The Threat

Illegal land clearance is currently KSWS’s greatest threat. Driven by expansion of cash crops and land speculation, KSWS sits at the frontier of a wave of deforestation that has swept through an adjacent, unsupported protected area. Illegal hunting with guns, dogs, and snares is also a direct threat to wildlife species, and illegal targeted logging of valuable timber threatens rare tree species and causes community conflict.

The Solution

Key components of this multi-faceted conservation project include reducing illegal activity through direct law enforcement; establishing community tenure and sustainable use of land and natural resources; supporting alternative livelihoods that reduce pressure on the forest; and developing legal and planning frameworks to guide long term management of the area. These are supported by effective monitoring and evaluation, effective administration to reduce overhead costs, and sustainable finance mechanisms to ensure long-term support.

With long-term technical support from WCS, a clear set of goals, targets, and objectives have been defined for effective, equitable, and inclusive management of the protected area. Community teams support sustainable development by helping indigenous communities secure tenure; providing agriculture training; supporting alternative sustainable livelihoods such as ecotourism; and supporting education. Law enforcement teams apply Cambodia’s legal frameworks to reduce illegal activity. World class biodiversity monitoring and GIS teams measure the impact and effectiveness of these interventions on forest cover and wildlife populations, providing protected area mangers high quality data to inform management decisions.

Progress

KSWS has high-level support from the Royal Government of Cambodia, acting to pilot the REDD+ mechanism and demonstrate the effectiveness of this model for sustainable financing of protected areas across Cambodia.

Notable project achievements include:

• Highest number of wildlife species recorded in any protected area in Cambodia
• World’s largest (and crucially, stable) populations of several charismatic primate species, and well as regionally and nationally significant populations of ungulates and birds
• Secured indigenous community land titles for seven Bunong communities, including Cambodia’s first, with six more under review by the Cambodian Ministry of Environment, and an additional four in process.
• Established and supported the community-run ecotourism project Jahoo Gibbon Camp, now bringing more than $14,000 annually in community income, park entrance fees used to support management, and community development funds.
• Cambodia’s first data-driven zonation process for the protected area, taking into account more than 40 spatial data layers, providing objective and robust decision support for long term land use planning and sustainable protected area management.