Seven Feared Trapped in Gold Mine Collapse
May 21st, 2013, VOA Khmer, Construction, Disasters & Disaster Management, Environment & Natural Resources, Extractive Industries, Industry, International Relations, Labor, Mining
A gold mine shaft has collapsed in Preah Vihear province, trapping at least seven miners, officials said Monday. …
The collapse took place in a shaft that is typically mined by up to 60 people at a time, he [Rovieng Police Chief Sin Thorn].
Sin Thorn said he has warned villagers against mining there in the past, “but they never listen to my advice.” …
Romtum Commune Chief Prak Sokhun said rescue efforts are underway. Local police and others are trying to dig out the landslide that they believe is cutting off the exit to the shaft.
A district police officer who asked not to be named said there have been similar incidents of smaller scale at the mine in the past, some of them fatal, but Monday’s collapse has trapped more people that other similar incidents.
Suy Heimkhemra
http://www.voacambodia.com/content/seven-feared-trapped-in-gold-mine-collapse/1664837.html
Factory Dining Hall Collapses in Phnom Penh; 23 injured
May 21st, 2013, The Cambodia Daily, Business & Commercial Development, Construction, Disasters & Disaster Management, Garment Industry, Industry, Infrastructure, International Relations, Labor, Social Concerns
The dining hall of a garment factory in Phnom Penh’s Meanchey district that supplies clothes to U.S. brand Gap collapsed into a pond Monday, injuring more than 20 workers who were eating lunch, workers and officials said.
The hall, which is part of Top World Garment (Cambodia) Ltd. in Kbal Koh commune but outside the main building, collapsed at 11:40 a.m., according to commune police chief Mao Rith. …
The accident comes only five days after another factory in Kompong Speu province experienced a ceiling collapse that left two workers dead. Government and factory officials yesterday said the Taiwanese-owned Wing Star Shoes Co. Ltd. was safe enough for staff to go back to work.
“Tomorrow, the workers will return to work so that the production chain will not be affected,” said Oum Mean, secretary of state at the Ministry of Labor. …
Cambodian National Rescue Party (CNRP) election candidate Mu Sochua… said the CNRP is demanding a transparent inspection of Wing Star Shoes, as well as all the other factories in the country.
She also called for the prosecution of all the individuals who were involved in the oversight of the building’s illegal construction. …
Chin Chan and Chhorn Chansy
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/factory-dining-hall-collapses-in-phnom%E2%80%88penh-23-injured-25558/
Accident rocks garment industry again
May 20th, 2013, The Phnom Penh Post, Business & Commercial Development, Disasters & Disaster Management, Foreign Investment, Garment Industry, Industry, Labor, News Source
For the second time in five days, Cambodia’s garment industry has been rocked by another partial collapse of a structure at a factory.
Garment workers are reporting that at least 10 people, including a pregnant woman, have been injured after a concrete platform collapsed into a pond at the back of the Top World Garment (Cambodia) Ltd. factory on the outskirts of Phnom Penh at about midday today. …
Chhay Channyda
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013052065721/National/accident-rocks-garment-industry-again.html
Factory Orders Staff Back to Work Amid Safety Concerns
May 20th, 2013, The Cambodia Daily, Business & Commercial Development, Construction, Disasters & Disaster Management, Garment Industry, Industry, Infrastructure, International Relations, Labor, Social Concerns
Employees at a Taiwanese-owned shoe factory in Kompong Speu province where two workers were killed when one of the building’s floors collapsed on Thursday have been ordered back to work today, despite ongoing concerns from labor activists about the building’s safety.
While conceding that some parts of the building—including the section that collapsed—had been built without a permit and were potentially unstable, an official for the provincial department of land management said Sunday that workers could safely return to work as “warning signs” would be erected to avert employees from parts of the factory still deemed unsafe.
“There are two illegal extensions to the building, which have to be removed,” said Mam Narey, bureau chief of the provincial construction department. “We cannot keep them because it is very dangerous for the workers.” …
The mezzanine level of the Wing Star Shoes Co. Ltd. in Kong Pisei district collapsed on Thursday morning, crushing workers who were arriving at the factory. According to the authorities, steel beams holding up the concrete flooring buckled under the weight of boxes of shoes due to shoddy construction done without a permit. …
“Safe and ethical working conditions are of paramount importance to ASICS. We have launched our own investigation into the cause of the incident in full cooperation with the relevant authorities. In addition to our ASICS staff already on site, two representatives plus related people from ASICS corporation headquarters will travel to Phnom Penh and personally evaluate progress of investigations,” said Katsumi Funakoshi, general manager of public relations department for ASICS.
“The decision to re-open or continue to work with this factory would be considered after the result of investigation by ourselves, by the third party and by the government,” he added. …
“Just like in a house, when you build a small roof for the dog, and if that small roof collapses, you will not suggest that the whole house is going to collapse,” [ Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia chairman] Mr. [Van] Sou Leng said. …
He also said that the paying of money to families of the dead and injured over the weekend was “insulting.”
“There’s the criminal aspect of an illegal construction that resulted in the death of workers,” Mr. Welsh said. “To think that they are offering money to families over the weekend to prevent the criminal suit is ludicrous and frankly should not stand.”
According to Ms. Hour, the factory representative, nine of the injured workers who went to Calmette Hospital had received $1,700 each. Victims with minor injuries at the district referral hospital received $550 each, she said.
“For each dead victim, the factory donated $6,500 to each family to hold the funeral,” Ms. Hour said. “We wanted to negotiate compensation with them but right now, they don’t want to talk. They need time.” …
Chhorn Chansy and Dene-Hern Chen
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/factory-orders-staff-back-to-work-amid-safety-concerns-25192/
ASICS Wants Monitoring Of Cambodian Sub-Contractors After Accident
May 17th, 2013, The Nation, Business & Commercial Development, Construction, Disasters & Disaster Management, Economics, Garment Industry, Industry, Infrastructure, International Relations, Labor, Social Concerns
The Japanese athletics brand ASICS said Friday that it would push its four Cambodian sub-contractors to join a programme that monitors conditions in garment and shoe factories. …
“We will strongly request to our sub-contractors in Cambodia to sign up to this programme,” Katsumi Funakoshi, ASICS spokesman, said by email. …
The Better Factories Cambodia programme, which is voluntary, was set up in 2001 and is run by the International Labour Organization. It monitors factories making clothing and shoes for export to ensure they comply with a range of issues, such as fire safety, working conditions and prompt payment of wages.
Thursday’s accident showed the programme should also monitor factory construction, its chief technical adviser, Jill Tucker, said. …
She called on the hundreds of buyers from other countries that source from Cambodia, including Japan, to take responsibility for the factories where their products were made and join the initiative. …
The Nation Staff
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/ASICS-wants-monitoring-of-Cambodian-sub-contractor-30206398.html
After Factory Collapse, Questions Mount Over ILO Monitoring
May 17th, 2013, The Cambodia Daily, Business & Commercial Development, Construction, Disasters & Disaster Management, Garment Industry, Industry, Infrastructure, International Relations, Labor, Social Concerns
Labor rights activists and a government official accused the International Labor Organization’s Better Factories Cambodia program of ineffectiveness in its monitoring of factory conditions following a deadly ceiling collapse on Thursday at a shoe factory in Kompong Speu province.
Moeun Tola, labor program head of the Community Legal Education Center, a labor rights group, said that Better Factories Cambodia had failed workers by not disclosing the names of factories that flout the country’s laws on factory health and safety. …
In February, a team of Stanford University Law School researchers published a report titled Monitoring in the Dark, charging that the lack of transparency in the Better Factories program had actually set back garment industry standards for Cambodian workers, compared to their counterparts in China, Indonesia and Vietnam.
The researchers also said that the ILO’s “confidential reporting practice” reduces incentives for factory owners and international brands to improve working conditions in Cambodian factories. …
Authorities yesterday said the ceiling collapse in the Wing Star Factory-which produces running shoes for the Japanese spots brand Asics-was due to dangerous building practices. …
Jill Tucker, technical adviser for Better Factories Cambodia, said her program did not monitor the Wing Star factory “in any capacity,” as the monitoring of footwear factories by the ILO program only started last year. …
Regarding the ILO’s decision not to name factories that flout safety regulations, Ms. Tucker defended the way the program operates.
“We are in the process [of] taking programmatic steps toward publicly releasing some non-compliance information and the name of the factory it is connected to,” she said.
The Better Factories program also does not monitor factory construction standards, although Ms. Tucker said that issues such as electrical wiring, overloading on platforms and pathway obstructions are recorded. …
Dene-Hern Chen and Kaing Menghun,
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/after-factory-collapse-questions-mount-over-ilo-monitoring-24860/
Cambodian factory deaths shine spotlight on conditions
May 16th, 2013, DW, Business & Commercial Development, Construction, Disasters & Disaster Management, Garment Industry, Industry, Infrastructure, International Relations, Labor, Social Concerns
The deaths of at least two Cambodian workers and injuries sustained by 10 colleagues at a shoe factory southwest of Phnom Penh once more shine a light on conditions in the global garment manufacturing industry.
Thursday’s accident at the Wing Star Shoe factory in the Cambodian capital took place when a section of ceiling collapsed onto a group of several dozen workers. The factory, which has 7,000 staff, is contracted to manufacture shoes for Japanese athletics brand ASICS. …
Dave Welsh, the country director at the American Center for International Labor Solidarity, a labour group, visited Wing Star on Thursday and said it looked as though the ceiling at the Taiwanese-owned factory had been “badly overloaded” with materials. …
Garment and shoe manufacturing is now a pillar of Cambodia’s economy: Exports last year, most of which went to the European Union and the United States, brought in 4.6 billion US dollars.
The industry is also the largest formal employer with more than 350,000 workers. …
[Secretary-general of Garment Manufacturers' Association in Cambodia Ken Loo] was quick to separate what happened in Cambodia with the disaster in Bangladesh, and said the ceiling collapse was not indicative of a systemic problem: instead the deaths and injuries at Wing Star, which is a GMAC member, looked more like the consequence of shoddy construction. …
Jill Tucker, the BFC’s chief technical adviser, said although Thursday’s accident was uncommon it had highlighted the need for factories to adhere to building standards too. …
Deutsche Welle Staff
http://www.dw.de/cambodian-factory-deaths-shine-spotlight-on-conditions/a-16819017
Koh Kong Water Shortage Leaves Families Dry
May 16th, 2013, The Cambodia Daily, Climate Change, Disasters & Disaster Management, Environment & Natural Resources, Infrastructure, Lakes/Rivers, Social Concerns
Hundreds of families in Koh Kong province’s Khmara Phoumint City are suffering from a shortage of water, which is provided by a reservoir that dried up during the hot season, local officials said yesterday.
Smach Meanchey and Dang Tong communes typically receive water from the Cham Yeam reservoir in Mondol Seima district, said Pich Si Yun, provincial director of the department of industry mines and energy.
The water is channelled from the reservoir, located about 7 km from the city, to the two communes by LTP Group, a company owned by CCP Senator Ly Yong Phat, he said. …
Dang Tong commune chief Lim Dy said the problem was more serious than the provincial authorities reported. All the families in his commune-more than 2,000-have been affected by the shortage for the past two weeks, he said. …
Chhorn Chansy,
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/koh-kong-water-shortage-leaves-families-dry-24517/
Cambodian parliament passes fire prevention law
May 7th, 2013, Xinhuanet News, Business & Commercial Development, Disasters & Disaster Management, Industry
Cambodia’s National Assembly on Tuesday adopted a draft law on fire prevention with jail term punishment for arsonists, neglected firefighters, and false information providers on fires.
Ninety-four out of ninety-seven lawmakers, who were present at the session, passed the law, saying it would help maintain security, social safety, and public order, and protect lives, public health and properties. …
He [Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Sar Kheng] said the law was an important legal instrument to define fire preventive measures and to contribute to maintaining security, social safety, and public order, and protecting lives and properties as well as building confidence for investors and tourists. …
Xinhua News Staff
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2013-05/07/c_132365226.htm
Cambodia’s Excess Baggage
May 4th, 2013, The Cambodia Daily, Business & Commercial Development, Disasters & Disaster Management, Environment & Natural Resources, Environmental change, Infrastructure, Social Concerns
“I don’t know what I was expecting, but I wasn’t going expecting to look out the bus window and see all the blue bags along the roads and in the fields,” said 27-year-old Christopher Convery, who is currently backpacking for the first time in Cambodia. …
In 2010, Mr. Hun Sen lambasted the widespread use of plastic bags as a principle cause of flooding in Phnom Penh. Meetings were called, supermarkets were advised and appeals were made for the public to be educated about throwing away non-biodegradable waste that blocks the city’s drainage pipes. It spurred the then Phnom Penh governor Kep Chuktema to authorize police to fine people who they saw littering.
“Every day now we are issuing fines of up to 20,000 reil [about $5] to individuals and vendors,” said Em Sambath, chief of municipal public order, who adds that fines total about 2 million reil, or about $500 a month, which goes into the municipal budget. …
The government has made some progress in the past few years to reduce flooding in Phnom Penh, notably with a $350-million dollar drainage system funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). …
“The current [drainage] project we are assisting will finish in 2015 and is still ongoing…[it] will take some time for the system to be fully effective,” said Seng Solady, programme officer for JICA, “But we still consider garbage as a problem for Phnom Penh’s drainage system.”
The environmental implications of such consumption are well documented: Each plastic bag can take up to 1,000 years to biodegrade and as they do, they clog and contaminate soil, waterways and choke or poison animals. …
Tourism is also potentially suffering, with all the discarded rubbish leaving a negative impression on visitors that Cambodia is a dirty place. …
Implementing a tax on plastic bags to encourage people to reuse is another [alternative] answer. The Ministry of Environment is currently working with the Ministry of Tourism to get retailers to charge 500 reil for each plastic bag by 2015, according to Mr. Sam An at City Hall. …
Simon Henderson and Aun Pheap
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/selected-features/cambodias-excess-baggage-22003/
Officials talk disaster plan
May 3rd, 2013, The Phnom Penh Post, Disasters & Disaster Management, News Source
The National Committee for Disaster Management is meeting with officials from throughout the country in Phnom Penh this week in the wake of a slew of destructive storms that have wreaked havoc in the first four months of 2013.
Officials will gather for the second and final time today to discuss three major projects: the development of national and provincial risk maps, emergency management information and early warning systems, and the establishment of new construction guidelines and building codes. …
Sen David
http://www.opendevelopmentcambodia.net/wp-admin/post-new.php?custom-write-panel-id=5
Hun Sen Demands Answers to Sihanoukville Water Shortage
April 29th, 2013, The Cambodia Daily, Business & Commercial Development, Disasters & Disaster Management, Electricity, Energy, Environment & Natural Resources, Industry, Infrastructure, Lakes/Rivers, Social Concerns, Tourism, Water
Prime Minister Hun Sen chastised local authorities in Preah Sihanouk province on Friday for their inability to prevent a water shortage in early April that crippled businesses in the tourist hub of Sihanoukville and left locals without running water for almost a week. …
The incident underscored how Cambodia is battling during the hot season to supply a growing economy with sufficient energy levels and basic amenities. …
“We must guarantee the full water supply because [Preah Sihanouk province] is one of our biggest economic development poles,” he [Prime Minister Hun Sen] said. “It has many different sectors including industries, service and it has an [international] harbor.
Mr. Hun Sen added that before Prek Tup Lake dried up, he had told provincial governor Sboang Sarath to put Kbal Chhay online to prepare for such an event. He also said he had informed [Anco Water Supply Co.Ltd.] “a long time ago” about extending their pipelines to Kbal Chhay. …
“The lack of water came from the hot season and the water could only supply about 10,000 people, but now we have 60,000 people and there are a larger amounts of hotels rooms-up to 4,000 rooms compared to only 1,000 in the past few years,” Mr. Sarath said.
Neou Vannarin, P.17
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/hun-sen-demands-answers-to-water-shortage-20480/
Water Supply Begins to Return to Sihanoukville
April 9th, 2013, The Cambodia Daily, Business & Commercial Development, Disasters & Disaster Management, Electricity, Energy, Environment & Natural Resources, Infrastructure, Lakes/Rivers, Social Concerns, Water
Anco Water Supply, a private company that is supplying Sihanoukville with access to fresh water has alleviated a water shortage that began when a state-owned reservoir dried up more than a week ago.
Preah Sihanouk provincial governor Sbuon Sarath said that running water had been restored to 95 percent of homes and businesses in Sihanoukville, but people living at higher altitudes still do not have access to water because the necessary pipe networks have to be built from a waterfall now supplying most of the city with water. …
Ngy Sun, the manager of Anco Water Supply, complained last week that the company could not afford the diesel necessary to operate generators at Kbal Chhay and meet the demand of Sihanoukville residents. However, yesterday he said that new pipe networks and a new generator have allowed the company to increase its pumping. …
Mr. Sun declined to comment on who was paying for the increased fuel usage he had previously said would be necessary for Anco Water Supply to keep up with demand. …
Eang Mengleng, P.19
www.cambodiadaily.com
Price of Water Spikes as Sihanoukville Shortages Drag On
April 4th, 2013, The Cambodia Daily, Business & Commercial Development, Disasters & Disaster Management, Economics, Electricity, Energy, Environment & Natural Resources, Industry, Infrastructure, Lakes/Rivers, Social Concerns, Water
As Sihanoukville’s water shortage drags on, the price of water being delivered by private suppliers has skyrocketed with residents and business owners growing ever more desperate to get clean water into their homes, hotels and restaurants.
Over the past week, since a reservoir supplying the city with water completely dried up, the price of 2,000 liter tanks of clean water from Sihanoukville’s O’Pi water spring has more than doubled, rising from about $20 to more than $50, according to business owners and local officials. Some 60 percent of the city has access to little or no running water, according to officials. …
Aun Pheap
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/price-of-water-spikes-as-sihanoukville-shortage-drags-on-17341/
Mondolkiri, Kompong Thom Face Climate Threat
April 2nd, 2013, The Cambodia Daily, Agriculture & Agri-business, Agro-Industry, Business & Commercial Development, Climate Change, Disasters & Disaster Management, Environment & Natural Resources, Environmental change, Farming, International Relations, Reports, Rice, Social Concerns
Mondolkiri and Kompong Thom provinces could suffer some of the most extreme effects of climate change in the Lower Mekong Basin region, such as a high incidence of flash floods and droughts by 2050, according to a new study.
Analyzing temperature and rainfall from 84 provinces in the Mekong region-which includes Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam- the study identifies Mondolkiri as a “primary priority hotspot” for vulnerability for climate change. …
“Reduced rice and cassava yields are a threat to food security and health, as well as placing more pressure on exploitation of [non-timber forest products] for food. Reduced cassava yields would also reduce livestock feed availability,” the study found.
Kompong Thom will experience an 18 percent increase in precipitation during the wet season, while the maximum temperatures will increase by 4 degrees. …
To counteract these effects the government and the affected communities should look into diversifying their crops, such as planting heat-tolerant or drought tolerant varieties, the study says.
Dene-Hern Chen,
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/mondolkiri-kompong-thom-face-climate-threat-17224/
Sihanoukville Runs Dry During Water Crisis
April 1st, 2013, The Cambodia Daily, Business & Commercial Development, Construction, Disasters & Disaster Management, Electricity, Energy, Environment & Natural Resources, Hydroelectricity, Industry, Infrastructure, International Relations, Lakes/Rivers, Social Concerns, Tourism, Water
A water shortage in the tourist town of Sihanoukville has led authorities to advise scores of businesses to dig their own wells as only 50 percent of local demand is currently being met after high temperatures dried up the water supplier’s only reservoir. …
On March 20, the provincial water authority distributed letters to more than 5,000 customers in the province asking them to either use their own water sources or reduce the consumption of water because Prek Tup Lake- the 15-hectare reservoir that stores up to a half-million cubic meters of water during the rainy season- had dried up.
With no water coming from Prek Tup Lake, Anco Water Supply Co.Ltd., which has an exclusive contract to provide water to Sihanoukville, opened pipelines connecting Sihanoukville with Kbal Chhay, a waterfall 16km outside of the city, according to Prak Chanroeun, the director of the provincial department of industry mines and energy.
But because of insufficient pipelines and frequent power outages in the area due to the nationwide shortage of electricity, Anco has only been able to pump about 5,000 cubic meters of water into the city each day, about half of the 10,000 cubic meters demanded by customers, according to Mr. Chanroeun. …
Ngy Suy, the manger of Anco Water Supply also said… that the high price of diesel fuel used to power the generator was making it difficult for Anco to provide water at 1,000 reil, or about $0.25, per cubic meter, to the provincial water supply. …
Anco, which is owned by local tycoon Kok An, met with provincial officials yesterday and agreed to build two additional 200-cm wide water pipe networks between Kbal Chhay and Shianoukville in order to ensure that residents are able to access water all year round.
But for residents and business owners in Sihanoukville without their own well, a more pressing concern is where they will find water now. …
As in Sihanoukville, residents in Phnom Penh have been experiencing regular power outages, mostly due to the lack of water running through the country’s dams. …
The Government’s increasing pressure on investors and business owners, particularly in the tourism sector, to provide what in most countries would be considered public services and utilities is an issue that must be addressed, said Ho Vandy, co-chair of the Government-Private Sector Working Group on Tourism. …
Aun Pheap and Colin Meyn,
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/sihanoukville-runs-dry-during-water-crisis-16609/
Climate change to affect Mekong production
April 1st, 2013, UPI, Agriculture & Agri-business, Business & Commercial Development, Climate Change, Construction, Disasters & Disaster Management, Electricity, Energy, Environment & Natural Resources, Environmental change, Farming, Fishing, Hydroelectricity, Industry, Infrastructure, International Relations, Lakes/Rivers, Reports, Social Concerns, Water
Climate change will have a significant effect on major industrial and food crops in the Lower Mekong basin countries of Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam, says a new study.
The study, conducted by the Mekong Adaptation and Resilience to Climate Change Project for the U.S. Agency for International Development, marks the first step of the project’s aim to help communities in the four countries to develop local climate change adaptation assessments and action plans.
Considered one of the most fertile areas of Southeast Asia, the Mekong basin is known for its production of rice and maize. About 70 percent of the basin’s population of 60 million people earns a living as farmers and fishers. …
Aside from the looming danger of climate change, plans to build a series of mega-dams across the river to generate electricity also pose a threat to the Mekong countries, experts say. …
“By blocking the transport of sediment, the dams will contribute to even greater erosion in the fertile Mekong Delta, which is already threatened by increasing saltwater intrusion as a result of rising sea levels,” Aviva Imhof, [International Rivers] group’s campaigns director told Voice of America.
United Press International Staff
http://www.upiasia.com/Top-News/2013/04/01/Climate-change-to-affect-Mekong-production/UPI-54261364842799/
Grasslands present dilemma
March 26th, 2013, The Phnom Penh Post, Agriculture & Agri-business, Business & Commercial Development, Climate Change, Disasters & Disaster Management, Environment & Natural Resources, Environmental change, Farming, Industry, Infrastructure, International Relations, Lakes/Rivers, Reports, Rice, Social Concerns
A week after British researchers released a study warning that the nation’s grasslands would soon be lost if drastic action was not taken to protect them, some agricultural experts have called for moderation, noting that the intensive rice cultivation blamed for the grasslands’ destruction is critical to the nation’s developing commercial rice sector. …
Dr Volker Kleinhenz, an agricultural consultant who has researched rice cultivation in the Kingdom extensively, called the area around the Tonle Sap, “exceptional” because of the readily available source of water for irrigation.
“Double-cropping can double annual yields. Furthermore, the yields and quality of dry-season rice are usually better than that of wet-season rice, predisposing this crop for export,” he said. …
Since 2005, the year researchers say intensive rice cultivation became the leading cause of destruction of the grasslands, rice exports have increased exponentially – from 5,971 tonnes in 2005 to 192,666 tonnes last year – according to statistics from the Ministry of Economy and Finance.
Danson Cheong
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013032664676/National/grasslands-present-dilemma.html
$10 mln to protect ecosystems in Southeast Asia
March 25th, 2013, The Cambodia Herald, Business & Commercial Development, Climate Change, Disasters & Disaster Management, Environment & Natural Resources, Environmental change, International Relations, Lakes/Rivers, Social Concerns
The Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund has committed to provide another $10 mln U.S. in grants to address the environmental crisis engulfing mainland Southeast Asia.
The ground-breaking biodiversity fund was launched in 2008. During the first phase, $10 mln was invested in efforts to conserve the critical ecosystems in the Indo-Burma Hotspot, which includes the Irrawaddy, Thanlwin (Salween), Chao Phraya, Red, Pearl and Mekong Rivers and Tonle Sap Lake system.
Collectively, these systems sustain the economy, cultures and biodiversity of one of the biologically richest and most densely populated regions on earth.
The Cambodia Herald Staff
http://www.thecambodiaherald.com/cambodia/detail/1?page=13&token=ZmM3ZDQzYjBiMmV
New study reveals catastrophic loss of Cambodia’s tropical flooded grasslands
March 17th, 2013, Phys Org News, Agriculture & Agri-business, Agro-Industry, Business & Commercial Development, Climate Change, Construction, Disasters & Disaster Management, Economics, Environment & Natural Resources, Environmental change, Farming, Fishing, Infrastructure, International Relations, Lakes/Rivers, Land Tenure, Reports
Around half of Cambodia’s tropical flooded grasslands have been lost in just 10 years according to new research from the University of East Anglia. The seasonally flooded grasslands around the Tonle Sap, Southeast Asia’s largest freshwater lake, are of great importance for biodiversity and a refuge for 11 globally-threatened bird species, including the Bengal Florican. They are also a vital fishing, grazing, and traditional rice farming resource for around 1.1 million people. …
The grassland area spanned 3349 km² in 1995, but by 2005 it had been reduced to just 1817 km² – a loss of 46 per cent.
Despite conservation efforts in some areas, it has continued to shrink rapidly since, with a further 19 per cent lost in four years (2005-2009) from the key remaining grassland area in the southeast of the Tonle Sap floodplain.
Factors include intensive commercial rice farming with construction of irrigation channels, which is often illegal. Some areas have also been lost to scrubland where traditional, low-intensity agricultural activity has been abandoned. …
Phys Org News Staff
http://phys.org/news/2013-03-reveals-catastrophic-loss-cambodia-tropical.html