The 6,400-hectare Phnom Tnout forest has an ancient history, where towering trees sprout from a 12th Century stone quarry, in the shadow of Sugar Palm Mountain, and stretch across picturesque valleys, on into the horizon.
Local communities are divided: ardent environmentalists who want the forest to survive for future generations are up against the very loggers and poachers exploiting its valuable wood and wildlife.

Pov Yat, 50, heads a local committee to protect the woodland, and says the Davis' work has already led to a dramatic decline in forest crimes.

"It's good. It helps to take care of our environment and natural resources," Yat says.

Cambodia has the highest rate of deforestation in the world, according to the US-based World Resources Institute, and the Davis family fears that without action now to protect what's left, it will all be destroyed.
The Provincial government has declared Phnom Tnout a "community forest", putting it under the guardianship of the nearby Ta Bos village, with which the Davis family work closely.

However, the central Government has stalled on giving a final approval, and the family have no legal right to the area.

In 2014, logging tycoon Try Pheap gutted almost all the forest's stock of rosewood.
Mr Pheap is an associate of Prime Minister HE, and holds the honorific title Okhna — bestowed on those who donate more than $130,000 to the state.
Anti-corruption watchdog, Global Witness labelled him a "timber-gangster", and accused him of amassing a vast fortune.

An AK-47 used in the recent murder of three forest patrollers that was recovered from the jungle sits at a police station in Mondulkiri. Environment and NGO officials are considering arming their patrollers to prevent similar incidents in the future. Photo supplied
An AK-47 used in the recent murder of three forest patrollers that was recovered from the jungle sits at a police station in Mondulkiri. Environment and NGO officials are considering arming their patrollers to prevent similar incidents in the future. Photo supplied

The murder last week of three forest patrollers in the Keo Seima Wildlife Sanctuary has put a spotlight on the dangers to conservationists in the face of endemic logging, and reignited a conversation about how best to protect often ill-equipped patrollers.

The deaths have prompted soul searching among stakeholders, particularly over how to train – and potentially arm – forest patrollers, but observers in recent days have said such questions ignore an even thornier issue: how best to tackle widespread forest crimes when those being policed are often police themselves.

Seng Teak, country director for the World Wildlife Fund, said in an emailed statement that a survey by the organisation found that 68 percent of more than 500 rangers polled in the region have faced a life-threatening situation.