Cambodian government awards sawmill license to ag firm operating in protected area

14.02.2017

Forest inside Phnom Prich Wildlife Sanctuary Photo: Phan Channa / WWF-Cambodia

The Cambodian Ministry of Agriculture has granted a sawmill license to a company previously implicated in illegal logging, which operates an agricultural concession issued inside a protected area.

The Phnom Penh Post reports that Lim Royal Joint Stock Co was granted the licence on Thursday, allowing them to operate a sawmill within company land in Kratie and Mondulkiri provinces.

Lim Royal was linked to forestry crimes as recently as last year, with a report by the Ministry of Economy and Finance noting at the time that 264 cubic metres of illegal timber were seized on its land and later sold at auction.

The company was granted a controversial Economic Land Concession (ELC) in the Phnom Prich Wildlife Sanctuary in 2012.

The issuance of ELCs, sometimes violently displacing communities, and the co-opting of the judiciary to cover up the practice, prompted the International Criminal Court to consider such crimes within its remit.

Visit the Phnom Penh Post to read the story in full.

More from Blog

The bulldozers were just about to switch off their engines. Now the European Commission wants to re-fuel them

Continue reading
Planned clearance for timber plantation underlines critical importance of EUDR

Continue reading
Under threat / The EU must stand firm to help protect the world’s forests

Continue reading
Sanctions / EU finally bans Belarusian furniture

Continue reading
Revealed / Former Better Cotton employee exposes scheme’s fundamental flaws

Continue reading
Sanctions breached / Evidence of laundering of finished Russian plywood found

Continue reading
Russian Sanctions / US sanctions should cover blood timber

Continue reading
Paraguayan leather / Are Italian tannery’s pledges on deforestation enough?

Continue reading
EU Deforestation Regulation / Success of landmark deforestation law far from assured 

Continue reading
EU Law / MEPs must strengthen planned corporate sustainability due diligence law

Continue reading

Stay up to date with all Earthsight news & updates

Receive email updates for the latest news and insights from Earthsight and be among the first to read our new investigations.

We keep your data secure and don’t share anything with third parties. Read full terms.