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Threats against journalists in Cambodia spike

By Nantiya Tangwisutijit

The Club of Cambodian Journalists announced over the weekend that there has been a dramatic rise in threats against journalists this year, with a parallel increase in arrests and legal challenges, The Phnom Penh Post reported.

According to a CCJ statement issued on Saturday, there have so far been 12 cases against journalists this year, compared to four in 2014.

Some journalists were beaten up and arrested and detained, and in some cases equipment including cameras and voice recorders was confiscated, it said. Five journalists were sued this year, compared to just two in 2014, it added.

ADB Supports Cambodia’s Push to Develop New Environmental Plan

By Nantiya Tangwisutijit

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is supporting the Government of Cambodia to develop a National Environmental Strategy and Action Plan (NESAP) to help the country achieve its sustainable development goals.

The NESAP will prioritize policy tools and financing options to ensure that environmental protection and sustainable natural resource management are pillars of economic development. The plan was introduced to senior officials from 17 ministries, as well as development partners, at an ADB-supported workshop held in Phnom Penh on November 2, according to ADB.

“The NESAP is a strategy for all government ministries as well as the private sector, civil society, and development partners to integrate environmental concerns into economic policies and investments,” said Say Samal, Minister of Environment, in opening remarks at the start of the workshop. He added that all stakeholders would need to work closely together to achieve the NESAP aims.

With Asean Integration Come More Threats to Natural Resources: NGO Forum

By Nantiya Tangwisutijit

Asean integration will start at end of this year, opening the region to a free flow of goods and services across borders. But many analysts say Cambodia will have a difficult time integrating and benefiting from the cooperation. There are other downsides, as well. VOA Khmer recently spoke with Toek Vannara, director of the NGO Forum, to discuss the likely environmental problems Cambodia and other countries could face if they do not act to protect their natural resources.]

7 Carbon investment projects have been cancelled and the duration of economic land concession has been reduced

By Nantiya Tangwisutijit

The government of Cambodia has decided to cancel 7 carbon investment projects and reduced the investment duration of economic land concession (6 projects) down to 50 years after reviewing environmental assessment reports of Ministry of Environment. According to an announcement of Ministry of Environment on October 16, 2015, after reviewing the environmental assessment reports of Ministry of Environment on 14 investment projects, Royal Government of Cambodia has decided that 6 economic land concession projects covering 45468 h.a in Koh Kong, Kompot and Pursat provinces could continue their operation within only 50 years.

Locals differ on impacts from Cambodia dam project

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Cambodia’s Lower Sesan 2 (LS2) hydropower project brings about concerns to the locals, either those refusing to move or those accepting the resettlement deals. According to the project’s environmental impact assessment report, 4,785 people from seven villages must relocate from four communes in the reservoir area. It is estimated that 78,000 people upstream would lose access to migratory fish, and 22,000 people immediately downstream would be negatively affected by changes in river hydrology, water quality and fish numbers.

Lower Sesan 2: Construction resumed, troubles restarted

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Thousands of workers, mostly Chinese, are hustling working on the Lower Sesan 2 (LS2) dam site in Northeast Cambodia, and nearly 40% of their work is complete. The US$816 million project was approved by Cambodia’s Council of Ministers in 2012. However, in November 2014, the dam construction was stopped due to environmental controversy and opposition from communities and some NGOs, but has been re-started since March 2015. And, as construction has resumed, the communities concerns have been reprised and the trouble has restarted.

Lower Sesan 2 Dam jeopardizes lives of millions of Cambodia’s river dwellers

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With an increasing need for energy, the Royal Cambodian Government has spent nearly a billion US dollars on a hydroelectric dam that it claimed was necessary for industry. However, the real social and economic cost of the dam, which will flood an area equivalent to a small province and submerge thousands of families’ houses, might far exceed its construction cost as it might deprive millions of Cambodians of their most important food staple.