Journalist Says He Was Threatened After Covering Land Clearing Case
An online journalist says he received an anonymous call that he took to be a threat after reporting on land clearing in Siem Reap province.
Khut Sokun Aug 4, 3:48 pm
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An online journalist says he received an anonymous call that he took to be a threat after reporting on land clearing in Siem Reap province.
Authorities have been claiming victory over illegal logging for years, including in 2016 following the establishment of a national anti-logging task force. Taskforce spokesman Eng Hy told the Cambodia Daily at the time that “illegal logging has been completely stopped,” despite the seizure of 5,431 cubic meters of luxury wood in one haul in Kratie province.
The U.S. says it is ending aid to government entities under Greening Prey Lang, a project aimed at protecting the sanctuary, as the government silences local communities and civil society partners while “not adequately” prosecuting and putting an end to illegal logging.
Illegally felled timber is still flowing through provinces despite travel bans and increased scrutiny of traffic due to the Covid-19 outbreak, activists alleged, raising suspicions of officials’ involvement in the trade.
New data from an international forest monitoring program shows a slight increase in deforestation in Cambodia last year, with new spots of forest clearing moving deeper into Cambodia’s remaining dense forests.
Prey Lang Wildlife Sanctuary lost a record-breaking amount of tree cover last year, shedding patches of forest larger than the size of Phnom Penh’s Olympic Stadium football pitch for every hour of 2019, data compiled from satellite images shows.
Despite being one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change, and releasing no new overall emissions inventory since 2000, Cambodia is believed to be emitting more greenhouse gases than its forests can absorb.
Forestry watchdogs say they have seen increased logging activity in the Prey Lang sanctuary, especially after independent forest patrollers were stopped by authorities from entering, but officials have defended their ban on unregistered forest patrols.
Some of the country’s more than 600 “forestry communities” — groups with a claim to communal forests, which they help protect and manage — will be tapped to produce sustainable charcoal and fuelwood under a test project.
Two Forestry Administration officers were placed in provisional detention on Thursday morning amid an ongoing crackdown on illegal logging in Mondulkiri province. Provincial Forestry Administration
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