How Buddhist monks are battling deforestation in Cambodia
Cambodia has one of the world’s highest deforestation rates. But a group of Buddhist monks are stepping up efforts to save forests by publicly revealing wrongdoings and mobilizing local villagers. Ate Hoekstra reports. In Cambodia, where over 90 percent of the population is Buddhist, monks enjoy great respect. Their orange and red robes offer them a protection that other activists lack. The authorities are also unlikely to easily use force against them, and the monks use this freedom to collect images and videos of, for example, illegal logging and brutal police violence. These are then spread through social media.
