Forest policy and administration

Mixed security forces led by Kratie province’s court prosecutor yesterday arrested six people in a huge illegal logging bust, confiscating more than 100 cubic metres of protected luxury-grade timber. The arrests of both Cambodian and Vietnamese nationals were the culmination of a three-day crackdown by prosecutor ...

Mondulkiri provincial police charged four men with illegal logging and immigration crimes after they allegedly caught the suspects collecting wood in O’Raing district. Vietnamese nationals Orng Minh Chhung, 30; Le Vantieng, 38; Tvan Taktech, 33; and Thvang Vanthai, 36, were arrested while gathering freshly cut pieces ...

When Cambodia’s most prominent forest activist, Chut Wutty, was gunned down in April 2012, the community network he created to sabotage the rampant deforestation of this vast forest fragmented. The forest patrols that he organised nearly ground to a halt. Without money to fund large-scale expeditions, ...

Four Cambodian nationals who had been incarcerated in Thailand for logging and illegally crossing the border were released on Monday after completing their prison terms, officials said yesterday. Touch Ra, deputy director of the Chaom-Sa Ngaom international border checkpoint in Oddar Meanchey province, said two of ...

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said Thursday that environmental protection is the most important measure to ensure the sustainable development of economy and society. In his message on the 42nd International Environment Day that falls on June 5, Hun Sen said the government is committed to ...

Police in Kompong Thom province Wednesday arrested seven people allegedly involved in an illegal checkpoint racket, while an eighth escaped with handcuffs on and is at large. Shortly before 7 a.m., a joint task force of police and military police descended on an illegal checkpoint staffed ...

Indigenous villagers in Mondolkiri province say relevant authorities that are supposed to crack down on forestry crimes instead collude with logging companies and powerful businessmen, allowing them cut down trees. That has put their forest tribal traditions and livelihoods, which are dependent on forests, in ...

SIEM PANG DISTRICT, Stung Treng province – For the elite few granted the right to level swathes of woodland in the north of this remote province, the timber trade is worth a fortune. For the Forestry Administration—the government body charged with policing logging—business is also booming. While ...

Since he began making the perilous journey to Thailand to log rosewood 10 years ago, Sao Sophon* has had plenty of time to calculate the cost of dying. “When we cross the border to Thailand, our lives are equal to $80 or $90, because that is ...

A group of 15 local and international rights groups Tuesday sent a slew of letters to the Chinese government and companies involved in the Lower Sesan II hydropower dam in Stung Treng province seeking a halt to dam construction due to serious environmental and social ...

More than 2,000 hectares of the decimated Lumphat Wildlife Sanctuary in Ratanakkiri province have been classified by the Ministry of Environment (MOE) as the sanctuary’s first community protected area. Surrounded by three economic land concessions in Kon Mom district, the protected area is populated by a ...

Two draft laws on judicial reform were easily passed by the single-party National Assembly on Friday but the session was overshadowed by a rookie lawmaker’s attack on lax enforcement of forestry laws in Stung Treng province. On the fourth day of the third plenary session of ...

Villagers from forest communities in nine provinces called on the government yesterday to take action after alleging that “the rich and powerful” are causing the “serious destruction” of their livelihoods. The villagers, with the support of two NGOs – the Children’s Development Association and Community Peace-Building ...

A grenade was thrown into the home of Kompong Thom Provincial Court deputy prosecutor Say Nora on Saturday night but the official escaped injury as he was not at home when the device exploded, police said. Provincial police chief Phan Sopheng said the attack was an ...

Authorities in Stung Treng province discovered and confiscated a haul of luxury wood that was being transported in three trucks on Sunday night from the protected Virachey National Park, officials said Tuesday. Provincial deputy police chief Yorn Din said the trucks were stopped and searched as ...

Cambodia’s exports of protected rosewood and other high-value timber to China more than tripled last year, according to U.N. figures cited in a new report that blames lax law enforcement across the Mekong region and skyrocketing demand in China for pushing some species to the ...

A forestry official with the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) who is usually tight-lipped acknowledged last week that his agency has struggled to combat illegal logging, blaming a shortage of manpower and entrenched opportunistic logging by villagers – explanations that were laughed off ...

Anti-corruption advocates say they want the US government to help them push for transparency in the extractive industries, as ongoing mining continues to disrupt the lives of many Cambodians. At least 120 companies, most of them Chinese, have obtained mining licenses in the last decade, as ...

The Phnong ethnic minority in Mondulkiri province have heard the promises of development before. With increasing investment and the selling off of the region’s forests will come new roads and schools, they are told. But people in this ancient community, tired of seeing their sacred forests handed ...

Nearly 200 people from 25 different communities converged on the Mondolkiri Provincial Hall Monday to file complaints and petitions calling for an end to illegal logging and environmental degradation. The action comes two days after armed commune police blocked 16 rights workers and journalists from visiting ...

A deputy district military police chief in Kampong Thom’s Santuk district is under scrutiny for allegedly clearing up to seven hectares of community forest land for personal gain, and district officials are investigating the case with the aim of presenting it at the provincial court ...

អង្គការ​ការពារ​ធនធាន​ធម្មជាតិ​ឈ្មោះ ក្លូបប៊ល វីតណែស្ស (Global Witness = GW) ចាត់​ទុក​កម្ពុជា ថា​ជា​ប្រទេស​មួយ​ដែល​មាន​សកម្មជន​ការពារ​បរិស្ថាន និង​ដីធ្លី​ជាច្រើន​ត្រូវ​បាន​គេ​សម្លាប់។ ស្ថាប័ន​អន្តរជាតិ​មួយ​នេះ អំពាវនាវ​ឲ្យ​រដ្ឋាភិបាល​ចាត់​វិធាន​ការ​ឲ្យ​បាន​តឹងរ៉ឹង ដើម្បី​បញ្ឈប់​ការ​គំរាម​កំហែង​នានា​ទៅ​លើ​សកម្មជន​ការពារ​បរិស្ថាន និង​ដីធ្លី។ នៅ​ក្នុង​របាយការណ៍​សិក្សា​ចុះ​ថ្ងៃ​ទី​១៥ ខែ​មេសា ឆ្នាំ​២០១៤ អង្គការ​ក្លូបប៊ល វីតណែស្ស បាន​ផ្តល់​ចំណាត់​ថ្នាក់​ដល់​កម្ពុជា ស្ថិត​ក្នុង​លំដាប់​លេខ​៩ ក្នុង​ចំណោម​ប្រទេស​ទាំងអស់​ចំនួន​៣៥ ដែល​មាន​សកម្មជន​ការពារ​បរិស្ថាន និង​ដីធ្លី ត្រូវ​បាន​គេ​សម្លាប់។ ក្នុង​ចំណោម​ប្រទេស​ទាំង​៣៥ នោះ ប្រទេស​ដែល​សកម្មជន​ការពារ​បរិស្ថាន និង​ដីធ្លី​ត្រូវ​បាន​គេ​សម្លាប់​ច្រើន​ជាង​គេ រួម​មាន​ប្រទេស​ប្រេស៊ីល (Brazil) ប្រទេស​ហុងឌុយរ៉ាស់ (Honduras) ប្រទេស​ហ្វីលីពីន (Philippines) ប្រទេស​ប៉េរូ (Peru) និង​ប្រទេស​កូឡុំប៊ី (Columbia)។ ចំណែក​ប្រទេស​កម្ពុជា ជាប់​ចំណាត់​ថ្នាក់​លេខ​៩ គឺ​នៅ​ពី​ក្រោយ​ប្រទេស​ម៉ិចស៊ិក (Mexico) ហ្គាតេម៉ាឡា (Guatemala) និង​ប្រទេស​ថៃ (Thailand)។ ...

The scale of mass logging in once-dense woodlands in Cambodia’s north now more closely resembles the free-for-all of a gold rush than the sustainable forestry more often associated with these communities. With the financial backing of powerful businessmen, villagers in three districts of Preah Vihear are ...

Siem Reap Provincial Court on Wednesday charged four soldiers from the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF) with illegally logging rosewood and placed them in pre-trial detention, an official said. “We charged them under article 96 of the Forestry Law,” said Hok Pov, an investigating judge at ...