Trophy photo from the NSOK Safaris websiteTue 11 Dec 2007
By Ek Madra
PHNOM PENH, Dec 11 (Reuters) - Cambodia is considering laying on hunting safaris for well-heeled foreign tourists in its remote jungle-clad northeast, to the consternation of green groups who say it could be a recipe for disaster.
Officials said on Tuesday a Spanish firm called Nsok Safaris had already drawn up plans for a five-star jungle camp to house hunters after trophies on a list of 30 mammals, birds and reptiles in a 100,000-hectare (250,000-acre) forest reserve.
The area, in Mondulkiri and Rattanakiri provinces, is home to several indigenous hill-tribes whose first main contact with the outside world was during the Vietnam War when their territory was crossed by the myriad paths of the Ho Chi Minh trail.
Dany Chheang, deputy director of the Agriculture Ministry's Wildlife Protection Office, said allowing foreigners to pay to shoot game was far better for conservation than having poachers take it illegally.
"Illegal hunters are burning dollars every day," he told Reuters. "We have not explored all the potential of our natural resources. Now is the time to do so."
"The money we net will be invested in preserving the animals and forest. It is better for sustainable development than letting local hunters deal with cheap black markets."
He did not say what the 30 approved species were. The forest area is thought to be one of southeast Asia's last wildernesses and is home to wild elephants and tigers.
Environvmental group WWF, which has been promoting wildlife conservation in war-scarred Cambodia since 1998, said it was concerned about the plan, which has been in the pipeline for two years but which has remained shrouded in secrecy.
WWF's Cambodia programme manager, Bas van Helvoort, said little was known about animal population numbers in the two provinces, and so allowing them to be hunted could be disastrous.
"Putting species up to be hunted is not going to contribute to making them safe," van Helvoort said. "This has been done in Africa but it is very carefully selected and very controlled."
So far, Phnom Penh -- which is routinely accused of allowing rampant illegal logging -- appears oblivious to the concerns.
"These are our natural resources. We do not need permission from wildlife conservation experts to run our business," Dany Chheang said.
The Finance Ministry was still working with agriculture officials on the finer points of the plan, such as trophies and fees, he added.
Madrid-based Nsok Safari's Web site advertises hunting expeditions in Cameroon and Tanzania.
(Editing by Ed Cropley and Roger Crabb)
Officials said on Tuesday a Spanish firm called Nsok Safaris had already drawn up plans for a five-star jungle camp to house hunters after trophies on a list of 30 mammals, birds and reptiles in a 100,000-hectare (250,000-acre) forest reserve.
The area, in Mondulkiri and Rattanakiri provinces, is home to several indigenous hill-tribes whose first main contact with the outside world was during the Vietnam War when their territory was crossed by the myriad paths of the Ho Chi Minh trail.
Dany Chheang, deputy director of the Agriculture Ministry's Wildlife Protection Office, said allowing foreigners to pay to shoot game was far better for conservation than having poachers take it illegally.
"Illegal hunters are burning dollars every day," he told Reuters. "We have not explored all the potential of our natural resources. Now is the time to do so."
"The money we net will be invested in preserving the animals and forest. It is better for sustainable development than letting local hunters deal with cheap black markets."
He did not say what the 30 approved species were. The forest area is thought to be one of southeast Asia's last wildernesses and is home to wild elephants and tigers.
Environvmental group WWF, which has been promoting wildlife conservation in war-scarred Cambodia since 1998, said it was concerned about the plan, which has been in the pipeline for two years but which has remained shrouded in secrecy.
WWF's Cambodia programme manager, Bas van Helvoort, said little was known about animal population numbers in the two provinces, and so allowing them to be hunted could be disastrous.
"Putting species up to be hunted is not going to contribute to making them safe," van Helvoort said. "This has been done in Africa but it is very carefully selected and very controlled."
So far, Phnom Penh -- which is routinely accused of allowing rampant illegal logging -- appears oblivious to the concerns.
"These are our natural resources. We do not need permission from wildlife conservation experts to run our business," Dany Chheang said.
The Finance Ministry was still working with agriculture officials on the finer points of the plan, such as trophies and fees, he added.
Madrid-based Nsok Safari's Web site advertises hunting expeditions in Cameroon and Tanzania.
(Editing by Ed Cropley and Roger Crabb)
15 comments:
This sounds dangerous, but nonetheless, job is job. Just have to be cautious about it. It's not as dangerous as land mines.
Yes, my friend, it's dangerous, but in ways that cause our living natural resources of this type to shrink. We do not have precise statistics of the variety of animal species we have in the country. I doubt how we can do business without knowing exact number of species, etc-- which and how many to preseve or to game. We even cannot manage to control illigal hunting by local poachers. Iw wonder how we can benefit from this business in a sustainable way.
Wrong, you can't shrink anything in just a small area of the country.
To Cambodian leaders or I would call them uneducated leaders: Until today they still want to wipe out all the natural resources in Cambodia? What else do they want to destroy? Or maybe dig Cambodia out of this globe to satisfy their greedy?
When the current government's gone, Cambodia left with nothing, Bravo.
It's ashame to be Cambodian in the international community.
This Dany Chheang guy is the total asshole. No it is not your natural resources; it's the Cambodian people's and I do not support your stupid move to kill wild animals.
3:20AM I'm NOT ashame to be Cambodian in the international community!!!
It's ashame to be INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY!!!
We cambodian are victimized fore decade by war of supper ideology
since what? Napoleon's war?
Than the whold so called INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY knew about our survival in the killing field.
And What the INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY did for us?
Brage about saveving Cambodian gave Cambodian democracy and justice! INSTEAD they the COMMUNITY help legalized our slavery to the exKhmer-Rouge!
And what CAMBODIAN can do now we just talk we may have accident to death, imprison, take away our home and land!
THE SODIAR, POLICE, JUSTICE ARE THE SAME FROM THE KILLING FIELD!
I Ashame to no one I survive here I have no will for mysrlf now THEY the COMMUNITY SHOULD BE ASHAME OF CHEATING AND HELP PUTTING ME IN IVISIBLE CHAIN!
GO TO HELL INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY A LIER!!!
Hey 4:18
Blame someone but do nothing to protect your country is nonsense. I am one of the KR survivor too. It's like the folks in US, regarding slavery. Looks around and how the S. Korean, Japanese and German did after the WAR.
Dude (5:54), you got to be blind. Korea, Japan, and Germany can built fighter planes, tanks, and ships before the war, so it is easier for them to recover from the war than us with all those experiences. The only thing we can do before the war is repairing radio, tractor, car, motorcycle and a few other things. How can you try to make such stupid comparisons.
how about opening up the Cambodian corrupt officials to a game for criminals of Prey Sar?
We let them loose in the jungle and let the Prey Sar inmates hunt them for games. That seems the only way to rid violent corruption in Cambodia, you hunt them down one by one.
Are you sure that those inmates will be the hunters and not the hunted?
did you forget to implied the letting the prisoner loose and and letting the corruption be hunted as favorable turning table for these inmates?
huh, you must have one dull-wit head.
no shit ditwit, we know the obvious and the impossible.
DANY is very stupid and crazy. We need to increse wildlide, not to hunt it.Wildlife is not Cambodian concern, it is everyone concern coz they are travelling from one country to the others.
What a stupid idea?
You're right! That's a stupid idea coming out of a stupid person. The only persons who are trying to promote this crazy idea are the clans and cliques of that stupid person who want nothing but to just benefit personally from this shameful business. Shame on them!
Is Cambodia is a Buddhist country? Didn't Buddha say no to killing?
Where the hell is the concept of killing come from? Ahhahahhahh!
Buddha will curse them all!!!
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