Samlot rife with land grabs
Authorities are facing mounting pressure to safeguard the Samlot Protected Area, where villagers and wealthy land-grabbers continue to trespass to start orchards and claim ownership of the plots. The area, which straddles Battambang and Pailin provinces, is jointly protected by the Ministry of Environment and the Maddox Jolie-Pitt Foundation (MJP), which was set up by Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie. She had established the foundation in 2003 to conserve the Kingdom’s endangered Cardamom Mountains’ northern territory.
