FIFTEEN ethnic Kreung families from Ratanakkiri province will file a complaint to provincial authorities today, alleging that the Kiri Akphiwat Company, a local rubber company, has illegally cleared trees that are vital to their livelihoods.

Pen Bonnar, provincial coordinator for rights group Adhoc, said the complaint came after the villagers, from Veun Sai district, told Adhoc the company was reneging on a promise, made when its land concession was granted in 2008, to preserve the trees. The villagers, he said, make a living from the trees’ watery resin.

Chheng Lok, president of Kiri Akphiwat, said the trees were cut with the villagers’ consent.