Cambodia, an Up-and-Coming Eco Travel Destination?

State Secretary, So Mara, hopes that Cambodia will become a welcoming and popular eco travel destination. This January, Phnom Penh will host the ASEAN Travel Forum for the second time, and hopefully establish Cambodia as a peaceful and lovely destination. The country has beautiful beaches, the temples of Angkor, and a myriad of eco travel opportunities in the (disappearing) rainforest.

State Secretary, So Mara, says that in 2009, the tourist industry grew 1.7% to a total of 2.16 million travelers. As of August of this year, visits were up by 14.6%. After a two year lull, Siem Reap airport began receiving 17% more visitors in the last year. So Mara hopes to emphasize the eco travel opportunities along the coast and especially in the northeastern provinces. Cambodia has 850 freshwater fish species, 536 bird species, 240 reptile species and 212 mammal species, and much of this diversity is contained around Tonle Sap Lake Area, which was nominated a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in 1997.

Unfortunately, Cambodia's forest has been disappearing faster than anywhere else in the world.  Since 1969, Cambodia's rainforest cover has dropped from 70% to only 3% in 2007.  What happened? Farming, illegal loggers (as seen in the picture), and population growth have all contributed to the loss of forest.  Ecstasy factories are a problem, too. They hide out in the forest and make sassafras oil (or "golden oil") from the rare Mreah Prew Phnom tree to create and export ecstasy. The problem is two-fold: factory workers poach wildlife to supplement their diets, and distillation causes significant pollution (wood gets burned, and all by-products run off into nearby streams).

Perhaps eco travel could encourage protection of the disappearing rainforest? The Cardamom Mountains, spreading over 2 million hectares, are all that's left in Cambodia. However, the area isn't exactly protected, despite UNESCO status. The United Khmer Group intends to build a massive titanium mine there. It was discovered by local villagers in September, due to the sudden appearance of bulldozers building access roads. The mine would stretch 15,000 to 20,000 hectares (37,000 to 50,000 acres). Meanwhile, villagers are working with Wildlife Alliance to attract more visitors and make the area an eco travel destination. 766 villagers, including the chief, have signed a petition against the mine for Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen.

So, will Cambodia make a move to protect the Cardamom Mountains and the potential for future eco tourism? Or, will the government hear the mining company's projected revenues (apparently overstated) and let them continue the pattern of deforestation? Endangered species in the Cardamom mountains include the Asian elephant, the green peafowl, the Indochinese tiger, the Siamese crocodile and many others. There are a number of vulnerable species, too, including the clouded leopard, the Malayan sun bear, and the smooth-coated otter. While Cambodia certainly has an opportunity to become a premier eco travel destination (The Lonely Planet named the Koh Kong Conservation Corridor on of the "World's Top 10 Regions for 2010"), it seems that they haven't yet made protecting the rainforest a priority.

Photo Credit: USAID|Cambodia