Land Minister Chea Sophara on Wednesday warned people living near Angkor Wat not to protest an ongoing order to demolish what his ministry has deemed illegally built structures that affect the beauty of the temple area.
Though the Kampong Speu provincial governor has promised to demarcate the boundaries of the contested Metta forest of Oral district, residents say loggers have continued to clear-cut the vanishing woodland.
Preah Sihanouk provincial authorities arrested four people for alleged illegal construction of huts within an area of Stung Hav district owned by the company that runs the Sihanoukville Special Economic Zone.
Hundreds of personnel from the elite Bodyguard Unit have garrisoned the northeast corner of Phnom Tamao forest, which was stripped clean in 10 days, with soldiers now leading reforestation efforts ordered by the prime minister.
Tbong Khmum pepper farmers say they’re abandoning their fields as the crop’s appeal has withered under poor prices and bad harvests, with one agriculture official blaming bad farming habits on the decline.
Crops have been destroyed and farmers jailed in Chung Plas and Memang, communes straddling the border of two Mondulkiri wildlife sanctuaries. Restrictions appear to residents to be shifting and arbitrary — at the mercy of environment officials on patrol.
Kampong Speu governor Vei Samnang promised to demarcate the boundaries of Metta forest in Trapeang Cho commune, even though teams of workers have completely deforested the area, save for trees around a pagoda.
Landfilling is underway off the shore of Kampot as the government has transferred 600 hectares to a private company to develop a $1.7-billion port.
A new ruling-party commune chief in Koh Kong province has refused to accept a petition from village residents asking for a resolution to their dispute against Senator Ly Yong Phat.
Hundreds of thousands of dollars will be spent replanting the Phnom Tamao forest that was destroyed over the past week, with much of the replanting being led by tycoon Mong Reththy, who says he was uninvolved in the clearing but has been permitted by Prime Minister Hun Sen to undertake the restoration.
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