Jungle of Cambodia - logging and jungle destruction in post war years resulted in a near total destruction of the magnificent jungle of Cambodia

Logging to make fast easy money was specially abundant in the post war years. For long years logging was nearly the only source of money and thus practiced in abundance. There is a joke circulating in Cambodia: "If you look for the Cambodian Navy, listen to the chain saws in the jungle of Cambodia". Much of the logging has been done by Khmer military in post war years ...

Photos jungle of Cambodia - north of Siem Reap, near National Park

Photo shows valley area being rampaged by loggers - the mountain behind still has some beautiful jungle left. Decades earlier ALL lower section was jungle as well!

Jungle in Cambodia - front section of photo shows left overs after logging - in background you see the beginning of lush green jungle.

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Bushes and small trees left by loggers is all across most of the country

With sincere efforts of King Norodom Sihanouk after his reelection under UN supervision, the logging ended step by step. During my previous visit to Kampuchea in 1995 the logging was still in (near) full activity. Thousands of square kilometers of jungle still existing in 1995 have totally disappeared by now! However during my current visit I heard no single chain saw and saw no single log transport across the entire Kingdom from north to south. However the Kings protection efforts may have come too late. Jungle trees huge and often many meters in diameter took 500 and more years to grow, minutes or hours to be cut and now the reforestation efforts may take many hundred years to bear fruit again. A total recovery of the destroyed and once so beautiful jungle of Cambodia may take a total of thousand and more years for full restoration of natural balance and natural God made beauty.

God gave us treasures beyond and above financial value. Mankind tries to monetize what money never can buy or reward. Treasures like the beautiful jungles of Cambodia, Thailand, Africa and South America never can be rebuild by any amount of dollars or gold. Mankind uses and abuses God given resources for short term profits without recognizing that such abuse at the same time is the death penalty to all planet life and mankind itself.

Care for nature as you would care for your own health and body. You have one body now - you have one nature now. Nature can survive without you, without your body, but neither you nor your body can survive a single day or week without nature. Jungle is a most essential part of natures healing power and power to sustain human life and climate on earth.

Love and Bliss

hans