Cambodia

TAKHMAU, Cambodia - Hem Savoun is mixing plants inside a jar in order to turn them into organic pesticide. Next to where he works is a row of vegetables, testimony to Hem’s success in organic farming on his land on the outskirts of Takhmau near the capital Phnom Penh.

Mixing pesticides in Cambodia.

Female employees at a Chinese garment factory. 

PHNOM PENH (Imaging Our Mekong)- The air was choking hot; the sun shone brightly. Motorcycles were weaving their way through the busy traffic of vehicles and pedestrians as dust flew around on the outskirts of the Cambodian capital. Row upon row of establishments flashed by, before we came upon an inconspicuous sign with five Chinese characters: ‘Jia Hua Gong Ye Yuan’, or the Jiahua Industrial Park.

PHNOM PENH, Dec 15 (Newsmekong) - Cambodia could be the latest Asian country to adopt tighter laws governing the activities of local and international non-governmental organisations (NGOs), a move many believe will put further pressure on the South-east Asian country's already fragile democratic space.

PHNOM PENH, Jul 24 (Newsmekong) - The armed standoff between Cambodia and Thailand over ownership of the ancient Hindu temple of Preah Vihear is the latest chapter in the neighbouring countries’ troubled relationship.

RATANAKIRI, Cambodia, Jul 10 (IPS) - In thick forest in the north-east Cambodian province of Ratanakiri, a team of lawyers uses a global positioning satellite handset to mark the location of traditional spirit forests and gravesites belonging to local Jarai villagers.

PHNOM PENH - While English remains the most popular foreign language among students in Cambodia, Chinese, Japanese and Korean are fast catching up as young Khmers increasingly view them as a gateway to better jobs in the country’s growing industrial and tourism sectors.

RATANAKIRI, Cambodia, Jun 27 (Newsmekong) - The wording of the two-page document in Dam Chanthy’s hands may be vague and legalistic, but the meaning is crystal clear. It details yet another land concession covering nearly 7,000 hectares that a company wants to plant with rubber and acacia trees.

PHNOM PENH, Jun 9 (IPS) - An explosion of dam building projects along the Sekong River in Laos, the Mekong river’s largest tributary, is prompting Cambodian and foreign experts to warn of significant downstream impacts and call for new approaches to governing the cross-border issues that arise from the use of the Mekong’s water resources.

PHNOM PENH, May 28 (IPS) - Cambodia is facing a natural resource boom, but donors and non-government organisations (NGOs) warn that this potential windfall could be squandered without measures to improve financial transparency, promote better governance and curb corruption.