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.: World Environment Day: Update! Illegal Logging has Finished.

Reacting to reform: Cambodia’s environment
Triumph or tyranny?
Sarah Milne
20 September 2019
Cambodia’s new environmental policies are promising, but they also signal a government agenda to consolidate power over the country’s forests, Sarah Milne writes.

In 2016, Cambodia’s Prime Minister HE announced a dramatic suite of jurisdictional and policy reforms that will affect how land and forests are governed in Cambodia for decades to come.

Implementation of the reforms is still partial, but we must be aware of their potential effects for people and nature. Close attention must especially be paid to the rights of indigenous people and peasant farmers as the reforms proceed.

A key winner from the recent reforms is the newly empowered Ministry of the Environment, now controlled by a young Australian-educated Excellency, Mr Say Samal.

Mr Samal is a representative of the ruling Cambodian People’s Party, hand-picked by the Prime Minister to lead Cambodia’s new environmental portfolio, which includes the drafting of an ‘environmental code’ to harmonise legislation, alongside expansive new protections for ecosystems and biodiversity.
More on this: Deforestation in Cambodia

The most conspicuous aspect of the reforms is jurisdictional. Vast swathes of Forest Estate, which were originally controlled by the Forestry Administration, have been converted into ‘protected areas’ and ‘biodiversity conservation corridors’ to be managed by the Ministry of the Environment, in addition to an already substantial set of conservation areas. As a result, Cambodia’s protected area system now covers a remarkable 39 per cent of the country’s surface area or 7.4 million hectares.

The only country in the world that has a greater proportion of its territory protected for the purposes of nature conservation is Bhutan. So, does this mean that Prime Minister HE has become an environmental leader? Can Cambodia now reclaim its title of being the forested jewel in the crown of mainland Southeast Asia?

Given the recent history of protected areas in Cambodia, it is wise to be wary of such environmental success claims.

Scholars have long shown that a key aspect of protected area management in Cambodia is the assertion of state control over territory and resources.

Map-making, boundary demarcation, zoning, and the promulgation of rules are all aspects of what is often termed ‘state territorialisation’. The results of this process typically include enhanced government power and a state monopoly over resources.
More on this: Cambodia: towards dictatorship?

In the Cambodian case, this increased governmental activity in the name of nature protection has been highly problematic for two key reasons.

First, protected areas have generally inhibited formal recognition of local people’s land and resource rights. Tens of thousands of rural and indigenous people who now live within Cambodia’s protected areas are therefore living in a state of uncertainty.

By law, so-called ‘sustainable use zones’ and ‘community zones’ should be allocated to local residents, but livelihood safeguards in these yet-to-mapped zones are likely to be limited, while prospects for formal property rights remain distant.

Second, with the alienation of local communities within protected areas, the government has been able to assert control over forested land for its own benefit. For example, the government’s modus operandi in protected areas to date has seen the establishment of illegal logging rackets by tycoons and elites, with the tacit blessing of the ruling party.

Much of this illicit logging activity has occurred alongside formal investments including the construction of hydropower dams in forested areas, and the establishment of industrial plantations through economic land concessions, which either overlap or border with protected areas. In 2012, 70 per cent of new land concessions overlapped with conservation areas.
Full article: https://www.policyforum.net/reacting-to ... vironment/

^^^ A very clued-in woman is Dr Sarah Milne.

Generally i welcome change to the protected area regime.
45% of the country as "protected" is ludicrous, and has proved to be completely realistic.
It has led to the devaluation of all protected areas.
20% under real protection would lead to better conservation outcomes (IMO)

I actually have some hope that the government is aiming to introduce a viable protected area system - and to introducing tough reforms to subdue vested interests.
Although Dr Milne's scepticism and watchful eye are definitely warranted.

A bit dated now, 2015
but the link below has some very good insights into the Cambodian conservation scene from the same author. ^^

https://www.newmandala.org/through-the- ... ht-enters/

Timber truck busted, ready to cross to Vietnam from Mondulkiri

Mondulkiri, Cambodia Breaking News: Apparently, at around 12:00 pm on September 28, 2019, a force led by the Mondulkiri Police Commissioner, Mr. Seng Po, seized a truck loaded with illegal timber, which was hidden on a farm in the village of Lap Kea commune, Sankat Kham commune, Keo Seima district, Mondulkiri province.

The property is owned by Mr. Phalla, the head of the La Pakht police station under the patronage of border guard # 621. The location is very close to a road running to the border between Cambodia and Vietnam, which is only about 1 kilometer away. The authorities say that the truck was waiting there to be driven across the border by night.

After finding the truck and the wood, the cops took the vehicle to Keo Seima Wildlife Sanctuary for further proceedings. The owner and driver of the truck were not located.

November 22, 2019
Government encourages investment in sustainable timber plantations

The government yesterday asked companies to consider investing in timber plantations in the Kingdom that produce sustainable wood, arguing that these investments help protect the country’s natural resources.

Demand for wood is on the rise but few companies are investing in timber plantations in Cambodia, said Sao Sopheap, secretary of state at the Ministry of Environment.

The government is also urging companies to process wood here and export wood products to foreign markets, Mr Sopheap said during a speech at the launch of the ‘Human Development Report 2019: Sustaining Natural Resources for All’ by the United Nations Development Program.

To incentivise firms, the government doesn’t levy taxes on exports of wood and wood products, he added.

“The government now incentivises companies to invest in timber plantations, process wood products, and export abroad through a zero-tax policy,” he said. “We want to see more timber plantations and more wood processing in Cambodia.”

Processing wood from sustainable sources helps protect the environment and creates jobs, he added.

“Our aim is to protect our natural resources,” he said.
https://www.khmertimeskh.com/50663340/g ... antations/

Illegal Logging Continues on Small and Large Scale in Ratanakkiri Province

Ratanakiri, Cambodia News: On Saturday morning, November 22, 2019, the local police force of O'Yadav district military police led by Lt. Commander Sok Min captured a boat carrying timber along the Se San River. The boatman was transporting forest products without a permit at the commune Sesan, Oyadav District, Ratanakiri Province.This is typical of many small scale businesses connected to illegal logging in the province.


In this case, the suspect escaped, and the authorities confiscated the boat, a Honda engine and three pieces of wood type 1. The evidence has been handed over to the Bokeo Forestry Administration to take legal action.

Illegal Wood Furniture Production Closed Down in Anlong Veng

November 25, 2019
Oddar Meanchey, Cambodia News: According to the report of the Royal Gendarmerie on November 19, 2019, the Royal Gendarmerie in Anlong Veng district and 15 members of the military police, led by Colonel Thin Sokunthea, deputy commander of the provincial Gendarmerie, raided four locations where illegal timber was being transformed into furniture.


Four people were taken into custody for forestry offenses: Sun Saray, 38, Leang Lida, a 32-year-old female,Sekleang Leang Female, age 36, and 29-year-old Heng Seda, female.

The furniture production has been closed down by the authorities, and the evidence has been confiscated and is being held at Anlong Veng district administration office.

Preah Vihear, Cambodia News: On 19 December 2019, after complaints, a forestry patrol consisting of district gendarmerie and local commune committee members conducted an investigation into the deforestation in Rovieng district.

They found that the forests are being cleared, and the felling of old and rare hardwood trees is continuing in Preah Vihear, including a large parcel of forest that was cleared to plant a mango plantation just five months ago.

Committee members have made a report recommending that village chiefs and commune officials are given more say in the use of the local forest land.

Large-scale logging halted in Kampong Speu, Pursat provinces
Soth Koemsoeun | Publication date 31 December 2019 | 23:11 ICT
Police from Kampong Speu and Pursat provinces and officials from environmental non-profit Wildlife Alliance cracked down on illegal logging and wildlife poaching activities in the Phnom Oral Wildlife Sanctuary and the National Park in the Cardamom Mountains.

A report from Wildlife Alliance posted on social media said that after patrolling the forests from December 26-28, rangers were able to stop large-scale illegal forest logging in the Phnom Oral Wildlife Sanctuary and the Cardamom Mountains.

They seized a total of 10 ox-drawn wagons, 11 chainsaws, four homemade trucks, one timber lorry, 11 pieces of wild meat, 11 electric chainsaws, three fish electrocution devices, 35 snares and a homemade rifle.

Eleven camps and four houses were also found illegally built in the areas.
https://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/ ... -provinces