The Fisheries Administration’s (FiA) Kampong Thom provincial cantonment and environment officials, in cooperation with Pov Veay Sen Chey Fisheries Community, have planted 5,400 saplings in Stoung district’s Peam Bang commune.

Chin Sitha, director of the FiA’s Kampong Thom cantonment, said on July 16 that a tree-planting ceremony was recently held in the flooded forest area.

The event was joined by local environment officials and community members, with support from Conservation International (CI) Cambodia.

These 5,400 saplings, suitable for the flooded area, were planted over 10ha in Khveang Toung area.

Sitha highlighted that this is part of an ongoing initiative in Kampong Thom province following the government’s orders.

“The purpose of the planting is to rejuvenate the fish habitat, providing a valuable environment for fish to spawn,” he explained.

Mam Sovann, the head of Pov Veay Sen Chey Community Fishery, mentioned his team nurtured saplings for four months before replanting them.

The costs were covered by CI, which also provided water spraying machines and wildfire extinguishing tools.

In conjunction with the provincial cantonment, his community has been revitalising the flooded forest since 2021. About 12,000 seedlings have been planted to date.

“We aim to preserve the forest for future generations. It serves as a windbreak and offers a habitat to a variety of fish species,” Sovann stated.

He noted that the deforestation of the flooded forest is primarily due to wildfires. His community is working to safeguard more than 4,000 hectares of land and continue the tree-planting efforts.