Gerald Flynn

3 days ago | news.mongabay.com | Gerald Flynn

Cambodian environmental journalist Ouk Mao was attacked by a group of men, apparently including a former police officer, while documenting illegal logging in Prey Lang Wildlife Sanctuary, following a pattern of escalating harassment and threats. Mao has faced numerous legal challenges, including defamation and incitement charges, that he claims are retaliation for exposing environmental crimes, with local officials allegedly trying to silence his work.

1 week ago | news.mongabay.com | Gerald Flynn

Cambodia’s Supreme Court has denied bail to five environmental activists from the NGO Mother Nature Cambodia, all of whom are appealing their convictions after spending more than nine months behind bars. The activists had already served prison sentences but were released on bail in November 2021 on the condition that they stopped their environmental work; the charges against them were never dropped and the Cambodian government arrested them again in 2024.

2 weeks ago | eco-business.com | Gerald Flynn

The Cambodian government has signed off on the construction of a new cement factory deep inside Prey Lang Wildlife Sanctuary, with the factory expected to source limestone for cement production from a mining operation less than 1 kilometre, just over half a mile, from the newly approved site. This comes despite a November 2023 moratorium on the issuance of new mining licenses in Prey Lang and a halt to the expansion of existing mining businesses operating in the ostensibly protected forest.

2 weeks ago | news.mongabay.com | Gerald Flynn

Cambodian authorities have approved a new cement factory inside Prey Lang Wildlife Sanctuary, despite a 2023 moratorium on new mining licenses, raising concerns about enforcement and conservation integrity. Factory developer KP Cement, a politically connected firm previously linked to deforestation, was awarded a 50-year lease on 99 hectares (245 acres) within the ostensibly protected sanctuary and is already clearing forest near a planned limestone mine.

3 weeks ago | news.mongabay.com | Gerald Flynn

A new report highlights widespread monkey laundering in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam, where wild-caught long-tailed macaques are illegally funneled into breeding farms before being exported for biomedical research as captive-bred animals. Despite growing concerns over the ethics and effectiveness of animal testing, the biomedical industry continues to rely on macaques, fueling a multibillion-dollar trade, with some shipments worth millions of dollars.