Forests and forestry

Ratanakkiri Military Police officials yesterday denied multiple local media reports that thousands of logs of luxury timber were being transported on the Sesan River to be sent to Vietnam illegally. ...

CPP lawmaker Sar Sokha has denied any involvement in the timber trade in Prey Veng province after a depot owner used his name and that of Prime Minister Hun Sen to threaten local journalists. ...

After ignoring summonses for two months, a prominent timber tycoon accused of illegally trading luxury-grade wood in Mondulkiri province appeared at court to deny his involvement in the case.​ Sam Ol was summonsed on October 12 to testify after the authorities’ anti-logging task force found ...

The Environment Minister instructed his staff to cooperate with relevant ministries and institutions to improve management in the sector at the closing of the ministry’s annual meeting on Monday. ...

Environmental NGOs expressed concerns this week about a requirement from the Ministry of Environment to get advanced permission to patrol the Prey Lang protected forest, saying doing so could lead to illegal loggers getting tipped off, given the history of collusion with officials in the ...

Local authorities have agreed to allow the last families refusing to relocate from their homes near the Lower Sesan II dam to establish a new village on their community forest and ancestral lands. ...

More than 30 families living in Koh Kong province’s Kiri Sakor district yesterday protested against the work of a Special Economic Zone company owned by tycoon Ly Yong Phat. ...

The Ministry of Environment has appealed to authorities and the community to protect a temple discovered in Prey Lang forest in Kampong Thom province’s Sandan district. Minister of Environment Say Sam Al lead a delegation to visit Trapaing Prers temple in Prey Lang forest last ...

Two men were arrested Friday by Pursat Provincial Military Police for allegedly logging in a protected area, only to be released yesterday at the request of the provincial Military Police commander, officials said yesterday. The men were identified as Oum Ngat Say, 18, and Sou ...

The Ministry of Environment has recognised nine new natural protected communities in Mondulkiri province. The purpose of these communities is to ensure the stability of local ecosystems and the protection of the natural habitat in the region. ...

Speaking at a workshop hosted by the World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF) on the past four years of conservation in the so-called Eastern Plains Landscape – a project with $1.42 million in funding from the EU and an additional $420,000 from USAID and the ...

The environment minister has promised to investigate allegations that a tycoon-owned company is using a land concession to illegally log wood in a protected area in Preah Vihear province. ...

Seven Vietnamese nationals who are tied to a timber smuggling ring along with top Mondulkiri provincial officials were sentenced to one year in prison yesterday. ...

Conservation NGOs yesterday raised the issue of alleged land grabs in the country’s protected areas by the military and local authorities at a resources protection forum, asking Environment Minister Say Sam Al to intervene.​ ...

The Prey Lang Community Network in Preah Vihear province has asked the government to investigate the building of homes in a protected area by a group of families claiming they were granted a social land concession.​ ...

A prominent Vietnamese timber trader was arrested and put in pre-trial detention for the second time this year after some two tonnes of rosewood allegedly connected to her were discovered in Oddar Meanchey province, authorities said yesterday. ...

Kampong Chhnang Provincial Military Police Commander Sak Sarang was questioned yesterday at the Phnom Penh Municipal Court in relation to allegedly taking bribes from illegal loggers in Mondulkiri, where he was previously stationed. ...

Some 124 logs of luxury timber were discovered on a riverbed on Sunday within Mondulkiri’s Srepok Wildlife Sanctuary some 500 metres from a military base, officials said yesterday. ...

Families living in a commune flooded by the Lower Sesan II dam have set up a new village on their community forest without the permission of local authorities. Residents of Sre Ko commune were offered new homes in a different area and compensation to leave ...

An oknha accused of overseeing a massive illegal logging scheme in Mondulkiri has yet to appear for a court summons issued more than a month ago, according to the investigating judge. ...

Authorities in Kandal province arrested 19 people in a timber raid at a Metfone shop, but released 15 after questioning, including the branch’s director. ...

Irregularities have been found in the Mondulkiri provincial administration over clearing state land to make way for timber smuggling to Vietnam. An investigation has been launched to find the officers responsible. ...

Police in Kratie province were caught on video letting potentially illegal timber transporters pass through their checkpoints on Monday night, with provincial police yesterday suggesting they were powerless to crack down on such shipments as many transporters possessed axes and machetes and were addicted to ...

The last families refusing to relocate from their homes near the Lower Sesan II dam have accused local authorities of being unwilling to settle their case. ...