In March 2024, Koh Kong’s sanctuary made headlines as a haven for ultra-rare species. Soon, poachers and illegal fishers are set to ransack it.
The patrol teams stationed in the Cambodian wildlife haven of Koh Kong have issued an urgent plea.
Once Cambodia’s monsoon season ends, it will leave this sanctuary vulnerable. The rains, winds and lightning that currently deter poachers and illegal fishers will no longer restrict access, leaving this vital habitat exposed.
The situation is dire.
Due to a severe shortfall in funding, patrol teams could be unable to provide the necessary protection to meet this spike in illegal activity.
If we don’t help now, untold slow lorises could be stolen for traditional medicines, otters and clouded leopards killed by snares, and some of the last 490 surviving spoon-billed sandpipers could be hunted to extinction.
How you can help
In order to maintain effective protection, patrol teams need supplies, which are running critically low.
These include boots, uniforms, rations, machetes, first aid kits, fuel and vehicles (for both land and sea).
Your donation today would help provide these things – with 100% of your gift going towards the £51,218 most urgently needed. That could be the difference between life and death for countless creatures – and protect some of the rarest species on Earth.
So many threatened species living in Koh Kong are at risk - we urgently need your help to protect them.
Your impact
Your donation today could provide the essential resources our patrol teams need:
£3
Could provide a team member with a day’s consumables – including rations – allowing them to focus on removing snares and preventing poaching.
£29
Could help fully kit out one patrol team member with protective equipment and critical tools for surviving and operating in the jungle.
£95
Would be enough to keep a patrol team going for an entire month, including fuel, food and medical supplies.
Why Koh Kong matters
Koh Kong, covering almost half of Cambodia’s coastline, is unlike anywhere else on Earth.
It is one of the last places where an unbroken connection exists from mountaintop cloud rainforest down to coral reef. At its core is a thriving mangrove system full of ultra-rare species, some of which are found almost nowhere else.
However, this area is under constant threat. Every year, commercial poachers, illegal fishers, and wildlife brokers attempt to enter by land, river and sea. Without adequate protection, the land could be pillaged, leading to unimaginable losses.
© Jeremy Holden / Fauna & Flora
The mangrove forests of Koh Kong form a truly unique ecosystem.
The cost of inaction
Without your support, the consequences could be harrowing:
- Otters, clouded leopards, hog badgers, civets, elephant calves: killed by snares, their populations decimated.
- Pangolins and slow lorises: taken for the illegal medicine trade.
- Long-tailed macaques: entire troops captured and sold for medical testing
- Dolphins and sea turtles: drowned accidentally by illegal fishing methods.
- Hornbills, spoon-billed sandpipers and other rare birds: trapped in nets and eaten.
- Coral reefs and essential seagrass habitat: battered by destructive fishing, including bottom trawling for shellfish.
Sunda pangolin. © Leon Tolkovsky / Fauna & Flora
The poachers are ruthless, plucking pangolins and from the wild to harvest their meat and scales. This one was lucky enough to be rescued.
Stretch your donation further
Cambodia’s rapidly growing economy, combined with favourable exchange rates, means that your donation will stretch further than ever before.
For example, £29 might not seem like much, but when converted to 153,650 Cambodian Riel, it will go an extremely long way in providing the necessary equipment for patrol teams, such as waterproof clothing, dry bags and boots.
Your contribution will not only help us deploy more patrol teams to protect Koh Kong’s precious wildlife, but it will also support the local economy, empowering communities to safeguard their natural heritage.
Every penny you donate goes towards the £51,218 needed to directly protect the vulnerable species in the region.
© slowmotiongli / Adobe Stock
Clouded leopards are highly skilled hunters, but they're no match for poachers' snares.
Koh Kong’s mangroves: A vital ally in the fight against climate change
By donating to protect Koh Kong, you’ll also be protecting the vast mangrove expanse at its heart. This is not only vital for providing countless rare species a home, but is a huge ally in the fight against climate change.
Studies have shown that mangroves – like those at the core of Koh Kong – are around four or five times more efficient at storing carbon than mature tropical forests. Globally, they lock up some six billion tonnes of carbon, meaning this is not released into the atmosphere; these carbon stores are equivalent to the combined annual emissions of the US and China.
Mangroves have extraordinary potential to mitigate climate change, but to enable them to play their crucial climate regulation role, we need to prevent further degradation and prioritise their protection and restoration.
© Kimlong Meng / Fauna & Flora
Mangrove forests play a unique role in fighting climate change.
Why Fauna & Flora?
With over 100 years of experience in protecting endangered species, Fauna & Flora has built a network of trusted partners and local experts. We know how to protect Koh Kong’s wildlife – we just need your support to do it.
If Fauna & Flora is unsuccessful in raising its target of £51,218 for this appeal, all donations will still go directly towards the restricted need in Cambodia.
Any donations exceeding £51,218 will be used to support our wider work in Cambodia and around the world.
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