This paper discusses the role of local governments as powerful, but often over-looked, actors in locally led adaptation. Local governments represent key stakeholders that have largely untapped potential to lead local adaptation action, mediate between local actors and national authorities, and manage climate finance to address local needs. This paper …
Repairing of Phnom Penh's roads and drainage system has led to the doubling of the city's air pollution, recent tests reveal. "Tens of thousands of residents of the Cambodian capital are suffering from respiratory problems because of the renovation activities,' said Veng Thai, the city's municipal health director. But the …
A new legislation has been introduced in Cambodia to curb illegal logging. As per the new rules, offenders can be imprisoned for up to 10 years and fined as much as us $2,500. The country's prime minister, Hun Sen, has vowed to resign if his government fails to stop the …
children exposed to ddt (dichlorodiphenyl-trichloroethane) attain puberty at a much younger age, reveals a new study. The study shows that girls exposed to ddt develop breasts and start their menstruation cycle by the age of ten, both processes which generally start at the age of 12. The study carried out …
Pesticides are posing a serious threat to human health and the environment in Cambodia, says the Food and Agriculture Organisation. Pesticides such as mevinphos that are classified as extremely hazardous by the World Health Organisation are widely used by Cambodian farmers. Multinational pesticides companies disclaim responsibility for the adverse affects …
Cambodia has passed a legislation to make the Tonle Sap Lake a biosphere reserve, which will protect it from development and exploitation of resources. The lake is southeast Asia's largest freshwater body. The biosphere programme of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (unesco) had nominated Tonle Sap as …
The Cambodian government has alleged that a Malaysian company is illegally logging in the country's hardwood forest. The accusations have been made on the basis of aerial inspections and onsite visits. The activities of Grand Atlantic Timber International, the company, have threatened the existence of commercially valuable trees, government officials …
Until recently, few cared to venture into the Cardamom Mountains in Phnom Penh situated in a remote corner of Cambodia. The reason being mainly because the mountains were the last refuge of the Khmer Rouge guerillas and were made impenetrable with innumerable landmines. With the end of the war, the …
Sihanoukville, in the southern part of the country, has become the dumping ground for trash from neighbouring countries. The flow of refuse - from electronic goods to car parts - continues with the civic authorities unable to check the problem. In November 1998, a plastics manufacturer based in Gaoxiong, Taiwan, …
Despite the restriction on sale of animal skins, the business flourishes in many Asian countries. Recently the skins of an endangered tiger, sun bear, crocodile and pangolin were found being dried along Phnom Penh's bustling street 178. It was yet another example of how blatant the lucrative illegal wildlife trade …
A South Korean firm will invest us $10 million on a fleet of 300 electric cars that will ferry tourists around Cambodia's sprawling Angkor Vat temple complex, a tourism ministry official said recently. "These cars will transport tourists and also reduce vibrations that might cause damage to the temples. The …
A Cambodian court convicted two Taiwan men in absentia over the dumping of about 3,000 tonnes of mercury-tainted waste last year. The court in the southern port city of Sihanoukville sentenced Chang Ku Fung and Kao Chee Song to five years in jail and ordered them to pay more than …
A cholera outbreak in northeastern Cambodia has killed54 villagers and left another 827 infected with the deadly bacteria, health officials said. Cholera cases were first reported in northern Ratanakiri province in mid-April, Gerry Pais of Health Unlimited said. "Unless we can bring it under control soon, we could have many …
California community activists have joined hands with local and international environmental justice organisations in denouncing plans to re-dump mercury-contaminated waste near Westmoreland, California (Down To Earth, Vol 7, No 18). Mercury-contaminated waste was first illegally dumped in Cambodia by the Taiwanese company, Formosa Plastics, late in 1998. Following the dumping, …
IN THE first week of December 1998, about 3,000 tonnes of industrial materials from Taiwan were dumped in Sihanoukville, a village in Cambodia. The villagers, who were unaware of the toxic nature of the dump, were thrilled with the contents. It contained cement-like materials in white plastic sacks which could …
Garbage dumps are the only source of livelihood for hundreds of poor children living in Phnom Penh. Scores of children can be seen atop heaps of foul-smelling wastes, competing with the municipal bulldozer to collect cans, glass, plastic and paper, which they sell for a living. Injuries and infections are …
scientists have discovered new evidence of a prehistoric civilisation and remnants of ancient temples in Angkor, Cambodia. For this purpose, they have used highly detailed maps produced with data from an airborne imaging radar instrument created by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (nasa). Scientists say the finding was made …
Devastated by three decades of war and currently mounting corruption, the state of environment in Cambodia seems to be faring the worst. Accor-ding to environmentalists, unchecked harvesting of trees, which has stripped the nation of half its forest cover since 1970, has recently escalated alarmingly following political infighting in the …
A taste for exotic dishes has nearly wiped out some of the rare species such as soft-nosed turtles, snakes and rare scaley anteaters known as pangolins. The government is implementing strict measures to protect these species. Recently, officials from a municipal agency protecting animal resources seized rare animals, meant to …
Even as the country is emerging from the ruins of decades of war, it is faced with another kind of threat. Continuing violence and an open market economy have brought the country on the brink of environmental devastation. Unchecked logging could lead to disasters such as soil erosion and flooding. …
Cambodia can use its pristine rainforests and impressive wildlife population to salvage its ruined economy - not by culling the trees or killing the animals, but by displaying them, This novel proposal has been presented by Marshall Perry, an American businessman and the director of the Society for Ecology and …
