PM Tries Again on Deforestation

In recent months Prime Minister Hun Sen has made an effort to show that the government has a handle on the voracious deforestation that has ravaged the country’s forests over the years. Yet his speeches and decrees have done little to slow down, much less stop, illegal logging and timber smuggling across the country.
 

His past failures have not stopped him from using the same methods again though. On Tuesday, he ordered Tbong Khmum provincial governor Prach Chan to “totally eliminate” illegal timber smuggling and illegal logging in his province. He specifically told the governor to stop going after small-time dealers and aim for the true ringleaders within the logging industry, something many local environmentalists have criticized the government for in the past.
 

He made the declaration in a statement on his Facebook page after meeting with government officials and army generals in the province on Tuesday. “In the meeting today, Samdech Techo [Mr. Hun Sen] stressed about stopping deforestation and illegal logging in Tbong Khmum province,” the statement read.

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