Cambodian wildlife endangered by land concessions

Land is being sold off for agricultural purposes

Environmental activist Chut Wutty was shot dead in April, 2012

22.08.2012
By Chheng Niem
Editor Sarah Berning
Deutsche Welle

In Cambodia, land concessions and poaching are threatening wildlife and biodiversity, according to experts. The biggest problem thereby is government policy.

Experts say wildlife and biodiversity throughout the world are rapidly decreasing. Many countries are experiencing problems caused by illegal hunting and also a loss of habitat.

However, Cambodia has a unique story. While the government is cracking down on wildlife crimes, it has also been selling off protected wildlife sanctuaries to private agro-industrial firms.

Land concessions

Cambodia has two main areas for the protection of tigers and biodiversity - the Cardamom Mountain range and the Eastern Plains. However, the tranquility of these areas is now threatened. Recently, the government opened 23 national parks and wildlife sanctuaries in 13 conservation areas to bidding by investment firms, according to a report by Licadho, a Cambodian human rights group.

Former Cambodian poacher turns gamekeeper

Cambodian former hunter Lean Kha (2nd R), seen here sitting in a boat with team members while on patrol along a river in Mondulkiri province, some 500 kilometers northeast of Phnom Penh. Lean Kha, repentant former poacher, is now putting his tracking skills to good use as a wildlife ranger in Mondulkiri Protected Forest, which Cambodia hopes will become an eco-tourism hotspot.

Silvered langurs monkeys, seen here on a tree along a river in Mondulkiri province, some 500 kilometers northeast of Phnom Penh. The Cambodian government hopes to attract more visitors to the forest, which covers some 300,000 hectares and is rich in natural beauty, to help provide a steady income for local communities.

Cambodian former hunter Lean Kha (L), seen here picking up a cobra's shed skin while on patrol with team members along a river in Mondulkiri province, some 500 kilometers northeast of Phnom Penh. With financial backing from WWF, they spend at least 16 days a month patrolling the vast area on elephant back, on foot or by boat, always in the company of armed policemen.

15 April 2011
AFP

As a hunter roaming the remote forests of eastern Cambodia, Lean Kha shot animals from dozens of endangered species, including tigers, bears and elephants.

But the repentant former poacher is now putting his tracking skills to good use as a wildlife ranger in Mondulkiri Protected Forest, which Cambodia hopes will become an eco-tourism hotspot.

Over nearly three decades, the 50-year-old shot hundreds of creatures as he tried to eke out a living in poverty-stricken Mondulkiri province, a sparsely populated and mountainous area nestled against the border with Vietnam.

“Say No to Wild Meat and Illegal Wood Products”

4kg of Muntjac were confiscated in February 2010. (Rihit Singh / WWF)

26 April 2010
Source: WWF

HELP STOP WILDLIFE CRIME !
I REPORT WILDLIFE CRIME, DO YOU?
HOTLINE NUMBER: 012 40 41 43

Sen Monorom – Mondulkiri province, 26 April: Today, H.E. Heng Samnang, Deputy Provincial Governor, announces an official order requiring all restaurants in Mondulkiri to stop serving wild meat and using illegal timber products. This announcement comes as part of the launch of the year-long campaign “Say No to Wild Meat and Illegal Wood Products” organized by the Forestry Administration, General Department of Administration for Nature Conservation and Protection and WWF. The aim is to educate and raise awareness of the residents of Sen Monorom, restaurant owners, who are also present at the event, and potential wild meat consumers about laws on forest crime (which include wildlife meat and timber trade).

Forest crime is often driven by consumers who want to eat wild meat and have luxury wood furniture. This demand leads to hunting and logging in protected areas and continues the trade in illegal goods.

“For a reduction in forest crime, not only the sellers but also the buyers need to say “No” to illegal wildlife and timber products. That is why this campaign is targeting the suppliers and reaching out to the demand side of wildlife market,” says Mr Seng Teak, WWF Country Director. “If someone buys wildlife and illegal timber products, they are supporting forest crime,” he adds.

Posters, t-shirts, stickers and signboard describing ‘say no to wild meat and illegal wood’, ‘we don’t serve wild meat’, and ‘help stop wildlife crime’ are used to get the message across to the audiences. Posters will be placed in high visibility public areas in Sen Monorom including restaurants, hotels, shops, market, schools, to draw attention from potential wild meat costumers, tourists and all other travellers.

In order to discourage restaurants in Sen Monorom from serving wild meat and customers from asking for it, a guideline for environmentally-friendly restaurants and hotels is developed by the Ministry of Tourism. The Ministry has the authority to inspect and provide restaurants and hotels with awarded certificates if they comply with the guideline. This helps reduce supply and demand for wildlife products.

“We need to remind tourists and residents that consuming wildlife products is not only illegal but also does irreversible harm to the environment because it encourages overexploitation of wildlife by illegal hunters and loggers,” says Mrs Amy Maling, acting Eastern Plains Project Manager with WWF.

In order to put pressure on the supply side of illegal wildlife and timber products, the campaign officially launch a provincial hotline number and encourage the public to report illegal wildlife activities. With the hotline number, reporting forest crimes to the authorities is a quick and easy way for the public to help stop the wildlife and timber trade.

“Recent successes in law enforcement have demonstrated a strong potential of how information from the public can help to interfere with the supply side of wildlife crime,” says Keo Sopheak, Forestry Administration Mondulkiri Protected Forest Manager. “In the end, more information on wildlife crimes will make for better and more effective enforcement.”

After the launching in Sen Monorom, the campaign will as part of the year-long programme continue in various villages around Mondulkiri Protected Forest and Phnom Prich Wildlife Sanctuary. In coordination with Forestry Administration and Department of Environment, WWF personnel will stage the campaign in villages to inform people about the hotline number and how to use it. WWF’s project and communications unit have developed an educational role-play on the harmful effects and the illegality of wildlife crime. This play will be performed by local students from WWF’s Eco-clubs in villages throughout Mondulkiri to reach out to target communities living in and around protected areas.

Wildlife crime in all its forms poses serious threats to Cambodia’s biodiversity. Illegal hunting has probably already extirpated Cambodia’s national animal, the Kouprey, from the wild and puts pressure on all wildlife species, especially endangered species like Tiger and its prey species such as Sambar deer, Banteng, Eld’s deer, Guar and Munjac. Illegal logging is a more general threat to the integrity of entire forest ecosystems.

Men detained for killing rare cattle in Cambodia

Thursday, February 25, 2010
Associated Press

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia -- Two hunters have been detained for killing two banteng, an endangered wild cattle species, in a protected forest in northern Cambodia, an official said Thursday.

They were arrested Monday as they were butchering the animals they shot with AK-47 assault rifles near Anlong Veng, the former stronghold of deceased Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot, said Tiv Sovantha, a provincial prosecutor.

He said that Bou Hoeurn and Chin Chuon could each face a five-year prison term if convicted. A third poacher is still being sought.

The banteng, which is native to Southeast Asia, is listed as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and is protected by law in Cambodia.

WWF enforcement team cracks down on wildlife crimes in Mondulkiri province

Wild boar meat on display at Sen Monorom market. (Rohit Singh / WWF)
Five of the seven confiscated chainsaws at Namram outpost. (Rohit Singh / WWF)
Recently confiscated luxury wood at Namram outpost. (Rohit Singh / WWF)

16 February 2010
WWF

February has been a busy but successful month for WWF’s enforcement team in Mondulkiri’s Eastern Plains Landscape. After a weekend of day- and night-patrols, members of the mobile team – a flexible enforcement unit working throughout the whole province – had just arrived at the office when an informant called them about wild meat for sale at the market in Sen Monorom, the province’s capital. Mr Tan Seron, Ranger with the Cambodian government’s Forestry Administration, quickly mobilised his team members to head for the market, where they confiscated 6kg of wild boar meat (Sus scrofa).

This success follows several crackdowns on illegal logging in the beginning of the month when the patrolling teams of Namram and Trapeag Thmear in Mondulkiri Protected Forest confiscated seven chain saws from four villages in the protected area.

“Cutting trees inside the protected area is a crime under the Forestry Law of Cambodia, and we issued warning letters to the chainsaw owners,” said Mr Keo Sopheak, Manager of Mondulkiri Protected Forest. This is part of the legal procedure, where first-time offenders face non-jurisdictional punishment and are given warning letters to scare them from repeating their offence. Criminals caught for the second time risk serious penalties of jail and/or fines.

Besides the chainsaws, rangers also confiscated large amounts of rosewood (Dalbergia cochinchiensis, locally known as Keinung). This luxury wood can fetch up to several thousand US$ per cubic metre on international markets – prices that unfortunately continue to motivate illegal loggers in the area.

The recent confiscations reflect the effective effort of the enforcement team in Mondulkiri Protected Forest. At the same time, they also demonstrate an increase in illegal activities that puts pressure on one of the last remaining dry forest habitats for tiger in Cambodia.

“Our team is working hard but we need to take more action against illegal activities. We have started vehicle checks at different points around the protected areas to monitor trade routes”, Mr Sopheak said. “We are also expanding our informant network. This will surely help us in curbing illegal wild meat trade in the area.”

Illegal logging as well as selling and buying of wild meat are punishable offences and can be charged under the Forestry Law of Cambodia. If you see or hear of any such misdoings, contact WWF’s Wildlife Crime Hotline Number at 012404143. It will be a small step for you but a large step for the animal kingdom.

Kirirom "PROTECTED" National Park - Look who's abetting wildlife poaching?

Entrance to Kirirom "protected" National Park (All photos: V.O.)
Open display of wild animal parts for sale as medicine in Cambodia's Kirirom "protected" National Park.
Wild animal for sale in Cambodia's Kirirom "protected" National Park
Monkey-baby for sale: This two month old orphan monkey is displayed in the open in the Kirirom "Protected" National Park with heavy chain attached to his neck with asking price of $40. His mom was killed by poachers.

Thank you Lok V.O.!