Friday, November 09, 2007

Environment Remains Pressing Issue, Expert Says

By Sok Khemara, VOA Khmer
Washington
08 November 2007

Cambodia's natural environment remains under threat, but there are measures everyday Cambodians can take to help it, an expert said Thursday.

Illegal logging, land theft, poaching, chemical fertilizer and pesticide abuse and other exploitive practices have diminished the environment, said Ngy San, vice chairman of the NGO Forum, as a guest on "Hello VOA."

Cambodia needs to develop better laws and other measures to protect the environment, he said, but people also need to realize the costs and benefits both of development.

He cited the example of a dam built in Vietnam that broke, flooding Cambodia, as an example of how a supposedly beneficial development could actually be harmful, even across borders.

Meanwhile, farmers should do their part to preserve the environment, by moving to natural fertilizers and pesticides, he said. "Of course, when peasants use pesticides or chemicals, their harvest increases," he said. "But let's think: if one cow dies [as a result], how much do they lose?"

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Believe me there are more. CPP does not know what's hack they are doing?

Anonymous said...

Gentleman

To care for our environment where we all rely on for generation to come is unless:

1-Individual needs to put an effort to maintain natural feeds to the land naturally,to prevent land degradation of its nutrients. Growing more trees to cool our earth thus they also help keep nutrients.Agressive cutting down trees for agreculture in westwern world previously resulted in poor soil.Drought and floods are also confirmed effects of deforestation.

Also effort shown by our students volunteered clearing rubbish is as well maintain our environment and promotes better health, reduces health risks.

2- Collective effort of sparing and improvement of our resources.Growth of population and having less resources to feed our generation.Balance of forestation, in fact additional growth will enable to supply our population expansion.Land grabbing and deforested land for sale will result in poverty of those NOT RICH cambodians.

State's assets should be maintained, for our natural resources supply.Privatisation of neglecting long term care will diminish our resources resulted in poor environment.Enviromental study is to consider part of any projects.This awareness should be brought to our king's attention for sustainable environment.
NO ENVIRONMENT means NO MORE KINGDOM.Thailand has done just that.

And our king's father used to participate in leading daily life activties in Sangkum Reastr Niyum, our officials hated for that, and he got blamed as manipulation.

Let's hope our environment and Independece will last.

Neang SA

Anonymous said...

What is a shit load of crock? Cambodia is only interested in organic farming. They have been avoiding toxic pesticide wherever possible, but sometime it is just impossible.

And even if they overuse it accidentally, it will all be washed away into the ocean by the yearly flood and the Mekong river.