Kampot mangroves ‘cleared in land grab’
The Changhaon village community claims that many hectares of mangrove forest in the coastal area in a village in Teuk Chhou district’s Prek Tnort commune, in Kampot province, were being cut down to grab land for private ownership.
However, they claim that the authorities have not taken any measures to stop such activity.
A local who preferred to remain anonymous said five to 10 unidentified offenders had always cut down many hectares of natural mangrove forests at night along the beach. They had even secretly marked the boundary of the land recently without any officials’ knowledge.
Yun Phally, the provincial coordinator for rights group Adhoc, said: “Cutting down mangrove forests to grab coastal land in the Changhaon coastal area is illegal. The provincial authorities must immediately investigate the case to identify offenders and bring them to justice.”
However, Provincial environment department director Suy Thea told The Post on Monday that he had not yet received information about the case.
Voun Dara
