Posted on 4-8-2002

Cambodia Protects Forest And Rare Animals
from ens-news.com

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia, July 31, 2002 (ESN) - One million acres of pristine
wilderness, inhabited by tigers, elephants and bears, has been officially
protected by the Cambodian government, with financial and conservation
support from six U.S. and international organizations. The declaration
creating the Central Cardamoms Protected Forest in southwestern Cambodia's
Central Cardamom Mountains was signed into law Tuesday by Prime Minister
Hun Sen.

Two wildlife sanctuaries border the newly designated area, bringing the
total land area under protection to 2.44 million acres (990,000 hectares),
the largest, most pristine wilderness in mainland Southeast Asia. "This is
a huge step forward for the protection of our country's amazing array of
life," said Ty Sokhun, director general of Cambodia's Department of
Forestry and Wildlife. "Animals found virtually nowhere else in the world
can thrive freely in our forests." Rare species such as the Indochinese
tiger, the Asian elephant and the Malaysian sun bear survive there, as do
globally threatened species such as the pileated gibbon and the critically
endangered Siamese crocodile, which has its only known wild breeding
population in the Cardamoms.

But trade in endangered wildlife takes place on the streets of Phnom Penh,
where the skins and body parts of bears, tigers, elephants, crocodiles and
other animals are for sale. These items are smuggled to neighboring
countries, for use in traditional medicine. To control illegal trade,
Cambodian government rangers, military police and community monitors are
patrolling and enforcing forest and wildlife laws in the protected area.

The Cardamoms were a last stronghold of the Khmer Rouge until its collapse
in 1998. Isolated and inhabited by few people, the rare and endangered
animals have survived while most of mainland Southeast Asia has been
stripped of its forests and wildlife by loggers and hunters. Until last
year, the Cardamoms were slated for logging. In January 2001, the
Washington, DC based environmental organization Conservation International
secured a deal with the Cambodian government to ban commercial logging in
the Cardamoms while the conservationists worked with the Cambodian
Department of Forestry and Wildlife to justify the area's permanent
protection. "This is an excellent example of how the conservation movement
is supposed to work," said Peter Seligmann, chairman and CEO of
Conservation International (CI). "CI has been on the ground in Cambodia
working in alliances with other environmental groups, government agencies
and local people. It adds up to be great news for Cambodia's biodiversity
and the Cambodian people." Conservation International's Global Conservation
Fund, which has been financing work in the Cardamoms for more than a year,
is providing the financial support for the protection and management of the
Cardamoms. Further support is being provided by the United Nations
Development Programme (UNDP) and the Global Environment Facility. Major
funding is also being provided by the U.S. Agency for International
Development and the United Nations Foundation.

Timothy Wirth, president of the United Nations Foundation, said, "The
Cardamom Mountains are a treasure trove of wildlife and an important
watershed for Cambodia. We are proud that UN Foundation's partnership with
UNDP, Conservation International and Flora and Fauna International has
helped make it possible for the Cambodian government to protect this area
of immense biodiversity."

Fauna and Flora International is assisting the Cambodian government with
the management and protection of the two wildlife sanctuaries bordering the
Central Cardamoms. The 825,000 acre (334,000 hectare) Mt. Samkos Wildlife
Sanctuary is west of the Central Cardamom Mountains; the 627,000 acre
(254,000 hectare) Mt. Aural Wildlife Sanctuary lies to the east.
Conservation International's Cambodia country program is advising the
government on protected area management, as well as training, patrolling
and intelligence gathering. "The government's decision to declare the
Cardamoms a protected area demonstrates a clear, long term vision for
Cambodia's future," said David Mead, CI-Cambodia's country representative.
"The government has shown strong environmental leadership, opened the door
to long term international support for wildlife protection and ecotourism
and has honored a promise made two years ago to conserve the Cardamoms."

Even greater protection for this unique wild area would be available if it
were to be placed on UNESCO's List of World Heritage, a goal for all the
groups involved. Wirth said, "This is a vital first step towards declaring
the Cardamom Mountains area a World Heritage site which will result in
greater international recognition and increased resources for this park."
Cambodia's largest rivers flow from the Cardamoms, and Conservation
International says protection of the watershed is expected to reduce
flooding downstream. Floods caused damage estimated at $156 million in
2000, when the country experienced the worst flooding in 70 years.

The Cardamoms are part of the Indo-Burma biodiversity hotspot, one of 25
global hotspots that represent only 1.4 percent of the Earth's landmass but
are home to more than 60 percent of all terrestrial species.