Gov’t called on to save forests

Villagers from forest communities in nine provinces called on the government yesterday to take action after alleging that “the rich and powerful” are causing the “serious destruction” of their livelihoods. The villagers, with the support of two NGOs – the Children’s Development Association and Community Peace-Building Networking (CPN) – raised concerns over the destruction of their forests, which they said were being cleared by a combination of powerful local businesses, soldiers and the authorities. Sorn Siyan, a community representative from Kratie province, said that seven community forests out of 11 registered since 2011, covering more than 21,000 hectares, have been completely cleared. ...

Phak Seangly
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/gov%E2%80%99t-called-save-forests