In under three weeks, a senior U.S. official pressed Prime Minister Hun Sen over a controversial navy base; a defense attache cut short a visit to the base, saying he was denied full access; and USAID diverted millions in funds away from the Cambodian government.
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.
In an open letter, forestry activists said they were “appalled” by USAID recently claiming to “work directly” with them, saying they had been turned down from participating in USAID-run conservation projects, and the American agency “never supported us.”
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.
Environmentalists protecting the Prey Lang forest expressed skepticism as the Environment Ministry pledged renewed commitments to conservation at the launch of a $21-million U.S.-funded consulting project for the sanctuary.
VOD is an independent media outlet producing radio programs and disseminating information to the public via the Internet.
© 2019 VOD. All Rights Reserved.
