Five Phnom Srok district officials were called before the Banteay Meanchey Provincial Administration to explain accusations that they were attempting to sell state land in the protected Ang Trapaing Thmar area that included land belonging to security offices and three armed forces units, a court spokesman said.

Deputy provincial governor Ly Sary identified the officials as Phnom Srok district deputy governor Sao Len, chief of land management office Phnom Srok district Tang Phan, and Poy Char commune chief Khouth Khoun. The other two officials are Sok Rithy and Thoun Lamhinh.

Fourteen people have been identified for inciting more than 70 villagers to burn down two ranger stations in Taveng commune, Taveng district, Ratanakkiri province. District officials will bring the case to court, said Ministry of Environment secretary of state and spokesman Neth Pheaktra.

Speaking to The Post on Monday, Pheaktra said some villagers grabbed land at a protected area and after the rangers intervened they set the stations on fire. “This is unacceptable, and the ringleaders must be held responsible for their action according to the law for destroying state property.

The Ministry of Environment on December 28 issued a report detailing crackdowns on illegal activities in protected natural areas and biodiversity conservation corridors.

According to the report, forest rangers responded to 8,917 cases of natural resource crimes over the past 12 months, an increase of 3,442 cases, or 63 per cent, over last year’s 5,475 reported incidents.

Rangers had logged 27,588 patrols for the year, up from 24,048 the previous year, but the number of cases sent to courts for prosecution had declined from 631 to 605.

Civil society organisations (CSOs) working on the environment and human rights have expressed concern about filling parts of Boeung Tamok Lake to create new parcels of land on the outskirts of Phnom Penh.

Located in Prek Pnov district’s Kouk Roka commune, Boeung Tamok, also known as Kob Srov Lake, is the largest lake remaining within the municipal borders with an area of more than 3,000ha.

Five civil society organisations urged the government to take action against Hoang Anh Gia Lai (HAGL), a Vietnamese agribusiness firm, for alleged land clearing activities on areas allocated to indigenous communities in Ratanakkiri province’s Andong Meas district.

However, provincial authorities denied the accusation, saying the local community welcomed the money that had poured into the area due to the presence of HAGL.

The Council of Ministers has decided to annul the prakas which were previously issued to carve out roughly 30ha in total size from an area currently encompassed by Boeung Tamok Lake on the outskirts of Phnom Penh.

The reversal came following a direct order from Prime Minister Hun Sen.

The Preah Sihanouk Provincial Administration and the O’Oknha Heng commune authority are investigating a land dispute involving 500 families living in O’Oknha Heng and O’Ta Sek villages that recently erupted into violence. In their initial conclusion, the authorities said the villagers are not squatters as alleged.

Authorities in Koh Kong province are searching for the individuals who set up border posts on nearly 200ha of protected forest, with officials and activists claiming that powerful tycoons had hired local people to encroach on the land.

On Sothearith, governor of Koh Kong’s Thma Bang district, told The Post on November 22 that after protected forest land was allocated to people who had lived in the district’s Russey Chrum commune for many years, some people came in to claim the conservation areas with the intent to sell the land to businessmen.

The bulk of Cambodia’s economic land concessions (ELCs) – at the centre of numerous land disputes and human rights concerns over the past two decades – generated just $5 million for state coffers last year, with critics attributing the meagre returns to a lack of collection capacity as well as simple corruption.

The entirety of three protected forests are now classified as private land, an investigation from rights group Adhoc has found, along with tens of thousands of additional hectares of what has once been state public land.

In total, an area slightly smaller than the size of Jakarta has been reclassified since the beginning of this year.

In three cases, Adhoc’s findings show that entire protected forests – Snoul Wildlife Santuary, Preah Vihear Protected Area and Peam Krasob Wildlife Sanctuary – have now been reclassified.