PHNOM PENH, July 3 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia prevented 967 natural resource crimes in the first half of 2026, a 2-percent drop from the 986 cases during the same period last year, a Ministry of Environment spokesperson said Friday.
Khvay Atitya, who is also an undersecretary of state for the ministry, said park rangers conducted 5,953 patrols across protected areas from January to June this year.
"As a result, they cracked down on 967 natural resource crimes including illegal forestry, wildlife poaching and snaring, land encroachment, fishing, and mining," he said in a news release.
Atitya said a total of 74 case files and 44 suspects had been sent to courts for prosecution.
The spokesperson attributed the drop in environmental crimes to strong cooperation between the ministry, local authorities, armed forces, residents, NGOs, and the Anti-Corruption Unit.
According to the ministry, the Southeast Asian country has 73 protected areas covering more than 41 percent of the Southeast Asian country's land area. ■
