PHNOM PENH — In a rare move to combat forest crimes, Cambodian Environment Minister Eang Sophalleth on Sept. 2 banned all forest clearance at the site of a dam project in the country’s southwest. The ban came after multiple incidents of illegal logging inside a protected area were reported, including by Mongabay, in connection to the Stung Meteuk hydropower project in Koh Kong and Pursat provinces. However, activists monitoring the logging operations on the ground remain skeptical over the efficacy of the ban, noting that timber processing continues at the site of the hydropower project. In a letter dated Sept. 2 and addressed to Ly Yong Phat, chair of Steung Meteuk Hydropower Co. Ltd., Sophalleth ordered the company to temporarily suspend its activities related to clearing forest for the 150-megawatt dams’ reservoirs, as well as the processing of logged timber. Forest activists have sighted timber trucks operating deep in the jungle outside of the hydropower project site. Image supplied by Tat Oudom. After forest crimes were reported to him by the Pursat provincial environmental department, Sophalleth’s letter detailed the numerous incidents of illegality linked to the $440 million hydropower project, including transporting timber without permission, logging and collecting timber outside of the designated areas, as well as transporting and processing timber without paying taxes. Mongabay previously documented the illegal logging operations that have sprung up under the cover of the Stung Meteuk project since it broke ground in late 2023. During a visit to the project site in April, Mongabay uncovered…This article was originally published on Mongabay
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