All of this raises a lot of questions about the tens of millions of dollars that have been poured into counter-wildlife trafficking in Laos by donors over the years - anyone open to talking to me about that, DMs are open! Read the full story here: news.mongabay.com/2026/07/laos...

Whether awareness translates into action is down to the Laos govt, which still denies any involvement in the illegal wildlife trade, despite evidence that men in military uniforms with AKM rifles (standard-issue in the Laos army) are guarding these shops. These were also seen by Mongabay last year.

That awareness is reaching a Chinese audience too thanks to the bold work of Chinese journalists and activists like those at Field Raw Investigations - you can find their work on IG and YT w. links below; www.youtube.com/@FIELDRAW www.instagram.com/fieldraw_inv...

But mostly, people are scared, confused and left worried for their future as the Funan Techo Canal is too politically charged to challenge, but also shrouded in secrecy. Some residents learned this year their land will be spared, but most still have no clue as to what the future holds.

One concern is how the canal will alter the hydrology of key floodplains, meaning less water for farmers south of the canal, while those north will likely face more intense flooding. The Boeung Prek L'pov wetlands, a key bird habitat and rice production area, may dry out as a result of the canal.

This one's also an important story for me personally - myself and @vantha.bsky.social didn't know it then, but it would be my final reporting trip in Cambodia before getting kicked out. Mad kudos to Vantha for sticking with the story, even after I couldn't get out on the ground.

The Kep Marine Fisheries Management Area has, since 2018, proved a successful marine habitat restoration project aimed at rejuvenating fisheries - the canal, when complete, will likely undermine much of these efforts. Although few experts would speak about it due to the political nature of the canal

Although, the rate of deforestation fell 2023-2024 across the board, the level of losses inside protected forests is alarming - especially in Cambodia and Laos, where these losses made up the majority overall. Proportionally, Cambodia's losses are significant due to the size of remaining forests.

The physical attacks from March 2025 and numerous legal threats from the government reflect a deepening crisis in #Cambodia's media landscape, according to @rsf.org CamboJA and @pressfreedom.bsky.social Despite the obvious deterioration, Cambodia's government claims press freedoms are "very good"

Illegal logging linked to Senator Ly Yong Phat continues unabated despite a government ban on logging and an NGO's planned REDD+ project. As @ghgpolicy.org explained to me, there's a gulf between what REDD+ projects promise and what they deliver, but buyers of carbon credits eat up the fiction.

Chorng communities have lost land and incomes, falling into poverty as a result, while the Southern Cardamom REDD+ project sells carbon credits from ancestral farmland, raking in millions. Wildlife Alliance denied any wrongdoing, claiming the Chorng never owned the land legally.

Chheng & his colleague Moeun Ny had been traveling back from the forest in Beng Per Wildlife Sanctuary in Siem Reap province when the suspected killer confronted them, drove off, then hid and shot Chheng as the pair passed his position on the border of the protected area. Suspect is in custody now.

Just throwing it out there, but maybe he should just answer reporters' questions then?

Environmental activists Men Mat, Prum Mao, Tat Oudom, Out Latin, Heng Sros and Ouch Leng (L-R) walk free! A rare win in Cambodia to see activists arrested and then released without charge. Full story coming on Mongabay soon 👀

Inevitable given the paper-thin-skinned nature of the Cambodian elite, but the Ministry of Public Works and Transport has claimed Reuters' reporting is untrue - true to form, the MPWT don't say which facts they disagree with or offer any actual counterpoints. www.facebook.com/share/p/61A3...

You can get a whole rainforest on a Honda Dream

#JournoRequest I'm looking to speak with a marine biodiversity specialist about bleak developments in the Gulf of Thailand that could threaten dolphin and dugong habitats/ fishing communities' livelihoods off the coast of Cambodia. This is for a story for @mongabay.bsky.social - DMs open!

The government aims to increase forest cover to 60% of Cambodia's land mass by 2050, but activists say this target is unachievable as unsustainable rates of deforestation continue. 2023 saw near record losses in protected areas - overall the trend of staggering losses continued.

This comes as Cambodia aims to be one of the world's top cashew producers, with Santana Agro Products owning one of the largest processing factories in the country. But this hasn't stopped the company from gutting an Indigenous community's forest and allegedly clearing a protected wildlife sanctuary

A few shots from Cambodia's Water Festival which has been cancelled or disrupted every year I've been here (since 2019) so it was great to see Phnom Penh come to life for something beyond a crisis, although there was still an insane police presence - apparently posing with the BHQ is in vogue now 👀

Me fleeing the gasoline-soaked dumpster fire that Musk has turned Twitter into. Starting from scratch on BlueSky - where all the Southeast Asian/Mekong journos, researchers, conservationists at? Also keen on forests You can find the work of me & my colleagues here: news.mongabay.com/list/cambodia/