This year, Wildlife Alliance is celebrating ten years of zero elephant poaching in the Cardamom Rainforest. This monumental achievement is a result of the direct protection Wildlife Alliance has provided. In the early 2000s, the Cardamom Rainforest was a hotspot for elephant and tiger poaching. Between 2000 and 2006, 37 wild Asian elephants were poached in the Cardamoms. In response to this crisis, Wildlife Alliance partnered with the Cambodian government to increase effective patrolling and law enforcement. “Achieving zero elephant poaching for more than a decade in the Cardamoms is a fantastic achievement and demonstrates that investing in law enforcement is the best way to achieve conservation results,” says Wildlife Alliance’s CEO, Suwanna Gauntlett.
Since 2006, the Southern Cardamom Forest Protection Program (SCFPP) rangers have gone on over 24,000 patrols, have removed over 140,000 snares, and have sent 300 offenders to court, leaving the forests they protect safe for elephants to roam free. Dr. Thomas Gray, Wildlife Alliance’s Director of Science, explained, “With the global poaching crisis, an estimated 30,000 elephants are being killed yearly to supply increasing demand for illegal ivory products. Thus, we cannot be complacent.” By directly protecting the 1.7 million acres (720,000 hectares) of the South West Elephant Corridor, Wildlife Alliance is providing the endangered Asian elephant with a safe corridor to move between protected landscapes.
Join the Elephant Alliance today to help us ensure that Cambodia goes another decade without any elephant poaching!
