A major event on July 9 commemorating Arbor Day, or Royal Tree Planting Day, will be held this year after being cancelled for two years due to Covid-19 at a venue southwest of Battambang town with King Norodom Sihamoni in attendance.
In preparation, Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Veng Sakhon and Minister of Royal Palace Kong Sam Ol on June 14 visited the 26ha site where the event is slated to take place, in Sambor Meas village, Snoeng commune, Banan district, according to a statement posted on Sakhon’s official Facebook page.
During the visit, Sam Ol met with relevant working groups in charge of the preparations, listened to reports on the event’s attendants, and took note of plans for decorations as well as the pertinent health- and security-related measures and concerns, the statement said.
Sam Ol also instructed Sakhon to follow up on the trees which had sprouted from the seeds that the King ceremoniously delivered to each provincial governor, and record how much they had grown.
The statement described the Royal Tree Planting Day as a movement aimed at inspiring Cambodians to plant trees, and a “glorious tradition” initiated by the late King Father Norodom Sihanouk in the Sangkum Reastr Niyum era, as defined in the August 8, 1952 edition of the Royal Gazette.
Arbor Day is also recognised in the Law on Forestry 2002, Article 60 of which states that it is to be celebrated annually on July 9, in the presence of the King or a representative.
