Project
SeaTrees Southern Cardamom Ridge to Reef

Cambodia’s Cardamom Rainforest Landscape is one of the most beautiful and diverse in the world and is one of Asia’s largest tropical rainforests. The Southern Cardamoms are considered one of the planet’s highest conservation priorities and protecting them is crucial to keeping the Indo-Burma region as one of our planet's Biodiversity Hotspots. The wildlife here are among the fastest disappearing in the world. This area also serves as the Indo-Burma region’s most important watershed, climate regulator, and carbon sink.

The Southern Cardamom REDD+ protects 497,000 hectares of tropical rainforest and prevents 3,000,000 tons of annual carbon emissions. SeaTrees’ partnership with Wildlife Alliance has paved the way for many benefits to come. This project supports nine of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.

Impacts/Benefits
Forest Impacts:
The Southern Cardamom Rainforest landscape is highly sought after by land grabbers and illegal loggers worldwide. Rare species of timber such as the Siamese Redwood are hunted by timber raiders for large profits.

So far, this project’s work has prosecuted 3,500 land encroachment cases, confiscated 5,500 chainsaws, and reduced the annual deforestation rate to less than .074%.

Wildlife Impacts:
The Southern Cardamom Rainforest is recognized as a Biodiversity Hotspot and is one of the last strongholds for many key IUCN Red List species. Asian Elephants, Indochinese Tigers, Pangolins, Asian Wild Dogs, Clouded Leopards, and Siamese Crocodiles are just a few of the critically threatened and/or endangered species that can be found here. Wildlife are hunted for large profits on the black market or for use as ‘status symbols’ by Cambodia’s most wealthy individuals.

Through joint efforts with Wildlife Alliance and Cambodia’s Ministry of Environment, this project stops illegal poaching that threatens the region’s biodiversity. To-date, 260,000 wildlife snares have been removed, 6,500 wild animals have been rescued and released, and 6,000 illegal hunting camps have been dismantled.

Community Impacts:
The Cardamom Rainforest Landscape project area is home to over 16,000 people. Of this population, 16% live below the Cambodian poverty line.

This REDD+ project directly benefits the local people in many ways. Community Based Ecotourism (CBET) programs have been launched and have brought over 4,000 international and national tourists to the Southern Cardamoms. These initiatives have provided approximately $500,000 to over 500 families in the region. CBET provides long term fair wage employment and sustainable education/training for the local people. Wildlife Alliance has trained and hired local villagers to patrol the protected project area.

Sustainable Agriculture and Educational programs for villages help ensure the long term sustainability of this project and help families develop modern agriculture practices which enables them to escape the cycle of poverty and land destruction. This education is key for this project's long term survival.