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We were seated by a lush river in the Southern Cardamom Mountains over a lunch of chicken and rice, and when the tip came via text message: Someone had passed by the poaching camp.
Within minutes, the entire group—including head ranger Darian Thackwell and four of his armed crew—was charged upstream. Finally, we hid our boat in a maze of mangroves and continued on foot, walking as quietly as possible through the thick vegetation.
For four days, I’ve been watching a group of men patrol an area of this vast Cambodian rainforest, protecting the land and wildlife from the relentless threats of illegal loggers and poachers. Deep in the remote southwestern province of Koh Kong, near the Thai border, we crossed rivers, got bogged down in the jungle, and battled both leeches and unbearable humidity.
Now, the team of men employed by the Wildlife Alliance, a conservation group, was finally getting close to the poachers.
As we made our way through the woods, we found several homemade traps of the type typically used for catching civets or other small mammals. Darian surmised that the poachers might not be far away. But then we hurriedly arrived at what looked like an abandoned camp: hammocks, canned food, clothes, and even two homemade weapons were left behind. I took a few pictures as the rangers dispersed the camp and confiscated the weapons and traps.
Cambodia’s Cardamom Mountains were once the stronghold of the Khmer Rouge, the fanatical communist regime that existed in the region until the 1990s. For decades, the isolated villages of the region had little contact with the outside world. Bloody battles were fought between local peasants and guerrillas. The use of landmines was productive. As a result, the surrounding rainforest has survived as one of the most pristine wilderness areas in Southeast Asia.
As the conflict subsided and the landmines cleared, the rainforest – along with its wildlife – became vulnerable to illegal poachers, loggers, and slasher farmers.
For the past two decades, a handful of environmental organizations have raced against the clock to protect the region’s forests and wildlife.
The Wildlife Alliance is at the forefront of these efforts. The organization prioritizes collaboration with law enforcement and local authorities around the clock, ultimately providing hands-on protection to those around. 3 million acres Cardamom Mountains rainforest. It also aims to create eco-friendly job alternatives that focus on education, reforestation, and wildlife rehabilitation and release for local people who have previously engaged in or otherwise may have been forced into the illicit trade.
The work of the Wildlife Alliance is perhaps no more prominent than in and around the village of Chi Phat, which served as my base camp during my one-week visit.
Getting to Chi Phat required a three-hour bus ride from Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia, followed by a two-hour boat ride on the Preak Piphot River. A series of idyllic scenes greeted me when I arrived: the bustle of residents on bikes, an impromptu game of volleyball, an unpaved road surrounded by colorful houses. On the riverbank, small fishing boats docked at the stilt houses, and a motorized raft carried passengers from shore to shore: farmers on motorcycles, women carrying crops, children in school uniforms.
But today’s rosette is only recent history. For many years, most of the people living in this marginalized community were involved in cutting and burning farming or illegal logging and poaching.
It wasn’t until the mid-2000s that when the Wildlife Alliance began working with locals to create alternative sources of income, Chi Phat began to reverse these trends and set up a series of community-based ecotourism initiatives.
Farmers were encouraged to adopt more sustainable farming techniques. At the same time, community members came together to reclaim lost woodland by rebuilding the land and planting native tree species. Nearly 840,000 trees have been planted since then.
Also, once poachers with deep knowledge of the rainforest and its wildlife were recruited, trained, and equipped to become protective rangers. Armed, protecting the environment from poachers and loggers, they now patrol the area on foot, by motorcycle, by boat and from the air.
Corruption and illicit trade and the financial lure of large-scale business development projects are still a threat. But with a growing number of locals working alongside conservationists, saving the forest is no longer a lost cause.
Chi Phat’s location at the foot of the Cardamom Mountains makes it an important destination for wildlife tourism. A number of traditional Cambodian homes have been converted into guesthouses, and English-speaking trail guides guide hikers through trails that cut through emerald hills, mountain streams, streams and waterfalls. Intrepid travelers can also visit a handful of scattered rural communities along with several ancient Khmer archaeological sites.
Like many tourism-dependent regions, Chi Phat has been hit hard by the pandemic. Visitor numbers dropped more than 80 percent in 2020, undermining one of the Wildlife Alliance’s main fundraising sources.
But the pandemic has also highlighted the importance of stopping the illegal wildlife trade, which is known to have markets. harbors pathogens that can spread to humans.
Binturong, sun bears, clouded leopards, pangolins, civets, macaques, and a large number of birds are among the animals found here, and many are among the animals I have come across at one time or another. wildlife release station tucked away in the middle of the forest. At the station, animals rescued from the illegal wildlife trade, trapped or held in captivity are rehabilitated and released.
During the two days I spent at the release station, I went on a few walks with Soeun, the caretaker of the facility. A kind and calm man, he introduced me to the animals as if he were family – one by one, with deep grace and care. He lived with them and for them.
Growing up in a poor farming community in the area, Soeun was once involved in poaching to support her family. But when the Wildlife Alliance set up the release station in 2008, it instead began caring for and releasing animals. He has been working for the organization ever since.
On a walk together, Soeun and I passed a small sandalwood grove set among dense and verdant hills. We saw two sun bears climbing one of the trees, possibly looking for a hive.
Soeun recognized animals. With a clear sense of pride, he explained that the bears had come to the station injured two years ago and had personally helped them heal and set them free.
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