Cardamoms National Park Achieves Sustainable Financing from REDD+ Carbon Offsets

A Cardamom NP ranger sets a cellular trail camera, an important piece of surveillance equipment that can alert rangers when criminals enter the park. Photo courtesy Wildlife Alliance.

Wildlife Alliance, Global Conservation’s partner in protecting Cardamom National Park in Cambodia, has secured over $10 million in long-term funding for park and wildlife protection from the sales of REDD+ VCS (Verified Carbon Standard) Carbon Credits. This marks one of the first major successes in a previously ineffective carbon offset system developed by the United Nations over 20 years ago.

The Southern Cardamom REDD+ Project (SCRP) is an initiative designed to promote climate change mitigation and adaptation, maintain biodiversity, and create alternative livelihoods under the United Nations scheme of "Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation" (REDD+). 

After the investment of millions of dollars and nearly 4 years in developing it as a REDD Project, Cardamom National Park has now secured solid funding for long-term protection through REDD++. These carbon offsets were developed by Wildlife Works, one of the world’s premier carbon project developers.

Cardamom NP rangers on patrol, protecting these priceless forests. Photo courtesy Wildlife Alliance.

The SCRP's climate benefits include the avoided emission of approximately 12 million tons CO2e (carbon dioxide equivalent) during this first monitoring period and over 115 billion tons CO2e over the lifetime of the project. The Project will generate substantial community and biodiversity co-benefits.

New and sustainable livelihood opportunities, such as direct employment, alternative income generating activities (IGAs) and initiatives to stimulate investment in businesses will be designed to reduce pressure on the environment while significantly increasing community well-being. Additional programs will address food security, improve health and education facilities, as well as raise environmental awareness. 

Community outreach and involvement is a critical component of Wildlife Alliance's programs in the Cardamom Mountains. Photo courtesy Wildlife Alliance.

Biodiversity co-benefits will be achieved through greater protection of the ecosystem predominantly by means of increased security and improved monitoring. The Project will also be protecting critical habitat for significant populations of many IUCN listed species, including Asian elephant, Asiatic black bear, sun bear, large spotted civet, clouded leopard, and dhole, as well as the critically endangered reptiles Siamese crocodile and Southern river terrapin.

Global Conservation has been funding field protection for Cardamom National Park in Cambodia since 2018, investing nearly $500,000 into the last major intact forests left in Southeast Asia. Protecting these forests is critical for achieving our planet’s climate goals.

GC has helped to train Cardamom NP rangers in patrolling, surveillance, and enforcement. Photo courtesy Wildlife Alliance.

Despite its global importance, uncontrolled small-scale land conversion of forest to agricultural land by migrants and conversion to agro-industrial plantations by the private sector make the Southern Cardamom region one of most threatened forest landscapes in South East Asia. Rural communities depend on small-scale agricultural production to support their livelihood. 

Deforestation is a major problem in the Greater Cardamom Mountains Rainforest Ecoregion. Photo courtesy Wildlife Alliance.

The 445,339-hectare SCRP encompasses parts of Southern Cardamom National Park and Tatai Wildlife Sanctuary, and will protect a critical part of the Cardamom Mountains Rainforest Ecoregion – one of the 200 most important locations for biodiversity conservation on the planet. Cardamoms National Park supports at least 52 species of IUCN Threatened birds, mammals, and reptiles including Siamese crocodile and one of Cambodia’s two viable populations of Asian elephant. The landscape has also been identified by the Royal Government of Cambodia as an opportunity for tiger reintroduction.

Photo courtesy Wildlife Alliance.

Wildlife Alliance has been assisting the government in the management of the Cardamom Rainforest Landscape since 2002. Global Conservation has funded Global Park Defense deployment since 2018, achieving significant protection and enforcement successes. Core Global Conservation funded activities include surveillance, park communications, ranger patrols protecting the forest and technical assistance to the government to help it implement forest protection, as well as community involvement. For more on GC projects to protect Cardamoms National Park see GC News: Cardamom National Park. 

To purchase Cardamoms VCS Certified Carbon Offsets, contact Everland.

A critical prerequisite to Global Park Defense is a park-wide communications network. Consequently, GC supported the construction of additional communications towers in Cardamom National Park. Photo courtesy Wildlife Alliance.