Cambodia to Reach Goal of 60 Pct Forest Coverage: With Hun Sen in Power, Dream On!

Ty Sokhun was pointed out by Global Witness
for his involvement in deforestation in Cambodia

Cambodia to Reach Goal of 60 Pct Forest Coverage

2009-04-27
Xinhua

Cambodia is nearing its Millennium Development Goal of maintaining 60 percent forest coverage of its 180,000 square km of land by 2010, according to official figures received in Phnom Penh on Monday.

From 2004 to 2008, Cambodians planted more than six million trees, and the number will be much higher in the future, according to a report issued by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forests and Fisheries.
"We will grow and distribute 10 million trees to people throughout the country... and encourage tree planting on 10,000 hectares of land," said Ty Sokhun, director of the Forestry Department of the ministry.

Meanwhile, the government has also made efforts to curb illegal logging, closing 19 timber processing plants and making 225,477 hectares of forest land state property in 2008, according to the report.

The tropical rainforests of Cambodia are important centers of biodiversity that house at least 862 native tree species and 775 known species of amphibians, birds, mammals and reptiles, according to research from the World Conservation Monitoring Center.