DSWF - BOKOR NATIONAL PARK PROJECT

Welcome to the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation

		PROJECT: BOKOR NATIONAL PARK PROJECT

		Location: CAMBODIA
		DSWF Support: Since 1999
		Funding to date: £107,185

		Project Summary: Funding anti-poaching operations and ranger training, together with vital community education and outreach projects in Cambodia's Bokor National Park, to save this pristine environment.

Project update - November 2005

Conservation in Cambodia,
How David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation's Support is Making a Difference

Ask any ranger and he will tell you things at Bokor National Park can be hazy. Clouds blowing into Cambodia from the neighboring Gulf of Thailand frequently obscure the mountain's steep slopes. Not only do they hide a ghost-town of abandoned buildings on the summit, but they also have the potential to obscure a multitude of wilderness crimes.

Bokor, like so many of Cambodia's protected areas, is under serious threat. Decades of military conflict followed by rapid population growth have made it difficult for the country's officials to keep ahead of armed encroachment and poaching. Until recently, hunting rifles and chainsaws were common sights in the park's forests.

These days, however, the fog breaks on Bokor's summit to a reveal something new. The ruins at the park's heart are being superseded by a newly renovated ranger training centre. These facilities have already made a huge difference for Cambodia's park rangers, and continuing improvements are bound to do more in the future. Many have trained in the up-and-coming centre, and many more will come when the new buildings are completed in November of this year.


	Work-in-progress at the newly renovated National Protected Area Training Centre

The centre will be among the best of its kind in Cambodia. With lecture space and dormitories capable of accommodating 70 students, it will contribute greatly to the skills of the nation's protected area personnel. The new space is to be a site where rangers-in-training from across the country can come to learn the tools of their trade.

Of course trainings are about more than just buildings. Even the best classrooms and dormitories are useless without an on-site staff of skilled instructors. Thanks to the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation, Bokor has the people necessary for such an undertaking. The Foundation has given support since 1999 for patrol-related activities and skills development. As a result, Bokor has some of the most proficient wildlife protection personnel in Cambodia. Most are alumni of rigorous introductory or team-leader ranger training courses. The best have gone on to achieve instructor status.

For example Bokor team leaders Chum Phearun, Srey Ra, and Chiv Krem recently traveled to a ranger training course in Thmar Bang, Province. There they spent more than two weeks teaching peers from nearby Phnom Aural and Phnom Samkos Wildlife Sanctuaries about everything from first aid to forest law. They also took their junior colleagues out on patrol, showing them how to take down poacher's camps and curtail illegal logging operations.


	Ranger, Chiv Krem, showing weapons confiscated from poachers

While the training at Thmar Bang was in process, DSWF support kept Bokor's regularly scheduled patrols operational. Donated vehicle assistance, food supplements, and gear purchases are all essential. They enable forest rangers to stay out on the job.

Because Bokor covers more than a million acres, patrol teams must remain in the field almost continuously. Their concerted efforts have led to marked declines in encroachment, but the work is ongoing. Bokor's teams still encounter loggers looking to extract endangered Blackwood trees and hunters looking to bag all manner of wildlife. Everything from small birds to tigers would be at risk without the protection support DSWF provides.


Patrolling is tough, but the work space is fantastic

Cambodia's poverty is always an issue in conservation work. Many of the threats to Bokor's forest and wildlife come from local villagers trying to eke out a living. Simply cracking down on their activities without providing alternatives would solve nothing. To this end, WildAid and the park have initiated outreach work at 40 villages in the local area. Projects are both educational and practical. To help alleviate problems with wood cutting for charcoal manufacture, fuel efficient stove and biogas generation are being promoted. To provide villagers with food and income, a rotating pig bank has also been initiated.

All of these activities are mapped and referenced in an integrated way. DSWF support has made this possible by enabling the purchase of a Geographic Information System (GIS). This software package allows a sophisticated approach to park planning, including: accurate plots of wildlife sightings, spot checks of park boundaries to alleviate encroachment, and surveys of villages needing development assistance. The modern system constitutes yet another way that the park is becoming a model for the rest of the country's protected area network.

Much more remains to be done, but thanks to the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation, things are definitely looking brighter at Bokor.

William Schaedla
WildAid Surviving Together Coordinator

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