Plant Trees to Restore PreyLang Wildlife Sanctuary

Greetings friends and supporters,

This is an important update regarding the status of our tree planting event.

In June, the Prey Lang Community Network (PLCN) submitted the event proposal to the Ministry of Environment and Preah Vihear Provincial Department of Environment. Unexpectedly, the Ministry rejected this proposal, claiming that the PLCN is not a registered legal entity. Only three months ago, however, they approved a proposal for the Prey Lang Festival.

The PLCN is a network of people living in and around the Prey Lang forest in four provinces who protect it. There is no requirement by any law to register as an NGO or association. Rather than being registered as a non-governmental organization, the PLCN has chosen to remain as a community-based organization. 

Due to the untimely rejection of our tree planting proposal, a committee of planners has decided on several alternatives to the original plan.

First, members of the PLCN, community members, Peace Bridges staff, and other guests will go to the Kbal Khlaa community forest in Prey Lang to support the forest communities there and monitor the progress of trees planted two, three, and four years ago.

Second, we will move the site of our tree planting to Prey Veng province. There we will conduct a seminar on climate change and plant 2000 trees on the grounds of several churches.

We do not anticipate using all of the funds raised this year by our generous donors. Therefore, we will hold remaining funds and use them to plant trees in Prey Lang and other important sites.

We thank you for your support and understanding. There are things that happen here that are beyond our control. Please stay tuned to receive updates about the monitoring trip next week and the Prey Veng tree planting in September.

Warmly, 

The Peace Bridges Team