The Kranhuong Forest Plantation, one of the largest and oldest seedling storage facilities in Cambodia, has been producing and distributing hardwood seedlings to nurseries across the country for more than 20 years.
The plantation, established in 2001, covers an area of 1,888 hectares in Siem Reap province’s Banteay Srey and Svay Leu districts.
It is home to a diverse range of species, most notable among them several hardwood species, including Kranhoung rosewood, Beng, Thnong, Neang Nuon and Haisan, among others. Within the plantation, there were originally 572 rosewood trees, according to Mong Bunlim, chief of the provincial forestry administration.
Bunlim noted that the plantation is one of the largest producers of high-quality seeds in Cambodia, and has distributed them to planting stations throughout the country since it began operations.
“In Cambodia, there is no other place with as many Kranhuong trees as our area. They are tall, established trees, some of them over 100 years old. Others are around 80 or 90 years old, and they provide seeds. We collect and distribute them throughout the country as needed,” he told The Post, on September 10.
The seeds that were distributed for planting have now yielded results.
However, of the 572 original rosewood trees, more than 10 were destroyed by adverse weather conditions and a few were felled illegally. Despite close cooperation between the forestry administration and the military, the crimes of logging and hunting remain the largest obstacles to the conservation of the rosewood plantation.
Bunlim explained that in addition to the rosewood plantation, there are also about 200 species of bird, and many other species of wildlife. Some of the people living nearby set fire to the fields to catch animals in the dry season. During the rainy season, when downpours are occurring, they take advantage of the adverse weather to fell hardwood trees and hunt, as officials are unable to patrol.
“Some people say that they visit the forest to harvest non-timber products, but their aim is often to conduct reconnaissance before sneaking back in at night to hunt animals. If we let them in, we are the victims. If we ban them, they accuse us of not allowing them to harvest forest products. So we are always wrong,” he said.
He added that some perpetrators had also destroyed camera traps within the plantation area. To improve the efficiency of conservation in the rosewood forest, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries will provide 50 additional camera traps in the near future.
The ministry has also produced a documentary film outlining the tourism potential of the forest and the conservation work that is taking place there.
The video, posted on the ministry’s official social media pages on Monday, September 9, encourages the public to explore the species of rosewood, as well as the wildlife that is present there.
It also highlighted a “Forest Park”, which was established in 2015, that encouraged domestic and international tourists to plant hardwood trees. As part of the ‘One Tourist, One Tree’ campaign, each tree is tagged with the name of the person who planted it.
Bunlim explained that the garden covers more than five hectares and so far about 5,000 trees have been planted by tourists.
He called on loggers and hunters to stop committing crimes and participate in conserving those resources as common natural resources.
“Let's plant trees together,” he said.
“Cambodia’s population is 17 million people, so if each person plants one tree, we will have 17 million new trees a year,” he added.