Can’t see the forest …
The percentage of Cambodia covered in forest has fallen from about 72 per cent in 1973 to only about 46 per cent in 2013, satellite image data released yesterday shows.
A series of animated maps that Open Development Cambodia (ODC) produced from NASA satellite images detail the drastic depletion of the Kingdom’s forest areas, a process that has rapidly accelerated in the past five years.
“Analysis of satellite images shows that in 1973, approximately 72.11 per cent of Cambodia was covered by forest,” ODC’s website states. “More recent images suggest that today’s forest cover is closer to 46.33 percent, inclusive of tree plantation.”
In 1973, ODC’s data shows, about 42 per cent of the country was covered by dense forest, a figure that has plummeted to less than 11 per cent in 2013. …
The animated maps show widespread depletion across the country, especially in the north, northeast, west and southwest. As the animations – each lasting about two minutes – move further along a timeline from 1973 to 2013, greenery disappears at a much faster rate. By the end, dense forest areas are shadows of their former selves, having become non-forest areas or “mixed forest”. These areas can include land turned over for development as rubber and other plantations.
Since 1973, the percentage of total land that is mixed forest has increased from 30 to 35 per cent, the data shows. …
Vast amounts of the Snuol Wildlife Sanctuary in Kratie province have been decimated in the past four years, while the large expanses of Virachey National Park in the northeast have lost their once-dense forests.
Thy Try, executive director and editor in-chief of Open Development Cambodia, said yesterday that his organisation’s role wasn’t to provide analysis. Equally, ODC did not draw links between the data and events happening at the time. …
Shane Worrell
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/can%E2%80%99t-see-forest-%E2%80%A6
