Cambodia's national tree to line border with Vietnam

PHNOM PENH, Jan. 6 Kyodo

Palm trees, a national symbol in Cambodia, will be planted by the tens of thousands along the country's border with Vietnam, a senior government official said Friday.

Agriculture Minister Chan Sarun told Kyodo News that as many as 50,000 palm trees will be seeded and planted in seven provinces bordering Vietnam.

The announcement of the plan comes after several government critics were jailed for criticizing Prime Minister Hun Sen over a border treaty he concluded recently with Vietnam. Many Cambodians accuse Vietnam of encroaching on Cambodian territory.

Last year, the palm tree was designated by the government as Cambodia's national and symbolic tree.

''Where the palm tree is, that's where Cambodia is,'' Chan Sarun said, noting that it more or less dot the landscape in all the country's provinces and cities, some of them reaching 30 meters in height and aged not less than 100 years.

Still, palm trees are rarely seen along the country's borders with Vietnam and Thailand, both of which it has had historical conflicts that have resulted in the loss of large swathes of land.

Pok Leak Reasey, director of Association of Palm Tree Conservation for Cambodian Development, a local nonprofit organization welcomed the government move, but said it must take serious action to preserve the existing ones, otherwise illegal cutting for local and commercial use will continue.

He estimated that about 1 million palm trees have been felled in Cambodia over the past 10 years for local consumption and for export to neighboring countries like Thailand and Vietnam. leaving only about 2 million today.

But Chan Sarun refuted those figures, saying his ministry records show more than 3 million palm trees still in the country.

Chan Sarun said his ministry is seeking to require people to apply for a permit before cutting down any palm trees.

The tree is used for construction of houses, boats, bridges and other things, and also for palm wine, sugar, juice, syrup, vinegar and jam. Its leaves are used for baskets or other handicrafts.

Because of its multiple benefits and its high regard among all Cambodians, especially farmers, the palm tree has even been used as a logo for political parties in a country where 80 percent of the population of 13 million people are farmers.

According to legend, the exceptional spread of palm trees in Cambodia is due to a past royal order for all subjects of the Khmer kingdom to plant a palm tree to signify their allegiance.

In the country's rural areas, palm trees are handed down by parents to their children as wedding gifts when they are not rich enough to offer cows, pigs or money.