Enhancement works start at Bokor Park

Yeay Mao, on the hill of Bokor mountain

The protection and conservation strategies at Preah Monivong Bokor National Park have been enhanced and strengthened in all protected areas in the province.

To ensure protected areas are well managed, Minister Say Samal and Kampot governor Cheav Tay, and relevant officials went on the ground yesterday to inspect the designated areas.

Ministry of Environment spokesman Neth Pheaktra said the working visit was aimed to strengthen further measures in preventing and conserving the national protected areas.

“There is a need for cooperation between the Ministry and local authorities to strengthen the works and patrolling to protect the natural resources, biodiversity and conservations in protected areas besides preventing crime, especially crimes related to forest and land encroachments,” he added.

Bokor National Park has a total of 150,000 hectares of the protected area.

Preah Monivong Bokor National Park is in southern Cambodia’s Kampot province that was established in 1993 and covers 1,423.17 square kilometres. The move to enhance the protected area came after the administration for the new city of Bokor was established.

In March, the government decided to establish a new city in Bokor National Park, Kampot province, to be completed in the next five to six months. The new Bokor City includes three communes – Boeng Touk, Koh Touch, and Prek Tnoat.

The government announced the plan to build a city in Bokor National Park in August 2019. The master plan – “Master Plan for Bokor City Development Project until 2035” – stated that the new city will occupy about five percent of land in Bokor National Park or about 9,000 hectares.

The park gained official protected status in 1993 and is designated as an Asean Heritage Park.

Related to the works on prevention and conservation of protected areas nationwide, Pheaktra said the Ministry has strengthened the law enforcement through partnerships with other groups such as local communities.

The ministry, he added, has been carrying out an action plan to protect and conserve natural forest resources.

With its 1,260 rangers, he said, the ministry has joined forces with the relevant authorities to patrol and prevent natural resources crimes in the 75 protected areas and biodiversity corridors covering a total area of 7.3 million hectares. Khmer Times