Project update - April 2005

The Bokor Conservation Project: Dedication, determination and commitment to park protection

The Bokor Conservation Project (BCP) is WildAid's longest running and most successful project, largely thanks to DSWF support. When the project was first started in 2001 chainsaws could be heard from the plateau that overlooks the southern end of the park. Now birds and pileated gibbon bird calls are the sounds that greet visitors. But the struggle in Bokor is far from over. Logging, poaching of wildlife and encroachment still challenge the management and staff.

In 2004, nature crimes escalated all over Cambodia because the election of late 2003 failed to install a government. In the ensuing hiatus, ministries lacked direction, law enforcement regressed to new laws, and government officials were unsupervised and unpaid. This administrative anarchy favoured the criminally inclined, and allowed the rich and powerful to exploit the situation with impunity. In Bokor, land-grabs and logging surged.

Forest fires also threaten the park in the dry season, adding to the burden of protection. Furthermore, there is the problem of the corruption of military personnel. In one menacing confrontation in February 2004, park rangers stood firm when they caught soldiers moving illicit timber from the park. The culprits eventually backed down, allowing rangers to impound their truck and its contents.

In one month alone rangers caught 57 loggers and 16 poachers, confiscated - and destroyed - 296 pieces of timber, nine chainsaws, 965 snares, six ox-carts and other illicit equipment. Figures vary from month to month but reflect the same story of land encroachment, logging for lumber or precious hardwoods, and poaching for food or for sale. It is relentless! If the rangers did not do their job effectively, the park would cease to exist in all but name.

WildAid is also helping Bokor's outreach team tackle the factors that contribute to forest abuse. The understandable hostility and resentment of villagers towards park staff is a major hurdle for the park's community outreach team. Over time, however, they have managed to forge constructive links in spite of inadequate resources. Educational outreach helps, but economic initiatives, although modest, make the biggest difference.

In the second half of 2004, WildAid introduced biogas for local villages to use as an alternative to fuelwood collection that often occurs inside the park. The first digester was built on the grounds of a temple at the request of the abbot and the second at the park headquarters to service the rangers and staff. One biogas system can pump enough gas to cook for many people running off the waste of cows or pigs. By using a resource that is plentiful, the biogas systems save people the time it would take to leave their homes and travel increasing distances to collect fuelwood.

Rangers are trained to identify and document the wildlife or wildlife signs that they encounter on patrol. Thanks to the camera traps, we have confirmation that tigers survive in Bokor in spite of persistent poaching. Rangers have also found the tracks of two large tigers, assumed to be male. One inhabits the Touk Chhou valley which segments the park's southeast. The other roams the ruins at the southern point of the plateau. A large female, caught on camera, also resides among the ruins. She appears to have lost part of her front right paw, presumably to a snare. However, she was photographed twice, six-weeks apart, so is evidently still able to hunt.

In their monthly reports, rangers list the challenges and constraints that undermine their ability to do their work effectively. These highlight the formidable task facing these dedicated professionals. Some challenges include a new road that has made access to the park easier, mobile phones that allow violators to coordinate movements and avoid patrols and too few rangers for the size of the park. Malaria is rife, and regularly immobilizes rangers for a week or more. Moreover, the strains that occur in Cambodia are deadly. In the last quarter of 2004, after the rains, a quarter of the rangers got cerebral malaria each month, making the work of the others even more arduous.

Despite these problems the fight to protect the park continues. In October of its 4th year in operation the efforts of the dedicated staff at Bokor National Park received international attention from Time Magazine and the Animal Welfare Institute.

In early October, Mr. Chey Yuthearith, Park Director, was invited to Bangkok by the Animal Welfare Institute to receive the 2004 Clark R. Bavin Wildlife Law Enforcement Award in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the protection of wildlife in Bokor National Park. The award was presented by the Secretary-General of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) during its 13th Conference of the Parties.

In Cambodia, protected area management is not routine administration, and Bokor is especially challenging. Spanning four provinces, it falls under the remit of four governors, four courts, and four police and power structures, each with their own interests. Local army units also stake an interest, with rogue elements in them sponsoring hunting and logging.

National protected areas, whether parks or sanctuaries, are fairly new for Cambodia. As in most places in the past, rural people relied on forests for fuelwood, food, medicinal herbs and countless other products essential for subsistence.

Political upheaval and economic pressure have pushed them into ever more remote rural areas where natural resources are plentiful. Encouraged or coerced by powerful people with few scruples, squatters try to settle in Bokor. Protected areas everywhere are similarly exploited. Forest for farmland, timber for construction, wildlife for food, and anything for cash.

"In a developing country such as Cambodia it is a difficult task to enforce laws that protect wildlife when villagers and communities often cannot find enough to eat." Mr. Chey stated in his acceptance speech. "But we try to explain the benefits of conservation and change peoples ideas. This is slowly working and hopefully as the economy in Cambodia improves we will see less wildlife crime and that nature will be appreciated by all, not just for its value as meat."

In one instance last year Mr. Chey got word that wildlife poachers were hunting tigers and bears using landmines baited with primates. This notorious gang is implicated in numerous criminal activities, including kidnapping for ransom. To avoid an armed, potentially fatal, confrontation, the chief called upon the Kampot Governor and police to help tackle them. The governor used his authority to subjugate the gang, prompting them to leave the park post-haste.

In October of 2004, Time Magazine recognized all 50 Bokor rangers as "Asia's Heroes, "an honor given to "individuals who have done something brave, bold or remarkable- before they've reached 40". Tim Redford, the director of WildAid's Surviving Together programme (the umbrella programme that the Bokor Conservation Project falls under) flew to South Korea to accept the award on their behalf. The long, arduous task of obtaining a passport and travel documents prevented any rangers from going in person. The award was formerly presented to the rangers in December in front of a BBC film crew. The simple ceremony took place at the National Protected Areas Training Center, a classroom where Bokor rangers teach the skills they've so successfully learned to rangers from protected areas all over Cambodia.

Large scale conservation projects like the BCP take time to develop and implement and require long-term commitments from all of the hard working individuals involved if measurable results are to be achieved. Without continued support from funders like DSWF, projects like this would cease to exist. WildAid thanks them warmly for their support, and for sharing the view that this investment will yield synergistic benefits for Cambodia.

It is essential to keep the poachers at bay with the rangers of Bokor and to give the last remaining tigers and other species living in this pristine environment a chance at survival! Please contribute to their valiant efforts by sending a donation to DSWF.

Every little contribution helps wildlife and remember 100% of your donation will go in full to the project - thank you!

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