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Forests are often described to be the “lungs of the earth” and are essential for our survival. One of the largest intact tropical rainforest ecosystems in Southeast Asia is the 15,000km2 Cardamom Rainforest Landscape in Cambodia. It is not only the home to more than 55 species of vertebrates threatened with extinction but also a vital watershed as well as Cambodia’s largest climate regulator and carbon sink.
Yet, like many other protected forests, it continues to be under threat from activities such as illegal logging and poaching. Together with various government bodies, Wildlife Alliance implements an effective boots-on-the-ground law enforcement model focusing on trained, equipped, and mentored law enforcement rangers to directly protect the Cardamom Rainforest.
More than 150 rangers operate out of ten professionally equipped ranger stations located across 13,000 km2 of the landscape round-the-clock, 365 days a year. Complementing the ranger programme is support for judicial follow-up after law enforcement actions, a key step to ensure that patrolling is effectively deterring illegal activity. Close to 200,000 km was patrolled in 2020, the equivalent of walking around Earth almost five times.
The hard work and dedication of the team– has produced tangible results, including significantly lower levels of annual deforestation compared to the national average, no poaching of elephants in the Cardamom since 2006 and the recovery of ungulate and carnivore populations .
Without a doubt, the work of a ranger is physical and mentally challenging. Being exposed to risks and threats is an everyday affair, and their welfare and well-being is of utmost importance. Mandai Nature’s support for Wildlife Alliance since 2019 has ensured that the frontline forest protectors at Stung Proat and Sre Ambel ranger stations are comprehensively insured and well-equipped to handle challenges faced. We also contribute towards Wildlife Alliance’s efforts to strengthen effective prosecutions of forest and wildlife offenders.
In 2020, the rangers of the Cardamon Forest seized close to 6,000 logs and 1,900 m3 of timber, confiscated 1,700 chainsaws (one chainsaw can clear-cut 1 hectare of forest per week), destroyed over 25,000 illegal hunting snares and rescued more than 560 live animals from illegal wildlife traders. We are proud to be standing behind the frontliners of conservation and guardians of the lungs of the earth.
Wildlife Alliance is an international non-profit forest and wildlife conservation organisation headquartered in New York City with current programmes in Cambodia. It delivers hands-on direct protection to 1.3 million hectares of the Cardamom Rainforest Landscape, one of Southeast Asia’s last unfragmented rainforests.
