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. …
