Forests and forestry

Ministry of Environment spokesman Neth Pheaktra on Wednesday blamed climate change and global warming on greenhouse gas emissions from heavy industrial factories and the burning of fossil fuels in developed countries. He said deforestation is only a small contributing factor. ...

A Mondulkiri provincial committee has discovered six forest locations totalling more than 10ha in a protected area of Pech Chreada district’s Bou Sra commune that has been cleared for farming. Several people have been detained but authorities are looking to find land for them in ...

The United States has begun making payments towards its $37 million aid for the protection of the Prey Lang protected area.​ The Prey Lang protected area encompasses four different provinces, including Kampong Thom, Kratie, Stung Treng and Preah Vihear. ...

Two men who allegedly led some 30 villagers to illegally grab and clear forest land within the Ream National Park for private ownership were detained by the Preah Sihanouk provincial authority on Saturday. Neth Pheaktra, secretary of state and spokesperson of the Ministry of Environment, ...

A forest ranger protecting the Prey Ang Ten biodiversity conservation corridor in Kampong Thom province was attacked on Tuesday by an unidentified perpetrator, causing injuries to his head, neck and wrist. Neth Pheaktra, spokesman of the Environment Ministry, yesterday said the incident occurred as five ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen on Thursday urged relevant authorities to stamp out the export of timber abroad without authorisation and transparency. Speaking during an annual meeting of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries on Thursday, Hun Sen called on officials to work together in ...

Ten villagers were briefly detained by Ream National Park rangers in Preah Sihanouk province on Wednesday and instructed to dismantle their tarpaulins from aconservation area. Authorities said the villagers had secretly erected their tents there in order to illegally settle down and clear state forest ...

Hundreds of hectares of forest in Siem Reap and Kampong Thom provinces have been destroyed by a fire that raged on Monday and Tuesday, according to provincial authorities. The blaze, which authorities said was caused by human negligence, destroyed both natural forest and state-administered forest ...

The Ratanakkiri provincial Military Police intercepted two four-wheel drive vehicles in Veun Sai district that were used to transport first-grade timber logs. The timber has been seized but the police said the drivers were not found at the scene and authorities are on the lookout ...

Siem Pang and Siem Pang Khang Lech wildlife sanctuaries’ enforcement teams this month confiscated a total of three chainsaws, two homemade guns, a fish electrocution device and 608 snares, said a BirdLife International Cambodia Programme broadcast on Wednesday. ...

An elephant was found dead at a cashew nut plantation in Keo Seima Wildlife Sanctuary in Mondulkiri province’s Keo Seima district on Sunday. Experts initially thought the elephant may have been poisoned by a chemicals used by locals, but later confirmed it had been shot. ...

Pursat provincial authorities on Wednesday raided a sawmill operating without a licence and confiscated 21 logs totalling 13 cubic metres at Kset Borei village in Phnom Kravanh district’s Santre commune, while the owner escaped. ...

Police forces on Sunday raided a lumber mill that was being operated illegally within Phnom Oral Wildlife Sanctuary in Kampong Speu province. At least 100 timber logs, three wood processing machines – including one shredder – and several lumber planks had been found and confiscated, ...

The Ministry of Environment and 300 villagers from natural protection communities across four provinces gathered at Prey Lang Wildlife Sanctuary this weekend for a tree ceremony calling for the protection of natural resources, ministry spokesman Neth Pheaktra told The Post on Sunday. ...

The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries has reversed its previous order to allocate land to 48 families in Preah Sihanouk province’s Koki village – the scene of violent clashes between protesters and security forces – in order to follow procedure in trying to resolve ...

Voek Pisei, O’Khla Khmum village chief in Samrong district’s O’Smach commune, told The Post on Thursday that early last month, one villager identified as Roeun Sela was detained by Thai border guards for smuggling luxury wood from Thailand. ...

Membes of Battambang province’s forest community and relevant authorities on Tuesday claimed that over 100ha of forest land in Samlot Protected Area have been illegally cleared by wealthy citizens and armed forces in order to place it under their ownership. Samlot community representative Yat Neang, ...

Minister of Environment Say Sam Al said on Monday that his ministry is working with the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries to identify whether transported timber is from legal or illegal sources. Cambodian Youth Party (CYP) president Pich Sros, who is also a member ...

The Mondulkiri agriculture department yesterday denied claims by an environmental activist that it allowed two private firms to transport timber to Vietnam. Activist Heng Sros, 24, from the Cambodian Human Rights Task Force, yesterday said that the private companies received permission to transport high quality ...

Mondulkiri provincial environment department director Keo Sopheak has said that DNA testing will soon reveal the identities of poachers who exchanged gunfire with environmental rangers, injuring one, at Srepok Wildlife Sanctuary last Wednesday. ...

The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries yesterday stated that last year it cracked down on more than 1,000 cases. In a report, the ministry said that there were a total of 1,093 cases last year, noting that 582 resulted in fines and 511 were ...

The government has assigned designated management zones in Srepok Wildlife Sanctuary in Mondulkiri province to make the protected forest more manageable in the wake of a forest ranger being shot. Prime Minister Hun Sen on Friday signed a sub-decree designating 372,971 hectares of the forest into ...

General Sao Sokha, the deputy commander of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF) and commander of the National Military Police, on Monday, ordered relevant authorities to put more effort into combating natural resource-related crimes. According to Fresh News, Sokha, who also chairs the National Committee ...

A Prey Lang Community Network (PLCN) member in Thmea commune, in Preah Vihear province’s Chey Sen district, on Sunday claimed that authorities are unable to stamp out forest crime in the nature reserve, instances of which have been occurring for months. ...