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Villagers petition to evict family protecting Phnom Tnout forest
25 April 2018

A group of villagers from a community forest inside Preah Vihear province’s Phnom Tnout Wildlife Sanctuary are collecting thumbprints to evict a family that has been protecting the forest from illegal logging and preventing poaching of endangered species.

The petition comes from a group of villagers from inside and outside the community forest who want to expand their paddy fields. It also stems in part from a recent altercation between a villager who tried to resist a timber confiscation and environmental rangers accompanied by Ben Davis, who operates an eco-tourism business inside the sanctuary and conducts forest patrols.

The thumbprint collection – which the head of the sanctuary called “unreasonable” – comes on the heels of eight conservation organisations last week urging the government to take immediate action to halt the “rapid rate of destruction” of the sanctuary and the endangered species within it.

Soeu Cheng, who is helping collect the thumbprints, said a total of 150 families want to expand their farmland inside the Phnom Tnout Wildlife Sanctuary, but were not allowed to do so by the Davis family and environmental rangers, who have also seized their sling shots, machetes and axes.
https://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/ ... out-forest

Soeu Cheng, who is helping collect the thumbprints, said a total of 150 families want to expand their farmland inside the Phnom Tnout Wildlife Sanctuary, but were not allowed to do so by the Davis family and environmental rangers, who have also seized their sling shots, machetes and axes.

What's wrong with this picture?

i want say good for Ben, trying to defend the forest
even thou he goes against locals

“But if they hunt animals and log timber, I really stop them,” he said. “They want to expand their farmland by 20 to 30 metres, or half a hectare every year. We ban [them] because we follow the Environment Ministry. I have not violated the environmental law.”

wanna bet he gets arrested soon?

when i last drove up between Steung Sreng, Banlung and Sen Monorom, saw hundreds of logs under villager homes and bet its like that everywhere where there are logs to be cut illegally.

wanna bet he gets arrested soon?

He should be arrested and deported. He has no right to force Cambodians to protect their forest if they want to clear it for farmland. I just hope he isn't American because the world just doesn't need another meddlesome Yank.

Can't fix stupid

How can Davis "conduct forest patrols" when he has no authority? How does the eco-tourism business benefit the locals? A single foreign family can profit off the land yet the local people can not?

The article says that Ben Davis accompanies environmental rangers.

Khmer Issarak wrote: ↑Thu Apr 26, 2018 3:37 pm How can Davis "conduct forest patrols" when he has no authority? How does the eco-tourism business benefit the locals? A single foreign family can profit off the land yet the local people can not?

hiring locals, keeping the forest intact, educating locals (once the forest /tress are gone, there gone) , bringing tourist into the area,(locals can benefit from them)
If u cant see what he is dong as anything but positive for Cambodia, i feel sorry for you.

AmericanSteve wrote: ↑Thu Apr 26, 2018 2:49 pm

wanna bet he gets arrested soon?

He should be arrested and deported. He has no right to force Cambodians to protect their forest if they want to clear it for farmland.

I just hope he isn't American because the world just doesn't need another meddlesome Yank.

Best for you to stay out of this argument ,,, AmericanSteve.

It's almost as if the villagers can't see the wood for the trees.