Cambodia’s lush Prey Lang rainforest is abundant with animals, insects and birds, including endangered species, and diverse types of forests. It also provides resin tapping and other sources of livelihood for some 250,000 people, many of whom are Indigenous Kuy, living within or adjacent to the forest.

In 2016, the Cambodian government designated much of the forest—the largest lowland rainforest in mainland Southeast Asia at approximately 430,000 hectares—as a protected Wildlife Sanctuary.

The United States has also long appreciated the significance of Prey Lang, and in 2019, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) undertook an ambitious $21 million partnership with Cambodia’s Ministry of Environment aimed at protecting the forest.

The project was met with skepticism by local activists, however, who viewed the Ministry of Environment as an enabler—even a profiteer—of illegal logging in the forest.

Today, deforestation in the area is out of control and the pressures on Prey Lang are immense.

Recent data published by the University of Maryland in partnership with Global Forest Watch show that over 9,000 hectares of forest was lost during 2020. A shocking 20 percent more trees were lost in 2020 than 2019. According to the latest data available from the same institutions, deforestation alerts in Prey Lang have increased by 23 percent in the first six months of 2021, compared with the same period in 2020.

The government has also banned PLCN, a community group made up largely of Indigenous Kuy people that played a crucial role in patrolling the protected area and reporting instances of illegal logging.

The Cambodian government’s repeated failures to take serious action against illegal logging, combined with its relentless repression of community-led forest patrols left USAID in an untenable position. Last month the agency announced it would be ending its assistance to Cambodian government entities through the USAID Greening Prey Lang project.

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris’ upcoming visit

As USAID withdraws its funding from the Ministry of Environment, a key question now is: what’s next for U.S. engagement on these issues?

The U.S. Embassy in Phnom Penh asserted at the time of the defunding decision that “effective environmental management requires transparent and accountable governance” and promised that “assistance will instead be redirected to support civil society.”

It has been long understood that much of the illegally-logged timber from Prey Lang and other protected areas in Cambodia leaves the country via Vietnam.

The U.S.-Vietnam relationship is under the spotlight at present, as Vice President Kamala Harris prepares for a high-profile trip to Hanoi.

Official Vietnamese records show that 310,232m³ of Cambodian logs and sawn timber—worth a combined US$181 million—were imported to Vietnam in 2016 alone.

According to the Environmental Investigation Agency, little, if any, of this timber was legally sourced.

Today, Vietnam is one of the biggest timber furniture exporters in the world. Vietnamese state media reported in May that Vietnam has overtaken China as the largest furniture exporter to the U.S., having exported $7.4 billion worth of furniture to the U.S. in 2020 alone.

The U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) is currently investigating Vietnam’s import and use of illegal timber. The investigation recognizes that a “significant amount of the timber exported from Cambodia to Vietnam was harvested on protected lands, such as wildlife sanctuaries… Cambodia nevertheless remains a significant source of Vietnam’s timber imports.”

The USTR has the authority to make policy recommendations aimed at addressing these issues—for example, regarding the continued import of illegally-sourced Cambodian timber.

Negotiations are understood to be at a critical point, and it is imperative that this important opportunity is not wasted. The latest IPCC report is the latest signal of the dangers of forest degradation contributing to a ‘code red’ climate emergency.

The USTR investigation represents a vital chance to combat illegal logging, minimize violations of Indigenous peoples’ rights, and protect climate-critical forests. Drastically improved oversight and due diligence by Vietnam’s authorities on the import of Cambodian timber could play an important role in tackling a key source of illegality in the Vietnamese timber market, driving down illegal logging in Prey Lang and other protected areas in Cambodia, and consequently protecting Indigenous peoples’ rights in Cambodia.

Vietnam’s largest timber producers’ association has even called for a moratorium on the import of Cambodian timber until its legality can be assured, given the severe reputational risks it represents.

The USTR must listen to the voices of impacted communities, forest defenders, and experts on illegal logging in Cambodia. In its recommendations to the Vietnamese authorities, the USTR has an opportunity to specifically and meaningfully address the flagrant continued import and sale of illegal Cambodian timber.

Given the scale of the current trade—and the embedded corruption on both sides of the border which enables it to flourish—significant reforms are immediately required.

The time to make those reforms are now, before any more of Prey Lang is lost forever.