Cambodia to suspend operations of 17 forest concessionaires
Copyright 2001 Kyodo News Service
December 14, 2001
PHNOM PENH, Dec. 14 - Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen announced a plan Friday to suspend the operations of 17 forest concessionaires throughout the country in January next year, fearing his country could face deforestation.
The planned suspension comes as the international community and foreign donors express continued concern about the denuding of the country if stiffer measures or actions are not taken. Hun Sen vowed earlier he would step down from power if he failed to successfully combat illegal logging.
The current 17 forest concessionaires failed to comply with rules and regulations set out by the government, according to an announcement by the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries.
However, concessions could be resumed if the government is confident the companies would comply with the rules, it said.
Forest concessions began in Cambodia in 1993.
Sixteen donor countries and seven international aid agencies, including the International Monetary Fund (IMF), have pledged about $500 million to Cambodia every year since 1994, but they set conditions for disbursement on reform process in various sectors, including forestry.
The IMF even suspended loans to Cambodia in 1996 because forest sector reform was lagging far behind schedule.
With the implementation of forest reform by the current government, formed in late 1998, the IMF resumed a loan of $81.6 million for a three-year period from 1999 to 2001.
Forest experts estimate that in the early 1970s, Cambodia's forest cover was about 70%, but illegal logging during the last decades has reduced it to 30-35%.