Cambodia’s environmental activists: Internationally awarded, but murdered at home
THE Cambodian public and netizens cheered last week, when activist and human rights lawyer Ouch Leng was awarded the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize for his undercover investigations into the illegal logging trade.
Leng has done some admirable advocacy work with local communities, who have been affected by deforestation and land grabbing linked to illegal logging. He tried to expose the corruption behind Economic Land Concessions (ELCs) and founded the Cambodia Human Rights Task Force, an organization which leads the civil society fight against the country’s illegal logging and timber trade.
“Ouch went undercover to gather evidence of illegal logging activities, posing as a laborer, timber dealer, driver, tourist and even as a cook. He documented the illegal operations of Cambodia’s biggest timber magnate (Try Pheap), revealing how ELCs were used as a cover for illegal logging and exposing criminal collusion between timber companies and government officials at all levels of power,” said the Goldman Environmental Prize committee.
Leng was one of six awardees who were chosen by the seven-member jury. The recipients were awarded a prize of US$175,000 each. Days after receiving the prestigious award, Leng announced that he would use the money to support environmental activists in his homeland and their fight to save Cambodia’s forests.
“I will use the cash prize for the protection of remaining forests, including the launching of mechanisms against the timber trade, such as gathering people for government advocacy with the aim to shut down all kinds of sawmill operations and timber-processing factories nationwide. This is what we need to do as a first step.”
The ‘war’ against illegal logging
To Cambodians and their thriving civil society, this was an award not only for Leng and the work of Cambodia Human Rights Task Force, but to the countless other environmental activists putting their lives on the frontline in the “war” against deforestation and illegal logging, as well as the corrupt practices surrounding ELCs.
Many others like Leng have not lived to be awarded or recognized for their work. As civil society battles against this multi-billion-dollar trade, many are putting their personal safety at risk, and in some cases, have lost their lives for the cause – environmental activist Chut Wutty is one of them.
