Prey Lang villagers on forest watch

Today is the first day of patrolling of Prey Lang community people in Sandan district, Kampong Thom province. There are about 70 people are gathered in Sre Veal village and Dang Kambet district, in the forest. The gathering started at 7:30am. In this patrol, the patrolmen use their motors for travelling into the forest. The main objective of first day is to stop the illegal logging and land occupying of the criminals. (Prey Lang - It's Our Forest Too on Facebook)

Monday, 13 August 2012
Mom Kunthear
The Phnom Penh Post

Nearly 100 Prey Lang villagers in Kampong Thom province’s Sandan district will today embark on a three-day “forest watch” mission to monitor what community representatives say are increased illegal logging activities in the jungle.

This is the fourth time the community has conducted monitoring in the area; however, this operation would be small due to financial difficulties, Prey Lang network community representative Hoeun Sopheap said yesterday.

“About 70 villagers with 35 motos, who come from only one district in Kampong Thom province, will conduct the monitoring, because we do not have enough money to support more to go with us,” he said.

Officials Will Face Jail for Deforestation: Authority [- All talk, no action!]

The government of Cambodia?

By Chun Sakada, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
18 April 2008

Any government official associated with clearing the forest for the sale of land faces imprisonment, a land dispute authority said Thursday.

“Any officials, commune chiefs or ‘oknha’ will be punished, even if there is no corruption law,” said Khieu Sorn, a Funcinpec parliamentarian who is also a member of the National Land Dispute Authority.

They will not be allowed to let people destroy the forest, Khieu Sorn said, as a guest on “Hello VOA” Thursday.

A caller to the show, Huot Sambath, from Oddar Meanchey province, said the districts of Anlong Veng and Tra Pearng Prasath were facing mass deforestation for the sale of land.

Cambodia Center for Human Rights investigator Ing Kong Chit, who was also a guest Thursday, acknowledged that land clearing was happening now in many areas, most recently in Koh Kralor, Battambang province.

Khieu Sorn said local authorities have the responsibility to inform people about land certificate and ownership to avoid problems.