Can ecotourism save Cambodia’s ‘ghost parks’?

[geovalin]

• Cambodia’s 2021 signing into law of Sub-decree No. 30, which removed official protection from some 127,000 hectares of land formerly included in national parks, reserves and wildlife sanctuaries in Koh Kong province, has conservationists concerned about the ecological integrity of southern Cambodia.
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• But experts caution that other protected areas in the country are hardly faring better, claiming that “a lack of commitment and vision, systemic corruption at varies levels and competing interests by state and private actors” is contributing to the rapid degradation of Cambodia’s remaining protected forest.
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• There is some agreement between conservationists and government officials that the country does not have the resources to effectively manage its protected areas.
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• As a solution, some point to Africa, where public-private ecotourism partnerships have been successful at preserving habitat. But others disagree.

 

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia  — In March 2021, Cambodia signed into law Sub-decree No. 30, which removed official protection from some 127,000 hectares of land formerly included in national parks, reserves and wildlife sanctuaries in Koh Kong province. Purportedly done to grant land rights to local communities, a 2021 Mongabay investigation revealed that land brokers with links to government officials were buying up large expanses of this now-obtainable land.

 

read more https://news.mongabay.com/2022/02/can-ecotourism-save-cambodias-ghost-parks/