Virachey National Park Ratanakiri and Stung Treng Provinces Cambodia
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Page 1 of 3 Virachey National Park Ratanakiri and Stung Treng Provinces Cambodia by WWF, 2000 Background The area of Virachey was proposed as international "peace park" in the early 1990's (Westing 1993). Royal Decree established Virachey National Park in November, 1993, as one of 7 national parks in a national system of 23 protection area. At 332,500ha, it is Cambodia's largest national park, second largest protected area. At the beginning it was essentially a "paper" park, its boundary determined by limited map information, because on the ground access was restricted. WWF involvement increased in 1995, when the Sub-regional Biodiversity Forum (Transboundary Program) put emphasis on conservation priority areas extending across internationally boundaries. WWF entered a into a coalition project, USAID funded Cambodia Environmental Management Project (CEMP), which provided leverage for WWF's increasing support to the park area. Access to the park area slowly improved. Preliminary assessments of the area were conducted in 1996 and early 1997, leading to a proposal to develop a 5 year management plan. Political-military events in July, 1997 led to withdrawal of USAID funding and the collapse of CEMP. Support for Virachey was temporarily redirected. Active support began in January 1998, through the Ministry of Environment 's Department of Nature Conservation and Protection (MoE/DNCP), with the identification of a Park Director and the hiring, training and equipment of ten staff at Veunsai. As the Veunsai post became established, further development of administration and staff made steady progress during 1998 and 1999. Park development focuses on basic capacity building of administration and staff, baseline biological surveys, and facilitating communication about protected area and conservation issues among and within the MoE, the Provinces, the Park and the local communities. As of January, 2000, there are 35 Park staff at the three posts: Veunsai and Ta Veng in Ratanakiri Province, and Siem Pang in Stung Treng Province. All staff has received basic training in orienteering, wildlife sign identification, and patrol data recording. Selected staff has received initial training in administrative procedures, i.e., accounting and reporting. Other staff has received special training in tiger ecology and survey methods. Technical capacity is still only basic, but is building steadily. Partners with WWF in development of the park include NTFP ratanakiri, a grassroots conservation and resource management NGO working in Veunsai District buffer zone communities, CARERE (UNDP)/IDRC focusing on village based community development also in Veunsai, and World Concern, working on health, non formal education and resource management in Ta Veng District. Virachey Park Selected Issues: 1. There are limited scientific data on biological or physical resources. This limits the ability to make anything more than interim management decisions. As this lack of data also involves land and resource use of many buffer zone communities, decisions concerning zoning in the par area are tentative. Page 2 of 3 2. There are approximately 10,000-15,000 people living in the park's buffer zone (ca. 200,000ha), mostly indigenous Brou and Brou Kavet ethnicities, but also including Kreung, Tampuen, Lun, Kachok, Lao, Khmer, and Chinese. The indigenous communities, i.e., Brou, Kavet, Tampuen, Lun, Kachok have relied on customary methods of swidden cultivation for subsistence, augmented by fishing, hunting, and NTFP collection, but their cultures, livelihoods, and home ranges have been disrupted over the last 30 years. Conservation in the park area must take into account evolution of the landscape, which includes the long- term influence of indigenous culture and land use. 3. The entire southern portion of the buffer zone is a forest concession granted to the Pheapimex company, a Cambodian-Chinese joint venture. Although no management plan for the concession has been field yet (therefore, theoretically, logging cannot proceed), there is concern, based on past behavior of politically powerful Pheapimex, that negotiations for conservation of biodiversity and culture in the buffer zone will be difficult. 4. Wildlife hunting and trade in and around the park is heavy, especially through Veunsai, to Banlung (provincial capital), and out to Vietnam. The most abundant types in trade are turtles and tortoises, pangolins lizards, and snakes. Less abundant but equally worrying is trade involving hunting and trapping of tigers, elephants, bears, clouded leopards, gaur, banteng, greater and lesser adjutants, hornbills, and other birds. 5. Very litter is known about local fisheries, but aquatic species diversity is thought to be very high, and the area is thought to include major breeding habitat for several species of economically important fish found in the lower Mekong. Local problems have included dynamite fishing and unsustainable use of nets. The provincial government is also concerned about actual and potential dam construction, both upstream and downstream. 6. Excessive flood and unpredictable changes in river flow, probably caused by the Yali Falls dam in Vietnam, are causing serious problems for communities in the buffer zone. At least 32 people have drowned. The people in the communities are afraid to plant wet rice near the river, because it will be flood, so must cut forest farming plots and hunt wildlife to survive. Virachey Park selected activities directly supported by WWF 1. Ranger teams (two per post) patrol the park for 10-15 days during each dry season month. Access to the park is by foot only, occasionally by boat. Dry season patrols in 1998-1999 focused on documenting illegal logging. Dry season patrols in 1999-2000 focused on recording wildlife signs. 2. Joint WCS-WWF training in tiger survey techniques, in Khao Yai NP, Thailand, April 1999. Funding from National Fish and Wildlife Fund (NFWF), US. Virachey Park Director and one ranger team leader participated. 3. Joint WCS-WWF camera trapping for tigers in Phnom Penh Veal Thom area, Veunsai and Ta Veng Districts. Funding from NFWF and WWF-US. May-July, 1999. 4. Ranger led camera trapping for tigers and other large mammals in Veal Ha Tieng area, Ta Veng District, funding from NFWF and WWF-US. December, 1999-February, 2000. 5. Joint WCS-WWF training in tiger survey techniques, Borkor National Park, Cambodia, January, 2000. One Virachey ranger team leader was an instructor, four other rangers participated. Page 3 of 3 6. Ranger-led camera trapping for tigers and other large mammals in O Chay area, Siem Pang district, February-March, 2000. 7. Reconnaissance for elephants in Vea Ha Tieng and O Chay area, funding WWF-US, AREAS program. February, 2000. Community resource management activities 8. Training of rangers and selected provincial and NGO technical staff in Participatory Buffer Zone Management, in cooperation with MoE/DNCP Community Forestry and Buffer zone Unit (CFBZU), January, 1999. 9. Community resource use surveys and land use mapping, in cooperation with CFBZU, January, March and August, 1999, and February – March, 2000. Wildlife Trade Control 10. Provincial Wildlife Trade control Workshops, in cooperation with Ratanakiri Provincial Forestry and Wildlife Department and Provincial Environment Department, organized by MoE/DNCP Protected Area Office, Funding from WWF-US and TRAFFIC Southeast Asia. May 1999 and January, 2000. Northeastern Cambodia 11. Biodiversity survey and assessment, Phnom Prich Wildlife Sanctuary, Mondulkiri Province. May-June, 2000. In cooperation with MoE/DNCP/PAO and MAFF/ DFW/ WPO. Funding from WWF-US..