Cambodia

Bloomberg's Big Take podcast looks at an investigation into allegations of sexual coercion at plantations run by Socfin, a rubber company supplying top tiremakers.

Hubert Fabri and Vincent Bolloré own plantations accused of land appropriation and labor abuses. Their company says it has taken steps to improve matters, but a trip to West Africa shows sexual coercion claims remain widespread.

According to Cambodian media, the Ratanakiri Provincial Information Bureau recently issued a notice announcing the approval of 17 foreign-funded enterprises to obtain economic land concessions (ELC) in the province, covering agricultural planting, agro-industrial integration and beef cattle breeding. Among foreign companies that have obtained economic land concessions, Vietnamese companies dominate, followed by Chinese and Indian companies. In addition, 10 local companies have also obtained land investment with a total area of ​​146,366 hectares.

Indigenous community members in Preah Vihear province sought intervention for their communal land, which has been allegedly cleared by a company, Santana Agro Product Co Ltd., said to belong to a senior provincial official — a claim that has been denied by another official on the basis that it involves individual developers instead.

THACO AGRI, a subsidiary of Vietnam’s Truong Hai Group Corporation (THACO), operates fruit farms and cattle ranches on over 33,000 ha in Kratie and Ratanakiri provinces.

Pilleurs de Terre est un long-métrage documentaire réalisé par Fanny Paloma Escobar, qui suit les luttes des communautés autochtones contre les accaparements de terres par des filiales du groupe Bolloré, au Cambodge et au Cameroun. À travers cette interview, elle partage son parcours, les défis de la réalisation, et ses espoirs pour l’avenir de son film.

Malaysia's MEGA First Corp Bhd has 1,830ha of coconut trees and 730ha of macadamia trees planted in Mondulkiri province, Cambodia, where it has slightly more than 6,000ha of concession land.

Chorng indigenous community, who live around Cardamom Mountain National Park in Koh Kong province, Cambodia, experienced difficulties obtaining forest products or practicing rotational farming near their village as they have been informed that those areas are in the REDD+ zone, although there was no clear boundary.

Earthworm investigators told Mongabay they were shocked by some of their findings of sexual harassment and gender-based violence on Socfin's plantations. "If they don’t make progress on these issues, we would stop working with them, as that’s our mission as a foundation.”

Local communities in Mondulkiri province have been struggling to get their land back since 2008, when the Luxembourg-based Socfin group secured 12,000 hectares of their lands.

The Vietnamese conglomerate’s regional expansion will include 11,600 hectares dedicated to intensive banana production across the four new farms, two of which will be in Cambodia.

Phnom Penh Municipal Court yesterday charged Keut Saray, the president of Khmer Students Intelligent League Association (KSILA), for inciting villagers embroiled in land disputes in Preah Vihear province to resist provincial authorities and the government.