PHNOM PENH — New data published by the University of Maryland on April 4 and available through satellite monitoring platform Global Forest Watch show continued forest loss across Cambodia last year, particularly in areas designated as protected by the Ministry of Environment. Last year saw 121,000 hectares (300,000 acres) of forest cover, an area the size of the city of Los Angeles, lost across Cambodia. More than 48,000 hectares (119,000 acres) of this was recorded as primary forest, according to Global Forest Watch. An analysis conducted by Mongabay using the University of Maryland GLAD lab’s data found the majority of forest loss in Cambodia last year occurred inside protected areas. Assessing the loss of forest canopy with a density of 30% or higher, Mongabay found that more than 66,000 hectares (163,000 acres) of forest vanished from Cambodia’s protected areas in 2023. However, the figures are difficult to compare to previous years, following sweeping changes to Cambodia’s protected area system that saw more than 1 million additional hectares (2.5 million acres) reclassified as protected between July and August 2023. New data from Global Forest Watch shows how more than half of all forest loss sustained in 2023 occurred inside protected areas. Image by Ministry of Environment spokesperson Khvay Atitya didn’t answer specific questions sent by Mongabay via messaging app Telegram, instead stating that Cambodia has 73 protected areas that span 7.2 million hectares (17.8 million acres) — roughly 41% of Cambodia’s landmass — and then detailed the ministry’s new management plan.…This article was originally published on Mongabay
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