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Article: Reconciliation and conservation in the Cardamoms: Cambodia's Cardamom Mountains were once a refuge to the Khmer Rouge. Now, as Cambodia begins to address the horrors of its recent past and NGOs struggle to combat illegal logging, a conservation initiative is turning former soldiers into guardians of this little-known treasure.(CAMBODIAN CONSERVATION)
- Article from:
- Geographical
- Article date:
- May 1, 2005
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2005 Circle Publishing Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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The ranger station at Pramaoy in southwestern Cambodia has all the trappings of a colonial hunting lodge. A bullet-holed elephant skull looms above a tangle of radio equipment, and several rifles lean against a woven rattan chair. One wall carries a photo of 11 grinning men holding an enormous reticulated python. However, the station isn't manned by gun-toting poachers. Rather, it's the preserve of Fauna and Flora International (FFI), one of several conservation groups working to protect the forests of the Cardamom Mountains from illegal loggers.
The Cardomoms' 44,000 square kilometres of thick jungle represent one of the last forest wilderness areas in mainland ...