Cambodia Cracks Down on Illegal Loggers

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WORLDWIDE FOREST/BIODIVERSITY CAMPAIGN NEWS

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Forest Networking a Project of forests.org

http://forests.org/ -- Forest Conservation Archives

http://forests.org/web/ -- Discuss Forest Conservation

10/30/99

OVERVIEW & COMMENTARY

Cambodia's campaign to reign in illegal logging appears to have

largely worked, at least initially. Global Witness says this "is the

first time in the past four years that any of the government's

forestry commitments have been translated into concrete action."

This may partly be a result of that fact that in Cambodia, forest

conservation has been a factor in negotiations with international

financial donors and lenders, in what has come to be called

"environmental adjustment." Only a handful of countries, including

parts of Africa and Papua New Guinea, are routinely having forest

conservation concerns raised in macro-economic finance discussions

with bi-lateral and multi-lateral lenders and donors to any

meaningful extent. This is a new phenomenon whose overall impact on

actual forest ecosystems is still unknown. But clearly here it has

been a factor in raising the awareness of the importance of forest

sustainability.

g.b.

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Title: CAMBODIA Cracks Down on Illegal Loggers

Source: Environment News Service http://www.ens.lycos.com/

Date: October 29, 1999

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia, October 29, 1999 (ENS) - Cambodia has achieved

initial success in its drive against illegal forest activities, but

admitted more has to be done to sustain the campaign for forest

conservation, a senior official said Wednesday.

"We have successfully cracked down on illegal forestry activities and

established basic conditions for initiating the process of

sustainable forest management in Cambodia, but we still have a long

way to go to achieve our goal," said Chhea Song, minister of

agriculture, forestry, and fisheries, while addressing 100 delegates

from donor countries and international aid agencies offering

assistance to Cambodia.

The representatives began a quarterly meeting in Phnom Penh on

Wednesday to review Cambodia's fitness to receive aid. In February,

16 donor countries and seven international aid agencies pledged to

provide Cambodia with up to $470 million within a year. Donor

countries have set conditions on giving assistance to Cambodia,

notably forest conservation.

About half of Cambodia's $400 million national budget currently comes

from foreign donors.

Cambodia's illegal logging and mismanagement of forest policies have

been severely criticized by the international community and donors

agencies such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The IMF

suspended a $120 million loan to Cambodia in 1996 on the basis of its

poor forestry policies.

Last Friday, the IMF decided to give a loan of $81.6 million for a 3-

year period, to be disbursed in seven installments of about $11.7

million each, indicating the government is making progress in its

forest conservation drive.

According to the forestry report to the donors' meeting, from January

to September, 822 sawmills were destroyed, 13,988 cubic meters of

logs and 2,059 cubic meters of timber were confiscated, and 48 trucks

and tractors were destroyed.

"The positive impetus begun by the crackdown needs to be maintained.

It is thus incumbent on the international community to encourage and

maintain this impetus by tying the awarding of non-humanitarian aid

to performance- related achievement in the forestry sector," reports

Global Witness, an investigative, non-governmental organization

monitoring illegal logging in Cambodia.

"The real significance of this crackdown is that, as far as timber

exports are concerned, it has largely worked; in addition, it is the

first time in the past four years that any of the government's

forestry commitments have been translated into concrete action,"

Global Witness stated.

Cambodia still possesses large tracts of commercially-valuable forest

and areas of rich biodiversity which, at the current rate of

exploitation, will be exhausted by 2003. Yet these resources can be

preserved for the future benefit of Cambodia and its people if strong

action is taken immediately, advises Global Witness.

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