"‘Uneven Enforcement’ of Cambodia’s Environmental Code, Report Says", 11 August 2026

The government carried out 72 enforcement actions against business enterprises, mostly small-to-medium food processing and garment factories, for environmental and natural resources breaches under the Code on Environment and Natural Resources (ENRC) between June 2024 and July 2026…

With the absence of these industries from the public record, “enforcement remains uneven”, said Programme Director Vanndy Buth following the release of their report on environmental protection, titled “Moving from promise to practice: Upholding corporate environmental accountability in Cambodia” on August 10, in conjunction with International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples.

The report tracks the enforcement of Cambodia’s ENRC against business enterprises from 2024 to 2026 after the code came into force in June 2024. It analyses the extent of local environmental laws and penalties on the conduct of businesses that harm the environment, whether enforcement is equitable and do enforcement practices align with promises under national policies, international environmental standards and principles…

While Vanndy acknowledged the Environment Ministry (MoE)’s efforts to enforce the ENRC, he said enforcement should be further strengthened with strict measures put in place “regardless of the size of the business”…

But from July 2025 to July 2026, BHRE “documented a further 20 enforcement actions against business enterprises through monitoring of public sources”.

… Of the enforcement actions, 34 detailed cases displayed “widespread pollution affecting water and ecosystems, with 22 of the companies involved having Chinese investment”. Measures focused on administrative penalties, such as suspending operations and requiring wastewater system upgrades to address breaches in environmental standards, BHRC said.

… They claimed Mesco Gold was allegedly harming their livelihoods and preventing them from gathering fruit, medicinal plants, rattan and bamboo from the jungle, and from working their small upland rice fields.

… BHRC gave the case of toxic pollution at O’Ta Bouk River in Ratanakiri as an example of alleged uneven enforcement where the MoE has yet to release any details of its findings after testing the water for arsenic, alleged to have come from gold mines operated by Global Green (Cambodia) Energy Development. Residents had complained of health problems after using the river to farm and fish…