Officials plant trees at the cleared areas at Phnom Tamao forest area in Kraing Thnong commune of Takeo’s Bati district on August 10. SUPPLIED
A senior Forestry Administration (FA) official said the replanting of trees on 500ha of cleared land in Phnom Tamao forest area will be completed within a month. As of August 13, the FA had prepared 265ha for replanting and had planted 111ha.
FA deputy director Suon Sovann told The Post that the replanting also involved citizens, students and monks. In order to protect the site and let the trees grow well, the FA will fence off the area. In the future, it would be open to visitors, who might like to combine a visit to Phnom Tamao animal reserve with a stroll in the forest.
“Other participants included Prime Minister Hun Sen’s Bodyguard Unit, the Mong Reththy Group and the University of Indrawichea. The 500ha will be planted within a month,” he said.
The university had earlier announced that it would provide 4,500 seedlings for the project. Calls for support by Duong Dara, vice-chairman of the school, led to an additional 8,500 seedlings being donated.
Mong Reththy, chairman of the Mong Reththy Group, participated in the planting and donated 3,220 trees. According to the tycoon, the trees were planted on August 8. He also confirmed that more trees will be sent until the cleared land is fully replanted.
Yang Saing Koma, a prominent agriculture expert and head of the Grassroots Democratic Party’s board of director, hailed the efforts to reforest the area, saying that Phnom Tamao is the last surving forest near to Phnom Penh.
“The expansion of Phnom Penh in connection with the conservation and development of forests in the Phnom Tamao area is the best strategy for the wellbeing of the people, for tourism and for the conservation of natural resources. We support the Phnom Tamao Natural and Cultural Park,” he said.
He said that in many countries, people prefer to keep forests or set up public parks near to their cities. For example, in the western part of Berlin, there is a park called Grunewald, which covers 3,000ha. London has Hyde Park and Hanoi has Lenin Park, he added.
He suggested that the cleared foothills of Phnom Tamao should be developed into a large botanical garden, saying this would best serve the public interest. It would be an excellent resource for the research of thousands of species of plants and animals, he said.
