Legal seafood: New laws in works for aquaculture

New laws are being drafted to help promote and regulate Cambodia’s aquaculture industry, officials said.

The law would aim to manage and regulate the way aquaculture and fish farmers handle operations and will try to ensure that the farmers’ methods do not affect the country’s biodiversity, Fisheries Administration general director Nao Thuok said. 

Stipulations for protecting aquaculturists from illegal coercion by authorities were also in the works. 

He added that the draft law was still in its discussion phase and would be finalised after further debate.

Van Po, who has been farming fries, or small or young fish, in Takeo province for the past 10 years, said he welcomed the news. 

He said that authorities had sometimes tried to illegally demand money when they transported the fries to customers. 

“I would be so happy if there was a law defending aquaculture farmers.” 

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Cambodia's mining exploration licenses cover 13 percent of land area: report

PHNOM PENH (Cambodia Herald) - Cambodia has approved mining exploration licenses for 128 concessions covering 13 percent of the country's land area, according to a report Friday by Development and Partnership in Action, a non-governmental organization.The report said that in addition to local interests, the government had approved concessions to companies from Australia, China, France, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Thailand. The concessions were said to be located in 18 of the country's 24 provinces.

Mam Sambath, executive director of the organization, said he was aware of two extractive testing licenses, one of which may be the Chinese gold mining concession in Kratie where eight Cambodian miners died last week.

"The incident in the mineshaft in Kratie is a good lesson and experience for Cambodia before approvals are given," he said. 

Mam Sambath also noted that few companies had conducted environmental impact assessments (EIAs) to avoid damage to natural resources, ecology and the environment or adverse socio-economic and cultural impacts. 

Only 10 mining projects, all in the oil and gas sector, have submitted such assessments to the Ministry of Environment, said Danh Serei, deputy director of the ministry's Department of Environmental Assessment. 

He said the ministry was drafting a law to force all development projects to do so, especially mining oil and gas projects which can have major environmental and socio-economic impacts.

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Draft law on farmer’s co-ops near completion

Cambodia's first draft law for the regulation of agriculture cooperatives is near completion, and is expected to reach the National Assembly this year, officials said yesterday.

The draft law aims to formalise the Kingdom’s more than 250 cooperatives and provide a framework for those created in the future, officials said. 

“This law is important because it is based on the international system that governs cooperatives,” Khem Chenda, director of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries’ administration department, said. 

“Many countries use it to make it easier for farmers to do business,” he said, adding the Food and Agriculture Organisation consulted on the draft law.

Cooperatives allow farmers greater bargaining power with customers and suppliers, and they distribute loans to members who would otherwise seek out microfinance instutions. Cooperatives presently are governed by royal decree.

While Khem Chenda declined to offer much of the draft law’s specifics, as it was not finished, he did say cooperatives would need to register with the Ministry of Agriculture. However, they would not be required to pay taxes or administration fees.

The draft law will be sent to the Council of Ministers before reaching the National Assembly later in the year, he said.

Cambodian Center for Study and Development in Agriculture president Yang Saing Koma yesterday emphasised that the law should ensure the continued autonomy of the Kingdom’s cooperatives. 

“They have to avoid taking over those cooperatives,” he said.

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