SAVING THREATENED HARDWOODS IN CAMBODIA'S CARDAMOM MOUNTAINS

Illegal logging in the highly biodiverse Cardamom Mountains is on the rise. The forest hosts 17 globally threatened tree species, including the endangered Afzelia xylocarpa, which is one of the most heavily targeted trees due to its striking flame-coloured wood known as Beng. FFI is supporting the Department of Nature Conservation and Protection in an initiative to reduce illegal logging through improved law enforcement and training local people to generate income from alternative sources such as cardamoms harvesting.

FURTHER INFORMATION

Saving threatened hardwoods in Cambodia’s Cardamom Mountains The Cardamom Mountains in Cambodia are one of the last forest wilderness areas in mainland south-east Asia. FFI has been working to protect this forest and its fantastic biodiversity since the 1990s.

In 2008, the Global Trees Campaign supported a new project to conserve some of the key tree species in this wildlife haven. The Cardamoms forest is a refuge for many tree species that have suffered badly from the extensive deforestation and logging in other parts of their range, including 17 species classified as globally threatened. These include Afzelia xylocarpa (Endangered), called Beng in Khmer language, among the most sought after trees in Indo-china due to its superb flame-coloured timber. Other seriously threatened trees found in the Cardamoms are:

Unfortunately, illegal logging in the Cardamoms is on the rise. Afzelia xylocarpa is particularly targeted: furniture made from Beng has become a status symbol and the demand for the timber far exceeds the supply. Other threatened trees are also being illegally cut. The illegal logging is driven by rich and powerful interests to the detriment of local villagers, and stronger control measures are urgently needed to halt these activities and protect this concentration of threatened tree species.

Focusing on Phnom Samkos Wildlife Sanctuary, a 332,566 hectare protected area in the heart of the Cardamoms, and working with the government Department of Nature Conservation and Protection (DNCP), the project aims to reduce illegal logging through:

      a) training and equipping park rangers and increasing their patrolling efforts and

      b) developing alternative, legal livelihood options for poor local villagers who may otherwise get used as cheap labour by illegal loggers (e.g. harvesting and sale of cardamom pods).

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