R’kiri lake decoloration ‘not a concern’
RATANAKKIRI provincial Department of Environmental officials have been monitoring Boeung Yeak Laom Lake’s water quality, which has become unusually murky in recent days.
Officials have told residents not to worry, claiming it is a natural phenomenon.
Environment department director Phon Khemrin confirmed to The Post on February 22 that the surface of the lake had turned murky around February 20 and that this change was a natural occurrence that should not be a cause for concern.
According to Khemrin, the water’s discoloration is not due to pollution or an indicator of any environmental problem. After inspecting the water, he said there were no unpleasant odours emanating from the water and that no fish or plants appeared to have died as a result.
“In general, we’ve noted that when countries in the region such as Indonesia and the Philippines undergo certain phenomenon, it causes the water in the lake to become muddy like this. We do not know exactly what the connection is scientifically,” Khemrin said.
At the same time that was occurring, the Boeung Lum Kot, Boeung Yeak Oam and Boeung Yeak Ra lakes in Seda commune of the province’s Lumphat district had also become murky.
According to Khemrin, since February 22 the water in Boeung Yeak Laom Lake has gotten clearer. He believes that within a week or so the water will return to its original colour.
Khemrin noted that people are still using the water regularly and it is not causing any itching, rashes or other unusual affects.
On February 21, the water level receded sharply and then returned to normal the next day, which was also attributable to a natural phenomenon.
Khemrin said at present the environment department is working with the community at Boeung Yeak Laom Lake and has been closely monitoring the water colour changes and making regular reports to the environment ministry and provincial administration.
Neav Kheat, a vendor at the lake, said: “We have seen the water turn red with some yellow in it over the past few days. Some parts of the lake turn black too but now some of these changes have started to go away.”
Kheat said people could still safely swim in the lake, while animals in the area were still drinking the water and
kids were still bathing in the lake every day without any apparent problems.
On June 20, 2018, the government issued a sub-decree on the establishment of a multi-use area of Beoung Yeak Laom Lake which covered 225ha in Banlung town.
One of Cambodia’s most attractive tourist destinations, Beoung Yeak Laom features eco-tourism resorts ringed around its shores – all of which are shaded by a lush canopy of trees growing right up to the edge of waters with a still surface that serenely reflects the blue skies overhead.
According to geologists, the lake was created by volcanic eruptions thousands of years ago. The vast expanse of the almost-circular lake has calm crystal clear waters the majority of the time with maximum depths of 50m to 70m.
THE government of Japan has committed $2 million to the UN World Food Programme (WFP) to counteract the threats posed by flooding to food security and impacted communities across the Kingdom.
The grant was signed on February 22 by Japanese ambassador Masahiro Mikami and WFP Country Director Claire Conan at a meeting presided over by Ngan Chamroeun, secretary of state for the Ministry of Interior and head of the National Committee for Sub-national Democratic Development (NCDD).
Chamroeun recalled that Cambodia was affected by floods in October last year which impacted many households in several provinces, causing severe damage to houses, infrastructure and agricultural lands.
He said that under this project, the WFP would work closely with the NCDD and other partners to conduct a comprehensive food security and nutrition assessment in flood-affected areas.
“The support for community recovery comes through rehabilitation of damaged infrastructure, enhancement of local planning capacity and research into food security, disaster preparedness and mitigation. Sixteen communes in Battambang, Pursat, Kampong Chhnang and Kampong Thom provinces will be selected as the project’s target sites,” he said.
Mikami noted that last year, Cambodia suffered continuous and torrential rainfall which affected many residents and resulted in the loss of lives and extensive damage to property.
“I sincerely hope that this project will mitigate the impact of floods on food security of flood-affected households and communities,” he said.
Conan called attention to Cambodia’s history of recurring severe floods, noting there have been four incidents in the past decade. Last October’s floods displaced 14,299 households and otherwise directly affected as many as 176,000 families, or nearly 800,000 people, in 14 provinces.
“We thank the government of Japan for its support to mitigate the effects of last year’s floods. This assistance will be critical to vulnerable families living in flood-prone communities whose livelihoods and food security were affected and will help protect them from future shocks,” she said.
According to a joint press release issued after the signing ceremony, Cambodia ranks 16th out of 181 countries on the 2020 World Risk Index highlighting its proneness and vulnerability to natural disasters.
It said climate shocks such as floods and droughts frequently threaten communities, and their frequency and intensity are likely to increase in the future
This assistance will be critical to vulnerable families living in flood-prone communities [to] protect from future shocks
owing to the effects of climate change and the related degradation of natural resources, which disproportionately affect some of the most impoverished communities.
In 2019, Japan contributed $2.7 million to the WFP to enhance the resilience of Cambodian communities to shocks and build institutional capacity for emergency preparedness.
This support has enabled the construction of six evacuation centres in three floodprone provinces, facilitated disaster risk management planning at all levels of government and enhanced response capabilities through early warning systems.
PHNOM Penh municipal authorities are distributing 252,500 cloth face masks to the public in 14 districts and at 25 market locations after obtaining the masks from Prime Minister Hun Sen following the outbreak of Covid19 community transmission in the capital on February 20.
According to the municipal hall, each district received 10,000 masks and each market received 4,500 masks.
Chbar Ampov district governor Cheng Monyra said on February 22 that he had met with his commune chiefs to give advice on using the QR Code system for contact tracing and to plan the distribution of the masks.
“We announced the use of the QR Code technology for preventing Covid-19 spread and then we distributed the masks to commune halls,” he said.
Chbar Ampov I commune chief Pov Huot said on February 22 that the commune had received 1,000 masks to hand out to locals and that the commune authorities would
distribute the masks to poor people in particular.
“The people living in poor communities are the main target for our distribution of the masks. They are living in crowded conditions and earn very little money,” he said.
Hort Vanthy, head of the management committee for
Orussey Market in Prampi Makara district, said they are handing out the masks to all market goers and any other people near the market, and especially to poor people who cannot afford to buy masks. When handing out the masks they also advised people to follow preventive measures recommended by the Ministry of Health.
“Today, I brought along 1,200 masks for distribution to market goers, moto-dops and others. The handy thing about them is that these masks that the prime minister gifted to us can be washed and used again,” he said.
THE Council for the Development of Cambodia has approved a final registration certificate for Cart Tire Co Ltd’s $15 million tyre factory in QiLu Bavet Special Economic Zone in Svay Rieng province’s Bavet town.
General Directorate of Rubber director-general Pol Sopha welcomed the project, saying it will absorb a great deal of the Kingdom’s unprocessed rubber, which is mostly exported.
“A tyre factory in the country is wonderful news,” he said. “We’ve been advocating for growth in the rubber industry and have invited investors to capture a slice of the industry pie and process our rubber into various finished tyres.
“Cart Tire setting up shop here will not only lead to increased purchases of domestic raw natural rubber, but to greater value-added, to job creation and the reduction of vehicle tyre imports and capital outflows.
“Establishment of the tyre factory in the country will stabilise the domestic price of rubber and curb its reliance on prices in other countries,” he said.
According to Sopha, Cambodia exported around 350,000 tonnes of natural rubber latex, with Vietnam, Malaysia, China and Singapore as notable destinations.
He said the average free-on-board (FOB) price for natural rubber at the Port of Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam now stands at $1,800 per tonne.
Plantation owner Heng Sreng told The Post in October that the price was $1,500 then, while another industry insider Men Sopheak said it was $1,400 in November 2019.
The total rubber plantation area in
Cambodia remains around 400,000ha, Sopha said. This includes trees that are tapped for latex, or categorised by the directorate as “under maintenance”, meaning that they are in their immature phase and have yet to deliver a first harvest.
The Post could not ascertain Cart Tire’s contact details to seek comment regarding the type of tyres to be produced, the target market (domestic or foreign) or further information concerning the investment.
According to the data from the Ministry of Economy and Finance’s General Department of Customs and Excise, Cambodia imported some 414,725 vehicles worth $634.98 million in the first half of last year.
Broken down by category, Cambodia imported 180,590 motorbikes worth $99 million, 192,397 bicycles worth $4.35 million and 25,483 cars worth $280.65 million.
It imported 1,212 vehicles for 10 or more passengers worth $17.448 million, 13,812 freight vehicles worth $194.47 million and 1,231 other vehicles worth $35.84 million.
The Post could not obtain the equivalent figures for the first half of 2019, but Cambodia imported 1,124,210 vehicles worth $1.882 billion for the whole year 2019.
Broken down by category, the Kingdom imported 511,434 motorbikes worth $278.28 million, 466,112 bicycles worth $10.4 million and 95,067 cars worth $827.44 million.
It imported 7,998 vehicles for 10 or more passengers worth $112.75 million, 39,008 freight vehicles worth $542.2 million and 4,591 other vehicles worth $110.78 million.