The Cambodian Prime Minister has recently instructed ministries, relevant institutions and sub-national administrations to cooperate with the Ministry of Environment on the prevention and reduction of pollution in public water areas.

The instruction was issued in a circular made public recently. The circular stressed that the Royal Government has always paid close attention to preventing environmental pollution and public health impacts that may arise from national economic development activities.

The circular went on to say that the Royal Government’s political program for 2023-2028, environmental and natural resource management reform has been considered a priority. The circular added that monitoring and controlling water pollution and preventing the spread of toxic substances into the environment have also been included as an action plan of the political program to ensure support for sustainable development and use, and the protection of public health and biodiversity. The Royal Government has observed that despite the existence of regulations to control and monitor water pollution in public water sources   stipulated in a number of relevant laws or legal documents, the implementation of measures to protect the quality of water in public water areas, including measures to control and monitor the discharge of liquid waste or water pollutants from various sources of pollution, has remained slow and has not responded to the recent increase in development activities, which has caused concerns about the pollution of public water sources and about the impact on health of citizens who have depended on those water sources.

By Pheara!