The Ministry of Environment’s ‘Plastic Reduction Campaign’ in Banteay Meanchey province last week. Environment ministry.
More than eight million people have taken part in the Ministry of Environment’s ‘Plastic Reduction Campaign’ in a little over eight months, demonstrating the positive attitude of the Cambodian people in response to climate change, said the ministry, in a May 1 statement.
“The positive attitude change of over eight million students and members of the public is the result of the solidarity between the people of Cambodia and the 7th mandate government, and shows that people are committed to ensuring that climate change does not continue,” it said.
The campaign derived from the government’s Circular Environmental Strategy 2023-28, explained Minister of Environment Eang Sophalleth, as he addressed an April 30 seminar on ‘Climate Change Impacts and Policy Response’, at the Council of Ministers.
He used the opportunity to highlight some of the ministry’s recent achievements, including 100 per cent law enforcement of natural resource crimes and the transferring of power to local authorities.
Detailed maps of protected areas were issued to local authorities, in addition to the introduction of an app which supplies the locations and borders of all protected areas. These measures are aimed at preventing people from illegally buying land in these areas.
The ministry also announced plans to plant at least one million trees annually, in an effort to address climate change. It is also targeting 60 per cent total forest cover by 2050.
The government is scheduled to hold a seedling exhibition at the environment ministry on July 10, to distribute seedlings to the public free of charge. Instructions on how to plant and care for the young trees will also be provided to all participants, said the ministry.
Heng Kimhong, president of the Cambodian Youth Network Association (CYN), believed that the plastic reduction campaign had helped raise awareness of environmental issues among the public. However, he believed that the ministry should work with the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport to include training and plastic reduction mechanisms into the Kingdom’s national curriculum.
He suggested that the environment ministry consider using the budget spent on the campaign to fund increased law enforcement and the protection of natural resources, as well as stricter checks on plastic imports.
As for the tree planting campaign, Kimhong warned that even with the best of intentions, trees which are not planted in the correct soil condition will die.
“The best way to preserve Cambodia’s tropical forests is not to plant more trees, but to prevent further logging and deforestation. In this way, new trees will grow naturally as they are needed. There is no need to take special care of them or monitor soil conditions, we just need to ensure that forest fires are prevented,” he said.
