Gov’t Gets Tough on Environment

Khmer Times/Va Sonyka

Wednesday, 16 September 2015

Say Samal, Environment Minister, talks to reporters after the consultation meeting on cutting Cambodia’s emissions. KT Photo: Va Sonyka

PHNOM PENH (Khmer Times) – Cambodian environmental leaders came together yesterday to discuss the country’s contributions to the upcoming Paris Climate Conference in December.  

Environment Minister Say Samal told the audience that while Cambodia is a low emitter of greenhouse gases and other toxic substances, they are a highly vulnerable country when it comes to the negative effects of climate change. 

Cambodia became a member of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change only two years after the creation of the Ministry of Environment. 

The Paris conference seeks for the first time in more than 20 years of UN negotiations to achieve a legally binding agreement to contain global warming.

As the Kingdom’s youngest minister, Mr. Samal said he was worried that climate change was not only affecting the daily lives of Cambodians but also the economic sector. 

Crops Threatened

“Our economy is dependent on the agriculture sector and climate change is related to changing of rainfall, so rice crops could be affected,” said Mr. Samal. 

He said that the Ministry is working on new plans to preserve conservation zones. The ministry has also partnered with the Education Ministry to educate students about the effects of climate change and the need for forest preservation. 

With Tropical Storm Vamco making its way through Cambodia right now, provinces are dealing with an overabundance of rain water and some areas have had to deal with flooding.  

In addition, the Environment Ministry has decided to take action on economic land concessions (ELCs) in order to reduce pollution created by plantations and to slow down the rampant illegal logging destroying Cambodia’s forests. 

They also reduced the land leases for almost 40 companies from 99 years to 50 years.  

“We have already talked with the private companies, to reduce the duration of the ELCs to only 50 years for each to give a chance to our nation,” Mr. Samal said. 

Estimating that the Cambodian population could double in the next 30 years, Mr. Samal said that if ELCs are still on-going for more than 50 years, Cambodians will have no place to move.