Embattled international environmental group Global Witness will likely stay in Cambodia as the government’s official forestry monitor, government officials said Tuesday.
A meeting between Global Witness and the government seems to have resolved a month-long controversy, which started when Global Witness released a report that embarrassed the government ahead of an important international donors meeting. Prime Minister Hun Sen threatened to throw the group out of Cambodia.
“Global Witness has strayed away from its role,” said a Ministry of Environment inspection official on Tuesday. “But if Global Witness abides by its agreement, everything will be OK.”
British Ambassador Stephen Bridges said Global Witness staff and government officials agreed to reaffirm the 1999 agreement that made Global Witness the government’s watchdog for the forestry industry.
“We appear to be very close to success,” Bridges said. “[Last Friday’s] apology appears to have been accepted by the government.”
Some procedural issues still need to be finalized, according to the Ministry of Environment official.
That includes a proposed time frame to “check and verify” with the government information collected by Global Witness on forest crimes. Bridges said that issue was not discussed Tuesday but will be brought up at a future meeting.
Global Witness Director Patrick Alley apologized to Hun Sen in a letter sent last Friday for releasing its report to the media before presenting it to the government.
The report charged “systemic abuse” within the Ministry of Agriculture’s Department of Forestry and Wildlife and the nation’s judiciary, which it said threatens Cambodia’s forests and defrauds the government out of millions of dollars.
It commended Hun Sen and Department of Forestry and Wildlife director Ty Sokhun for their commitment to forestry reform, but said their work was being undermined by lower-level officials who were collaborating with illegal loggers.
The content of the report was not discussed at Tuesday’s meeting, according to UN Food and Agriculture Organization adviser Patrick Lyng, who attended the meeting as part of FAO’s role in the forest crime monitoring unit. The meeting focused on the process of reporting information on forest crimes, he said.
“We accept Global Witness in pushing for forestry reform,” the Ministry of Environment official said. “But it must disseminate its information in an appropriate way, and not in a way to kill the government.”
Earlier this month, IMF representative Mario de Zamaroczy said that in order for the IMF to continue to support the country, Global Witness must continue as the government’s forestry monitor.
Alley introduced new country coordinator Eva Galabru to government officials Tuesday. She replaces the previous coordinator, whose contract ended last December. Galabru worked for five years at the human rights group Licadho.
“She has extensive experience in NGO work and the system in Cambodia, which are the qualities we are looking for,” said Alley.
When asked what she hoped to learn from the recent controversy, Galabru said it was too early to say.
