On February 17, the prime minister of Cambodia signed a sub-decree that protects 480,000 hectares of the Prey Lang forest as a conservation area. Local activists from the Prey Lang Network are celebrating the decision, but remain skeptical of the plans. The government has yet to release a map delineating the exact location of the conservation area. In previous versions of the map, “critical areas of the forest were not included, [and] concessions would form most if not all of the forest boundary, leaving the Prey Lang communities largely left out,” according to a Prey Lang Network advisor.
Over the last two weeks, patrols of local Prey Lang activists from four provinces have been trying to establish the exact boundaries of the conservation area on the ground level, using the coordinates described in the document. During patrols, the group confiscated two chainsaws and burned blocks of wood that had been illegally cut by loggers. The chainsaws will be used as evidence in a formal complaint filed in court by the Prey Lang activists.
