Minister of Environment Say Samal said that if Preah Sihanouk province wanted to become a province with a model economy it has to completely address the land dispute cases that are still under review by provincial authorities.

Samal and Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Dith Tina led a meeting on the problem of land disputes in Preah Sihanouk province’s forested areas on November 25.

Also in attendance at the meeting were Preah Sihanouk Provincial Governor Kuoch Chamroeun, officials from the environment, agriculture and land management ministries and commune and district authorities in the province.

“The work to resolve the problem of land disputes has been prioritised. We have to completely address the disputes. Particularly, in Preah Sihanouk province, if we want to transform it into a model multi-purpose economic province for the Kingdom, we have to clear up the land work completely and finally,” Sam Al said.

“Today, we have the opportunity to resolve the problems of land ownership within the purview of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries and listen to a report by the authorities regarding the problems so that we can discuss and resolve them on time,” he added.

The report said that from the beginning of 2020 to November 2022, the provincial administration registered 2,290 cases of land disputes and requests involving land ownership. Of that number, 1,587 cases have been addressed, while the rest of the land disputes and other requests were still under examination.