Plant a Rainforest in Southeast Asia

Wildlife Alliance’s Tropical Reforestation Project has taken another step towards fulfilling its goal of reconnecting fragmented and depleted rainforest in the Southern Cardamom Mountains in Koh Kong province. In January, Reforestation staff built a canal in Tatai to mitigate topsoil erosion that prevented the growth of trees and plants in the planting fields.

Topsoil erosion is one of the leading concerns in rainforest reforestation efforts - especially in an area known to have been denuded through slash-and-burn farming like the Southern Cardamoms. Slash-and-burn cultivation destroys the top layer of soil, making it useless for planting after one growing season. This means that slash-and-burn farmers move on each season, destroying more forest and leaving it unable to support future flora. With topsoil washing away during the yearly monsoon season because it is unprotected from the rains due to both slash-and-burn and illegal logging, the forest area is left effectively destroyed for the future. The Tropical Reforestation Project aims to reverse these practices and restore continuous forest cover while providing a sustainable livelihood to local community members who once destroyed the forest.

Maintaining topsoil has plagued our reforestation project since its inception in 2009. In the absence of nutrient-rich topsoil, plant life struggles to grow and ceases to exist. Therefore, it can be nearly impossible to grow new trees in areas subject to topsoil erosion, which is widespread in this particular region. But, with the expertise of Wildlife Alliance and our Tropical Reforestation staff, topsoil erosion is becoming less of a limitation. In Tatai specifically, topsoil erosion was hampering any viable reforestation effort. However, in January, tractor plows dug water drainage canals at the site. Now, water is prevented from flowing across the fields during the monsoon season, thus allowing trees and plants to grow healthily. To date, Wildlife Alliance has replanted more than 733,000 trees in this region. Through new projects and lessons learned, like the implementation of drainage canals, we are continually helping to ensure these trees can grow and mature, and eventually restore forest cover in the Southern Cardamoms.

At the end of December and continuing into January, there was a significant increase in the number of wildfires in the forest surrounding Chi Phat. Between December 21st and January 19th, 10 incidents of arson were discovered in vital forest area. It is believed their motive was to burn reforested fields in an attempt to claim title to the land, even though it is set within the boundaries of protected forest areas. This crisis was immediately addressed, and a number of Wildlife Alliance’s field programs took action to deal with the issue.

Immediately, we employed and assigned guards in all fields of the Tropical Reforestation project, and guard stations are being built in critical areas. Our Zoning and Demarcation team placed warning signs around the reforested fields. The Tropical Reforestation project then took preventative measures to protect the fields by plowing between rows and the entire perimeter to create a fire break. These fire prevention measures proved effective in halting the spread of a fire in Trapeang Roung. To involve local officials, staff from the Southern Cardamom Forest Protection Program brought this issue to the attention of the Koh Kong Provincial Office, and a meeting with authorities has been scheduled. Finally, in order to increase awareness in the community, the Kouprey Express Mobile Environmental Education Unit conducted an emergency Community Night Show (CNS) in Chi Phat to address the rampant fires occurring in the area. This special CNS featured staff from the Community Agriculture Development Project (CADP), Community-Based Ecotourism project (CBET) and the Forestry Administration, and focused on why forest fires are so detrimental to the environment and to livelihoods in the community. With approximately 300 in attendance, this presentation by KE was well received by the community. A sign was also installed in front of the CBET office to serve as a reminder to the community about the urgent need to protect their forest and wildlife.

This recent situation illustrates the challenges Wildlife Alliance continues to face in the field despite the progress we have made in the area in the last decade, as well as the importance of Wildlife Alliance’s key attribute – a holistic, direct action approach to conservation – combining law enforcement, community outreach and government advocacy to mitigate a crisis as it is emerging. Our work would not be possible without you, help us continue to protect the Southern Cardamom Mountain Range!