Forest Crimes in Cambodia Fall 9 Percent in 2015

Forestry crimes in Cambodia decreased 9 percent from 2,189 cases in 2015 versus 2,400 cases in 2014, according to The Cambodia Daily.

In 2015, the Ministry of Agriculture confiscated 996 cubic meters of logs compared with 1,754 in 2014; 470 cubic meters of sawn timber versus 5,617 the previous year; and 113 cubic meters of kra nhung rosewood compared with 1,117 in 2014.

Am Sam Ath, a coordinator with Cambodian rights group Licadho, told The Cambodia Daily that the government needs to work more to curtail the large-scale timber crime operations.

“We have seen that authorities have cracked down on small cases related to villagers, but big companies and powerful people are still cutting and exporting timber,” he said.

The Ministry of Agriculture said in a report that it would continue to work on reducing all forestry-related crimes, according to The Cambodia Daily.

“We will do more to cooperate with expert authorities, the media and prosecutors to ensure effective law enforcement and transparency,” the report said.