Forest
The Venerable Prom Thomacheat carrying food for a resident gibbon in the Metta Forest around his pagoda in Trapeang Chour commune. The monk lives a hermit-like existence near the Oral Wildlife Sanctuary in Kampong Speu. (Andrew Haffner/VOD)

In Tranquil Forest, Nature-Loving Monk Faces a Military Threat

In Kampong Speu, a forest-dwelling monk hoots to mimic animals’ cries and talks of living in harmony with nature. But the community forest where he lives has been handed to the military, and nearby residents are camping among the trees to protect the land.

Authorities in Kampong Thom province prevent members of the Prey Lang Community Network from entering a protected area to conduct an annual tree-blessing ceremony on February 21, 2020. (Licadho)

Ministry, Forest Patrollers Accuse Each Other of Breaking the Law

The Environment Ministry has accused a forestry patrol group of illegally monitoring a protected forest, drawing criticism from civil society organizations who say the ministry has violated the group’s rights and restricted its conservation efforts.

Armed police monitor participants of a tree-blessing ceremony in Prey Lang protected forest in 2019 (Licadho)

Officials Block Prey Lang Activists From Forest Ahead of Annual Event

The Environment Ministry and local authorities on Friday prevented hundreds of environmental rights advocates and others from entering the Prey Lang protected area for an annual forest conservation event set for the weekend, a ministry spokesman and rights group said.

A villager prepares wood for charcoal production. (UNDP)

Forestry Communities Tapped to Produce Sustainable Charcoal

Some of the country’s more than 600 “forestry communities” — groups with a claim to communal forests, which they help protect and manage — will be tapped to produce sustainable charcoal and fuelwood under a test project.