Cambodian 'Avatars' call for forests to be saved

Samrang Pring / Reuters

People with painted faces attend a protest at the Freedom Park in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on May 25.

According to Reuters, about 100 Cambodian activists attended a demonstration in Phnom Penh today appealing to the government to save the Prey Lang forest. They demanded the government stop granting economic land concessions and suspend all those already granted. The protesters, who call themselves Cambodia's "Avatars", had their bodies painted in green and blue and wore traditional ethnic Kuy clothes, including hats made from tree materials.

Watch a short film about the Prey Lang forest below. According to the filmmakers, up to 700,000 people rely on the forest for survival, as well as a number of endangered animals.