Cambodia heads for showdown over VIP safaris
PHNOM PENH -Cambodia is heading for a confrontation with green groups if it goes ahead with plans to allow game safaris for wealthy overseas tourists.
Officials said this week Spanish firm Nsok Safaris had drawn up plans for a five-star jungle camp in a 100,000-hectare (250,000-acre) forest reserve. About 30 species of mammals, reptiles and birds would be fair game for the hunters, said officials.
A Reuters report said the area, in Mondulkiri and Rattanakiri provinces, is home to several indigenous hill-tribes whose first main contact with the outside world was during the Vietnam War when their territory was crossed by the myriad paths of the Ho Chi Minh trail.
Dany Chheang, deputy director of the Agriculture Ministry’s Wildlife Protection Office, said allowing foreigners to pay to shoot game was far better for conservation than having poachers take it illegally.
“Illegal hunters are burning dollars every day,” he told Reuters.
“We have not explored all the potential of our natural resources. Now is the time to do so.
“These are our natural resources. We do not need permission from wildlife conservation experts to run our business,” he said.
“The money we net will be invested in preserving the animals and forest. It is better for sustainable development than letting local hunters deal with cheap black markets.”
The forest area is thought to be one of Southeast Asia’s last wildernesses and is home to wild elephants and tigers.
Environmental group WWF, which has been promoting wildlife conservation in Cambodia since 1998, said it was concerned about the plan, which has been in the pipeline for two years, but had been kept under wraps.
Ian Jarrett
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