposes Signing UN Water Pact
Environmental groups yesterday urged the government to seek greater legal clarity among the Mekong River countries about how they should share its resources.
The Lower Sesan 2 Dam will soon flood several Cambodian Communities
Blog: The Lower Sesan 2 Dam will soon flood several Cambodian Communities; can it at least provide fair compensation?
HAGL pact hailed as a ‘good step’
A landmark agreement between Vietnamese plantation firm Hoanh Anh Gia Lai and three indigenous communities in Ratanakkiri was reached yesterday, prompting hope for an amicable conclusion to the years-long dispute.
China-built dam in Cambodia set to destroy livelihoods of 45,000
The thump of jackhammers and the whine of drills pierce the air, workmen in orange safety hats beaver away and a massive concrete wall rises slowly above the river. Here, in lush northeastern Cambodia, the US$800 million Lower Sesan 2 Dam stands as a potent symbol of China’s growing reach, and Beijing’s ambitious plans to expand its influence across Asia by building desperately needed infrastructure.
Asean journalists hone skills in hydropower reporting
Journalists from the Asean countries of Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia gathered in Phnom Penh this week to learn about energy and hydropower development trends in the region.
Controversial Cambodia dam goes ahead despite concerns
IMPLEMENTATION of the Lower Sesan 2 (LS2) hydropower project in northeast Cambodia is underway despite civil society organisations and local residents expressing concerns over possible serious impacts on the environment and natural resources.