Foreign logging company warehouses pose threat to ethnic minority, wildlife

Stung Treng, Cambodia – The Phnong ethnic minority in the Stung Treng province are living in fear and insecurity as they come together to protect the forest surrounding their Kbal Romeas village against an influential foreign logging company that devours the forest trees.

The afflicted community is trying to protect the forest amid a lack of action by the local authorities.

Srang Lanh, a village representative, said that village representatives had lodged a request with the authorities to turn the forest into a collective forest to protect it from deforestation and logging, yet he said, the request was ignored in favor of the logging company.

Srang Lanh, who also represents the afflicted community, said the Phnong indigenous community is adamant to protect the village, especially after witnessing the destruction wrought by a foreign company that built a hydroelectric dam that raised the water levels and saw houses submerged underwater.

Some villagers said that companies start cutting trees at night because indigenous people in the area are afraid to patrol their lands fearing that some workers are armed.

Demon Forest, Spiritual Forest, Buried Forest, and Wildlife Sanctuary are among the lands lost due to the China Hydroelectric Dam.

“For the Phnong minority, when we have the forest, we can live, if the forest is gone; we will also lose our life. There are forests and big lands because we can raise cattle as we had done for a long time. Our people can find something to support their families,” said one resident, Lim Phany, a young indigenous Por Nong expressed his determination to protect this community forest for future generations to preserve the heritage of Cambodia.