Cambodian environment minister bans logging at tycoon’s Cardamoms hydropower project
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.
Gerald Flynn, Vutha Srey
