A/HRC/4/36 page 17 stated that they were unaware of plans to grant concessions until the arrival of the company to start work, and that they were not consulted, even though they have lived on and cultivated their land for many years. 74. Not surprisingly, as concessions continue to be granted without proper consultation or consideration for the existing ownership, possession and use of land, they are having serious adverse impacts on the communities concerned. Common and shared concerns reported by communities include the encroachment of concession companies on their farm land and rice fields, leading to food shortages; loss of access to forests to collect and sell non-timber forest products; loss of grazing land for livestock; illegal logging; and threats and intimidation from company workers and local authorities. B. Transparency and availability of information 75. According to information available, over 40 economic land concessions have been formally granted in 14 provinces. In addition, information has been received about further new concessions that may have been granted, including in Kratie, Stung Treng, Ratanakiri, Mondulkiri, Kampot and Oddar Meanchey. 76. Although the Ministry of Agriculture has taken some steps to disclose information through its web site, the information provided is incomplete and the web page often inaccessible. According to information available, only one concession contract has been cancelled, which was granted in 2000 but never activated. No information is available on the required review of economic land concessions granted prior to the enactment of the Land Law, and the reduction of concessions that exceed the 10,000-hectare limit stipulated in the Law. 77. The Pheapimex concession, which spans Kompong Chhnang and Pursat provinces, while currently inactive, still officially stands at over 300,000 hectares, more than 30 times the limit specified in the Land Law. The Green Sea concession in Stung Treng, granted in 2001 just prior to the Land Law, measures over 100,000 hectares, and activity has reportedly begun on the site. Reducing existing concessions to 10,000 hectares would release land for social land concessions for the very poor, as envisaged by the Land Law. 78. The Special Representative’s predecessor, in a report issued in November 2004 on economic land concessions from a human rights perspective,4 underlined the urgent need for public disclosure and accountability mechanisms. These would help gain a complete understanding of the concession system overall, and its impact on and potential benefits for Cambodians. Donors have repeatedly asked for and the Government has repeatedly promised that such mechanisms would be established. Joint monitoring indicators agreed upon at the seventh Consultative Group Meeting for Cambodia in December 2004 included the immediate disclosure of information on concessions, including mining concessions and military development zones. This call for transparency was repeated at the Group’s 8th meeting in March 2006. Disclosure of information on the management of land and natural resources 4 The report, entitled “Land concessions for economic purposes in Cambodia: a human rights perspective” is available at: http://cambodia.ohchr.org/report_subject.aspx.