Forests and forestry

Environment Minister Say Samal, known for his outlandish and at times false claims about illegal logging and deforestation in the Kingdom, said yesterday that his ministry was collaborating with officials in Vietnam and China – two of the largest buyers of precious Cambodian wood – ...

Authorities in Kompong Speu province on Wednesday seized more than 1,000 logs on the property of a Chinese-owned sugarcane plantation, marking the third time the firm has been found with illicit timber in the past year. Local officials offered no explanation for why the plantation’s on-site ...

Despite numerous laws and committees created to tackle deforestation and illegal logging in Cambodia, the timber trade has continued unabated. In another attempt to deal with the issue, authorities across the country have been ordered to ensure they execute their responsibilities to oversee the enforcement of ...

The Ministry of Environment signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) yesterday with two Chinese companies to study planting “Paulownia-Guotong” – an extremely fast-growing tree used to make furniture and wooden equipment – and practice growing it in Cambodia. Speaking at a workshop on a feasibility ...

Environmental campaigner and Areng Valley community leader Ven Vorn lost his appeal against his one-year suspended sentence for “collecting forest products without permission” yesterday at the Appeals Court. Judge Kim Danny did not give reasons why the court decided to uphold the March ruling of the ...

Cambodian forests, some of the most biologically diverse areas in the world, are vanishing fast as a result of the Vietnamese, Chinese and Cambodian political interests. Cambodia has one of the largest deforestation rates in the world. Forest Trends, an influential organization with a mission to conserve ...

A Toyota SUV and the load of illegally logged luxury wood found inside it on Monday belong to the wife of a district police chief in Tbong Khmum province, according to local officials, who say they have no intention of taking action against the couple. “We ...

The government’s anti-logging task force on Monday confiscated nearly 3,000 logs stashed in a forest clearing in Mondolkiri province, officials said on Tuesday. The owner of the 2,949 pieces of second-grade timber—Khlong, Tbeng and Trach—is unknown, said Eng Hy, spokesman for the National Military Police, which ...

Eleven Cambodian environmental campaigners received “moniseraphon” medals from the government last month in recognition of their work to support the nation, according to a sub-decree signed by Prime Minister Hun Sen. But Buntenh, the founder of the Independent Monk Network for Social Justice, and social media ...

Conservationist Marcus Hardtke yesterday blasted USAID and Winrock for “four years of mismanagement” as the Forest Monitoring Working Group put out a call for “urgent action” from the American bodies. “They’re not addressing the core problem,” Hardtke said, adding that the two groups were ignoring the ...

A group of environmental NGOs working to protect the Prey Lang forest called on the US Agency for International Development (USAID) to intervene and protect the region’s resin trees, or they will all be logged within six months, they claimed in a joint-statement issued yesterday. The ...

Newly declared protected areas in Prey Lang forest are being illegally logged by companies belonging to a three-star general and his sister, according to Goldman Environmental Prize-winning conservationist Ouch Leng and NGOs with which he is working. Leng, along with 15 NGO officers, patrollers and ...

The National Committee for Forest Crime Prevention has admitted that despite claims from a variety of high-level government officials that deforestation and illegal logging had been stopped entirely, the illegal timber trade was still ravaging the country’s forests. In June, Environment Minister Say Samal claimed the ...

The governor of Kompong Speu on Tuesday ordered 10 armed soldiers to help a team of environmental officials confront a group of “anarchic” farmers clearing state forestland in the province. ...

Police in Stung Treng province seized an unspecified amount of luxury wood after shooting out a tire of a Toyota SUV that tried to run a checkpoint on Sunday night in Sesan district. ...

Sixty Cambodian wildlife park rangers will be trained by South African experts next year, funded by video streaming content revenue generated by a partnership between  the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) International  and the Canadian-based  international English-language TV channel, Love Nature. WWF International will leverage scenes from ...

Activists from environmental group Mother Nature yesterday cautioned that a proposed road pledged by Prime Minister Hun Sen for the Areng Valley could cause an increase in illegal logging and drug abuse. ...

A project funded by USAID’s Supporting Forest and Biodiversity initiative is helping local communities relying on forests as their means to earn a living by tapping into an alternate source of income. ...

Police in Mondulkiri province seized an SUV loaded with luxury wood on Sunday night, with local police suggesting the car belonged to a high-ranking Phnom Penh-based military police official. During an operation to crack down on illegally transported wood in Oraing Sen district involving provincial police ...

In the latest setback to its attempt to sell off millions of dollars worth of seized timber, the government canceled five days of negotiations with potential buyers scheduled for this week, an official said on Monday. ...

Half of a Kuoy ethnic community forest in Stung Treng province – for which villagers are seeking official recognition – has been logged in the past three years for private commercial gain, according to recently returned environmental activist twins Chum Hout and Chum Hour. Seven ...

Thai soldiers arrested four Cambodian youths on Saturday for allegedly logging rosewood in Thailand’s Trat province, near the border with Battambang province, officials said on Sunday. “Thai soldiers in black uniforms arrested the four Khmer youths because they crossed the border illegally in an attempt to ...

In recent months Prime Minister Hun Sen has made an effort to show that the government has a handle on the voracious deforestation that has ravaged the country’s forests over the years. Yet his speeches and decrees have done little to slow down, much less stop, ...

An NGO operating in the Pursat section of the protected Cardamom Mountains uncovered 50 cubic metres of luxury timber yesterday. Chea Hean, director of the Natural Resource and Wildlife Preservation Organisation, said he and four colleagues uncovered the illicit stash as part of an ongoing investigation, ...