Environmental experts yesterday called for the government to find an alternative to the Srea Ampos-Kbal Damrei Road, which would link Mondulkiri with Vietnam but also bisect a protected forest and pose a “high risk” to threatened species.

In a declaration following a four-day conference in Phnom Penh, the Asia-Pacific Chapter of the Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation said the road “would clearly imperil one of the biologically richest forests in Indochina, an area that provides critical habitat for rare wildlife such as elephants, leopards, and banteng, as well as over 230 bird species”.

Forestry Administration director Chheng Kimsun said a letter has been sent to the Ministry of Interior asking for the road to be diverted through a low-impact zone.