Forests and forestry

The Environment Ministry, partner organisations and a Japanese company expect that implementation of a $1.5 million forest conservation project for three years will help prevent forest crime, biodiversity loss and improve the livelihoods of community members in the Prey Lang Wildlife Sanctuary. ...

The Ministry of Environment and Japan will today sign a $600,000 agreement on forest conservation for a period of three years in the Prey Lang forest, which spans four provinces. The project will focus on forest conservation, legal strengthening and community forestry development, according to a ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen yesterday blamed Cambodia’s rampant deforestation on local villagers who he claimed had been “incited” by the opposition to clear the forestland, though conservationists were quick to point out that those behind illegal logging are actually often powerful tycoons connected to the ...

The Council of Ministers has ordered a temporary suspension to permits for clearing and transporting timber from the reservoir area of the Lower Sesan II Dam until after the upcoming elections in July, with a government official yesterday saying illegal logging was “out of control”, ...

A representative with Duong Sruoch Group in Preah Vihear yesterday denied allegations that that the company had been illegally clearing forest outside the boundaries of social land concessions it had been licensed to log. Duong Sruoch Group was specifically named in a directive issued Monday by ...

One man has been arrested and more than 100 planks of second-grade luxury timber seized by authorities in Kampong Thom yesterday. Hang Vunn, 22, was arrested by Sandan district police after he was found to be operating an illegal sawmill in Sochetr commune. ...

The Environment Ministry has requested the National Defence Ministry to form a joint working group over the use of land in natural protected areas to cut down on land disputes and instances of illegal logging. Defence Ministry spokesman General Chhum Sucheat said both parties agreed last ...

On the orders of Prime Minister Hun Sen, Koh Kong provincial authorities on Friday inspected a section of protected mangrove forest that in December was discovered to have been filled in with sand and illegally sold, with the consent of local authorities, to tycoon Chea ...

Forty concrete posts have been placed at key locations along the boundary of Phnom Tbeng Natural Heritage Park in Preah Vihear province, paving the way for rangers to patrol the park and enforce forestry and wildlife protection laws. The work was conducted by officials from the ...

Prime Minister Hun Sen yesterday ordered the Koh Kong provincial governor to clarify reports that state mangrove forests in the province have been grabbed and filled with sand to create land for development. Speaking during the closing ceremony for an annual conference on decentralisation, Mr Hun ...

Environmental officials confirmed yesterday that they are seeking the assistance of conservation NGO Fauna and Flora International (FFI) in drafting a management plan for the new Koh Rong Marine National Park, and that for now, the previous conservation structure operated by the Fisheries Administration and ...

Forestry Administration officials and local police on Wednesday intercepted a load of illegal timber in Kampong Speu, but only managed to seize two of the 10 first-grade logs after villagers began to burn the timber – and attempted to do the same to an FA ...

A section of protected mangrove forest in Koh Kong that in December was discovered to have been filled with sand was illegally sold to tycoon Chea Leanghong in 2017, documents show, with local authorities having signed off on the deal. ...

A representative of more than 100 families involved in a land dispute with a rubber company is seeking the help of a local rights group after being ordered to appear before the Oddar Meanchey Provincial Court on Friday. ...

Kampong Speu provincial authorities on Friday said they will reclaim more than 2,000 hectares of land inside the Phnom Oral Wildlife Sanctuary, though six officials interrogated earlier this month for allegedly grabbing the land will only be “educated”. Oral district deputy police chiefs Prak Moul and ...

Anti-economic crime officers from Kampong Speu provincial police and Thporng district forces have uncovered eight unlicensed wood workshops as part of an effort to clamp down on forestry crime. District police chief Hun Sok Hon said the crackdown would be ongoing throughout his district until all ...

Two Cambodians and a Thai national were arrested by Thai soldiers on Tuesday night for illegal logging and transporting rosewood over the border to Cambodia’s Oddar Meanchey province.​ ...

The Wildlife Conservation Society has said it is committed to continue working with the authorities and other partners to protect Keo Seima Wildlife Sanctuary after three conservationists, including one WCS staff member were killed last month. Tern Soknai, a forest ranger with the Environment Ministry, Sek ...

Nearly 400 members of the Prey Lang Community Network will hold the annual Prey Lang ceremony in late March to commemorate and preserve indigenous identities and promote the forest’s potential. Meanwhile, Prey Lang activists have claimed illegal logging still exists in the area, even though the ...

Businesses expect the establishment of Cambodia’s first marine national park covering seven coastal islands to boost tourism in the area, while government officials said yesterday it would not affect private development scheduled for the islands. ...

The government announced last week the establishment of the country’s first marine national park, the Koh Rong National Park, which covers the Koh Rong archipelago off the coast of Sihanoukville. The new national park, set up by a sub-decree signed by Prime Minister Hun Sen, aims ...

The killing of three conservationists patrolling Cambodia’s biggest carbon credit project exposes the nearly insurmountable conflicts of interest plaguing schemes in which huge corporations such as Disney and Virgin Atlantic have invested millions of dollars, observers say. Military Police Officer Sek Wathana, Environment Ministry Ranger Teurn ...

Forest patrollers and rights groups are questioning why the Oddar Meanchey Forestry Administration has yet to take action after a soldier transporting illegal timber allegedly beat and threatened to kill a patroller last month. ...

Cambodia’s first marine national park was established yesterday, seemingly replacing and expanding upon a marine protection area established for the Koh Rong archipelago in 2016. ...