Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Veng Sakhon has urged companies that were granted economic land concessions by the government in Koh Kong province to collaborate fully with local authorities in protecting forest land.
On May 22, the Georgian Parliament endorsed the amendments to the Forest Code of Georgia with its third reading with 79 votes in favor and none against – amid strong criticism voiced by the civil society organizations.
Fourteen people have been identified for inciting more than 70 villagers to burn down two ranger stations in Taveng commune, Taveng district, Ratanakkiri province. District officials will bring the case to court, said Ministry of Environment secretary of state and spokesman Neth Pheaktra.
Speaking to The Post on Monday, Pheaktra said some villagers grabbed land at a protected area and after the rangers intervened they set the stations on fire. “This is unacceptable, and the ringleaders must be held responsible for their action according to the law for destroying state property.
In April, 13 suspects were charged in the Mondulkiri Provincial Court for encroaching on forest land in wildlife sanctuaries at Phnom Prich, Srepok, Nam Lear, and Keo Seima, said Ministry of Environment secretary of state and spokesperson Neth Pheaktra.
The sanctuaries are protected under the Law on Natural Protected Areas. He said the 13 perpetrators violated articles 56, 60, and 62, which all concern destroying natural resources.
Minister of Environment Say Sam Al has urged relevant stakeholders to take part in protecting and conserving natural resources in wildlife sanctuaries. This, he said, will facilitate carbon credit sales to raise money to support local communities.
Sam Al made his suggestion when he led experts and relevant local authorities on a visit to Mondulkiri province to examine the protection and conservation of the Keo Seima Wildlife Sanctuary on Tuesday and Wednesday.
TAK: Three large tracts of woodland -- about 45 rai altogether -- were found to have been encroached on inside the Mae Sot National Forest Reserve in Phop Phra district, according to a local media report.
The encroachment was reported to the 6th Forest Protection Unit in Mae Sot district by local villagers.
On Saturday, forest protection officials were dispatched to an area near Moo 7, Ban Pakha Kao, in tambon Khirirat of Phop Phra district to investigate.
By Richard Pearshouse, Amnesty International’s head of crisis and the environment, and Jurema Werneck, executive director of Amnesty International Brazil
The campaign against Cameroon’s agribusiness titans was reenergised in March after women living near several controversial plantations denounced the loss of community lands and rights, and the destruction of native forests.
LandCam, an EU-funded project run by several NGOs working to improve land rights in Cameroon, released a statement on behalf of women “living in the vicinity of agro-industries” decrying their treatment by major palm oil, rubber and sugar companies.
Deep in the forest in Northern Sierra Leone, near the demarcation line between Koinadugu and Falaba Districts, a man named Foday uses a power saw to cut into a thick tree, removing the branches to shape it into a log. According to him, he has been working as a logger now for more than 20 years. He describes timber as a lucrative business, which brings income into his pocket.
The Deputy Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Mr Benito Owusu-Bio, has launched a project which will ensure the reforestation of 300 hectares of degraded land for sustainable energy wood production and rehabilitation of 700 hectares of degraded natural forest in the Kintampo Municipality of the Bono East Region.
Dubbed: "Forest Landscape Restoration through a sustainable wood energy value chain," the €4.5 million German government-sponsored project also aims at introducing energy-efficient technologies for charcoal production and cooking stoves in the area.
Activists concerned Forest Advisory Committee recommendation will lead to privatisation, destruction of forests
The Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) has recommended that private players be allowed to raise plantations to be later used for compensatory afforestation (CA). This has raised concerns among green activists.
A government campaign to plant more trees has sparked a negative response from the indigenous communities of India.