Child Labour in Agriculture & Dams in the Great Lake

More than 3 million children attending school in Cambodia, 40% of them also spend time working in agriculture to support their families. This work can be dangerous and the pressure to make money can force these children to leave their studies forever.

Child Labour in Agriculture (Main Story)

Cambodia has committed to reduce child labour to 8% by 2015 and to totally eliminate serious form of child labour by 2016. Children who work in agriculture not only face physical risk to their health, but they also lose the opportunity to go to school and build a better life. Equity Weekly examines the efforts of the government and NGOs to take children out of the fields and get them back in the classroom.

Dams in the Great Lake (Feature)

In our feature we look at the plan to tear down reservoirs in the Great Lake. Although the dams help rice farmers irrigate their fields in the dry season, they endanger the fish ecosystem that so many Cambodians rely on for their livelihoods.

Real Estate Values & Property Tax & Apsara Authority versus Villagers

In 2008, Cambodian real estate was riding high and Cambodians watched their land and houses skyrocket in value, only to see it drop drastically again thanks to the world economic collapse. Homeowners now find themselves still stuck in a buyer’s market, and new property taxes will add to their financial load.

Real Estate Values & Property Tax (Main Story)

As the real estate market continues a very slow recovery from the economic downturn of 2008, the Ministry of Economy and Finance has added a Property Tax to raise revenues from land and homeowners.  Many questions remain unanswered: How will tax rates be determined for each property?; Who is exempt?; and in light of the static and depressed nature of today’s real estate market, why is MEF adding this financial burden for struggling homeowners at this time?

Apsara Authority versus Villagers (Feature)

Many people living within the Apsara Authority’s restricted areas near Angkor Wat are unhappy with the Authority’s restrictions on constructing or renovating houses. The Apsara Authority says it is simply following the guidelines of its World Heritage site agreement with UNESCO. The Apsara Authority is caught between the need to preserve Cambodia’s heritage and the responsibility to the people whose land and homes fall within the Angkor perimeter.

According to EV