Help Rangers Protect Endangered Cambodian Wildlife

To safeguard habitat in protected areas, our rangers combat various aspects of the illegal logging supply chain. To maximize profits, loggers sometimes cut not only luxury timber species, which fetch a high price even as unprocessed logs, but also trees of lower market value. Kilns are used to increase earnings from low value trees by converting them into charcoal. When charcoal kilns are constructed in large numbers inside protected areas, they can contribute to the destruction of wildlife habitat, deforestation and climate change through greenhouse gas emissions.

Thus, our rangers identify and dismantle illegal charcoal kilns as part of their patrols. In the first quarter of 2023, a total of 228 bags of illegal charcoal were seized by our rangers and 125 charcoal kilns were dismantled. More than half of these kilns were destroyed during a single mission.

During a flyover in late January, two clear cut areas with many charcoal kilns were spotted in the Biodiversity Conservation Corridor and Samkos REDD+ Project area in Pursat Province. Rangers from the Rovieng Patrol Station were immediately deployed to inspect the area and liaise with the local Commune Chief to deliver a verbal warning to the suspects that they should dismantle the kilns. When the rangers returned 5 days later, the kilns had not been taken down. Our rangers dismantled 73 charcoal kilns and 7 illegal camps, and confiscated 3 chainsaws and 1 homemade gun from the two sites.

Thank you so much for supporting our ranger patrols so we can keep the trees standing in the Cardamoms!