Cleared Phnom Tamao Forest Sculpted Into Park

[geovalin]

Prime Minister Hun Sen’s bodyguard unit has left the cleared area of Phnom Tamao forest after occupying it for about a month starting in August, seeming to transform a piece of the protected forest into an apparent park after a land giveaway controversy embroiled the area just three months ago.

On a visit to the former forest on Wednesday, reporters found the cleared area fenced off but its entrance accessible, marked with a sign noting the “Phnom Tamao Arboretum” is open all day. A half-dozen visitors sat on motorbikes and a truck carried water throughout the clearance.

 

In what was previously a zone of short but dense deciduous forest, meter-high saplings were evenly planted in rows across the expanse of sand, with weeds and some sheets of grass in between. A new man-made lake and bridge sits in the middle of the park, with large but newly-planted tree trunks supported by scaffolding flanking a water feature.

 

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