{"id":10787,"date":"2021-01-11T19:47:18","date_gmt":"2021-01-11T12:47:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vodenglish.news\/?p=10787"},"modified":"2021-01-11T19:48:25","modified_gmt":"2021-01-11T12:48:25","slug":"activists-researchers-point-to-extensive-illegal-logging-in-prey-lang","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vodenglish.news\/activists-researchers-point-to-extensive-illegal-logging-in-prey-lang\/","title":{"rendered":"Activists, Researchers Point to Extensive Illegal Logging in Prey Lang"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Environmental activists say illegal logging in Prey Lang Wildlife Sanctuary is happening almost every day, as foreign researchers released new data indicating high levels of small-scale, selective logging in the deep forest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Hoeun Sopheap, coordinator in Kampong Thom province for the Prey Lang Community Network, <a href=\"https:\/\/vodenglish.news\/prey-lang-lost-7500-hectares-of-forest-cover-last-year-satellites-show\/\">whose independent forest patrols were banned by authorities last year<\/a>, said that he and other members have witnessed loggers carrying timber out of the sanctuary almost every day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The grassroots group with international funding was banned from patrolling the 430,000-hectare sanctuary <a href=\"https:\/\/vodenglish.news\/officials-block-prey-lang-activists-from-forest-ahead-of-annual-event\/\">in February before it was able to host an annual awareness-raising ceremony<\/a>, and Sopheap and others say logging has increased ever since.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to the activist, PLCN members monitor the forest from outside the sanctuary boundaries, and they have seen an increase in logging for larger trees, saying big trees are disappearing from the sanctuary and could be gone in five years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe only look at each rangers\u2019 station and the entrance they guard, but why is wood still coming out through that gate?\u201d he said. \u201cI estimate the longest is five years. If there is no reinstituting of our group to patrol in Prey Lang again, the longest is five more years, [and] Prey Lang will be gone.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Prey Lang Wildlife Sanctuary covers four provinces and is buttressed by a handful of forestry and farming concessions, which activists and researchers say have shielded a <a href=\"https:\/\/vodenglish.news\/new-trails-satellite-images-point-to-more-logging-inside-prey-lang\/\">network of large-scale illicit timber trade.<\/a> Though the government has denied the claims, the protected area has shed stunning amounts of forest cover in the last five years. Meanwhile, the Mines and Energy Ministry recently <a href=\"https:\/\/vodenglish.news\/power-line-to-cut-through-prey-lang-troubling-conservation-partners\/\">approved a transmission line project running through the heart of the forest<\/a>, which conservationists fear would pierce the thickest sections of canopy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A new report released this month from a team of foreign researchers using satellite data supports the claims of selective logging for valuable timber. <a href=\"https:\/\/forobs.jrc.ec.europa.eu\/iforce\/docs\/JRC-Technical-Report_Assessment-Cambodia-Prey-Lang-Sanctuary.pdf\">The report, published by the European Commission, estimates that 9,384 hectares<\/a> throughout Prey Lang were affected by canopy disturbances \u2014 which can detect small-scale felling as well as forest clearing \u2014 between March 2019 and February 2020, based on satellite imagery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Using a new approach that looks at a more detailed view of the forest canopy from the E.U.\u2019s Joint Research Center satellite data, the researchers found that 51,000 small areas of around 0.1 hectares had likely been selectively logged deep inside the sanctuary during that period. The researchers also found 736 larger areas averaging 5.8 hectares that also lost forest cover due to forest clearing \u2014 an estimate similar to what had previously been reported by the center&#8217;s data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Environment Ministry spokesperson Neth Pheaktra did not respond to questions about logging in Prey Lang on Friday, but he told reporters in December that logging was only occurring in the sanctuary on a small scale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Duong Chhay Savuth, the director of Kratie province\u2019s environment department, said officials recently responded to a Facebook video of timber being transported out of the sanctuary through Kratie\u2019s Sambor district, but could not find the case. The footage, seen by VOD, had no timestamp or location attached and therefore could not be confirmed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI do not dare to say that the information [the Facebook user] published is true or false, just when I received this information immediately, my officials went down to prevent it immediately but no such case occurs,\u201d he said. \u201cI would just like to confirm that if such a case occurs, give me information immediately, [and] I will take action immediately.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, PLCN\u2019s Preah Vihear coordinator Srey Thei said activists tracked the current operations of loggers and found that companies send small groups to cut trees in the forest and bring them out on trailers to trucks awaiting in provincial capitals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe do not have hope in the authorities because they seem to pave the way for transporting timber forever,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Suon Chanty, PLCN\u2019s Kratie province coordinator, repeated Thei\u2019s assessment, saying that it would be easy to see if authorities stopped the timber trade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cAt night time, it is tumultuous \u2014 both vehicles and motorcycles [leave the forest with timber], and we have not seen any expert officers preventing this,\u201d she said. \u201cIf it was being prevented, there would be no transport day and night like this.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Additional reporting by Danielle Keeton-Olsen<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>(Translated and edited from the <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/vodkhmer.news\/2021\/01\/08\/environmental-activists-fear-prey-lang-destruction-crime-continues\/\"><em>original article<\/em><\/a><em> on VOD Khmer)<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Environmental activists say illegal logging in Prey Lang Wildlife Sanctuary is happening almost every day, as foreign researchers released new data indicating high levels of selective logging in the deep forest.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":7638,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[292,26],"tags":[354,3331],"priority":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v20.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Activists, Researchers Point to Extensive Illegal Logging in Prey Lang<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Environmental activists say illegal logging in Prey Lang Wildlife Sanctuary is happening almost every day, as foreign researchers released new data indicating high levels of selective logging in the deep forest.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/vodenglish.news\/activists-researchers-point-to-extensive-illegal-logging-in-prey-lang\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" 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