Officials Halt Clearance of Community Forest

Forestry administration officials in Battambang province have stepped in to stop the destruction of a community forest area by military and police, officials said yesterday. Over two past months, soldiers, police and military police have destroyed part of the 1,335-hectare Prey Tralach forest in Rokha Kiri district, which has been recognized as a community forest by the Ministry of Agriculture and therefore protected since 2004. On Tuesday, a group of local officials halted the deforestation and dismantled a small dwelling being used by workers in the forest, said Rokha Kiri governor Pich Malay. ... "I don't know who did it," said Ly Choubeng, director of the Forestry Administration's Battambang cantonment. ...