For several months the World Bank has been considering withholding the second payment of a structural adjustment credit to the Royal Cambodian Government in reaction to the failure of the government to comply with the terms of the credit and its threats to expel an independent monitor of the forestry sector (see Bretton Woods Project Update 32).

Encouragingly, charges against the Global Witness country representative in Cambodia have been dropped, and reports are that the UK-based NGO may be allowed to continue as a monitor past the original three-month deadline set by the government in January.

According to World Bank spokesperson Melissa Fossberg, "there is a specific set of actions the Government has agreed to take before we would consider releasing the money." These conditions include maintaining an independent forest crime monitor + continuing a donor-led review of forestry management plans and unsatisfactory impact assessments.

Find out more about Global Witness' Cambodia Forest Crime Monitoring Project here...