Protected areas

Forest activists in Ratanakkiri province’s O’yadav district said on Thursday that a group of Cambodian and Vietnamese traders are colluding with officials and transporting timber from their community forest to Vietnam after they had illegally felled trees there early this month. ...

The ministry’s report, which it shared on its Facebook page, said CRCK II Rubber Development and Bean Heack Investment Co Ltd have been respectively allowed to develop 7,121.78ha and 4,128.66ha within Boeung Pear Wildlife Sanctuary in Kampong Thom province. Following the granting of the concessions, the ...

Authorities from Kampong Thom province’s environmental department seized 11 buffalo carts and 10 logs found at Prey Ang Ten wildlife sanctuary on Wednesday. ...

The Wildlife Conservation Society has found seven nests of the globally-threatened Lesser Adjutant Stork in Mondulkiri province’s Keo Seima Wildlife Sanctuary. Sot Vandoeun, WCS’ wildlife monitoring team leader, said on Tuesday that it is the first time that WCS has found the bird’s nest in ...

A forest activist from the ethnic Tumpuon community in Ratanakkiri province’s Lumphat district is set to appear at the Lumphat Wildlife Sanctuary bureau today for questioning over alleged unauthorised logging and forest clearing in the sanctuary. ...

Some 100 ethnic Banong villagers from Sre Hoy commune’s Chhul and Chhong Pang villages in Mondulkiri province’s Koh Nhek district protested on Tuesday after Srepok Wildlife Sanctuary officials allegedly uprooted wooden posts used to demarcate their ancestral burial sites. ...

The Ministry of Environment issued a warning on Wednesday against encroachment on protected natural areas following some instances of intruders clearing forest land for personal gain. It cited examples of encroachment in the Ream, Bokor and Kirirom national parks and the multi-purpose Kbal Chay freshwater ...

While hunting in the Kingdom’s wildlife sanctuaries has abated, the use of traps have become widespread. That, coupled with deforestation, has caused grave concerns among conservationists who fear the extinction of the endangered yellow-cheeked crested gibbons. ...

The Kampong Chhnang provincial department of agriculture, forestry and fishery is working to identify suspects who had mobilised tractors to illegally clear flooded forest in Toek Phos district’s O’krabey Ngob and O’Klong in Chieb communes. ...

The Prey Lang Community Network (PLCN) has recorded 2,926 cases of forestry crimes in four provinces since February 2015, a report it released on Thursday said. It was based on data collected with a novel smartphone app. ...

All species of animals in the Sorng Rukhavoan Wildlife Sanctuary are facing danger no thanks to night hunters, despite concerted efforts to stop the crimes, say activists and environment officials. The 30,254-hectare sanctuary spans across the Sorng Rukhavorn and Rattanak Rokha community forests, as well ...

Indigenous people in northeastern provinces yesterday raised concern over wildlife sanctuaries that could be affected by the government’s plan to set up new provinces carved out from Mondulkiri province’s Koh Nhek district and Ratanakkiri province’s Lumphat district. ...

Vultures in the Kingdom are facing an increasingly high risk of extinction as the birds have shown a 50 per cent decline in numbers since the late 2000s, a joint announcement from environmental organisations said on Saturday, quoting a report. ...

Authorities are facing mounting pressure to safeguard the Samlot Protected Area, where villagers and wealthy land-grabbers continue to trespass to start orchards and claim ownership of the plots. The area, which straddles Battambang and Pailin provinces, is jointly protected by the Ministry of Environment and ...

Provincial environment department director Mon Phalla said officials had inspected the area around the Prek Andong Teuk stream in the district’s Andong Teuk and Thmar Sar communes, which are vulnerable to encroachment. ...

Home to abundant natural resources and biodiversity, the listing of Phnom Kampong Trach, Phnom Chhngouk, Phnom Kbal Romeas and Phnom La’ang as protected cultural and historical sites would be of great benefit to the local communities and environment, said Kampot provincial governor Cheav Tay. ...

The Mondulkiri provincial Environment Department launched a campaign among the Banong, Krueng and Tumpuon ethnic communities to create awareness about the importance of wildlife to the ecology and tourism sector. The communities live close to wildlife sanctuaries. ...

Villagers from the Tumpuon ethnic minority group in Keng San community forest are accusing the local authority and some community members of colluding with timber traders to illegally fell large trees and clear dozens of hectares of forest land in their community. ...

Villagers claim that rampant illegal logging is taking place at the Phnom Namlear Wildlife Sanctuary and local authorities are not doing enough to curb the activity. Every night about 20 to 30 lorries remove luxury timber from the wildlife sanctuary, which is fast depleting its ...

Koh Kong provincial hall on Tuesday revoked ownership of land near the protected Peam Krasoap Wildlife Sanctuary to prevent further land clearing in the area. Its announcement raised fears among local communities of a potential forced eviction. “All illegal land ownership or unregistered land at ...

Senior Environment Ministry officials on Saturday agreed to continue to work together and cooperate with local forest rangers in order to maintain order and prevent forestry crimes from occurring in Kirirom national park. ...

The Mondulkiri provincial authority on Wednesday refuted claims that it had turned a blind eye to illegal timber trafficking to neighbouring Vietnam. The denial followed the discovery of over 500 pieces of first-grade timber by the National Military Police in protected areas and local media ...

The district governor of Koh Nheck in Mondulkiri province, Sin Vannvuth, on Tuesday confirmed that land located between the Phnom Prich wildlife sanctuary and protected forests in Royer commune, will not be seized by the state after authorities stopped its clearing. ...

The Mondulkiri provincial authorities on Sunday ordered the prevention of land and forest clearing in the protected Phnom Prich wildlife sanctuary in Koh Nhek district and neighbouring Lumphat wildlife sanctuary in Ratanakkiri province. ...