On World Environment Day, a Call to Save Cambodia’s Forests

About 200 people celebrating World Environment Day on Wednesday gathered in front of the National Assembly to submit a petition asking the government to stop the destruction of Cambodia’s forests. … A report released by the WWF last month said that Cambodia has lost almost a quarter of its forests in the past 40 years due to rapid development and China’s demand for timber. State media also reported that Prime Minister Hun Sen said that 1.5 million hectares of forest cover has been used for economic land concessions, while there remains 9.5 million hectares of forest cover left in the country. However, since 1.2 million hectares of these concessions have been [put] toward rubber plantation, Mr. Hun Sen said that these land grants, in fact, constitute forest cover. … Vorn Pao, who attended the demonstration, said that the key to stopping deforestation was to follow laws on conducting a proper environmental impact assessment (EIA) before large-scale agriculture projects are allowed to go ahead. …

http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/on-world-environment-day-a-call-to-save-cambodias-forests-29329/