$40m plan to protect Asian elephants Torn Vibol, Khmer Times November 28, 2022 The Ministry of Environment estimates that it will need $40.5 million to care for the country’s Asian elephants over the next 10 years. According to the Ministry of Environment, Cambodia currently has between 400 and 600 wild Asian elephants in the Cardamom Mountains, Prey Lang, and the Eastern Plains of Mondulkiri and Ratanakiri provinces, while there are also about 70 domestic elephants. To increase their number, the Environment Ministry has drawn up a plan for the conservation of the country’s Asian elephants. Ministry spokesman Neth Pheaktra said: “To protect and conserve elephants in Cambodia, the government has collaborated with partner organisations, to put in place a strategic plan by strengthening the efficiency on the protection of natural resources, forests which are the habitats and feeding grounds of the elephants, searching for traps put by people in the forest, strengthening law enforcement against the perpetrators and banning wildlife poaching”. “According to estimates, the 10-year action plan for the conservation of wild Asian elephants requires $40.5 million, which is expected to come from a combination of contributions from the government, NGOs and development partners,” Pheaktra said during a workshop held last week on elephant tracking sponsored by WWF and US Fish and Wildlife Service. The fund, Pheaktra said, will cover spending in areas such as reducing habitat loss, conserving and re-connecting wild herds, strengthening law enforcement, preventing wild elephant captivity, and alleviating conflicts between wild elephants and humans. “According to the data from the cameras in the protected areas, there are herds of Asian elephants in the protected areas of Cambodia, including many young calves,” he said. “The presence of newborn baby elephants in large herds is the hope of conservationists and environmentalists.” Cambodia elephant has a gestation period of 18-22 months and usually do not breed more than once every 4-5 years. Khun Diyon, director of a local elephant conservation organisation in Mondulkiri province, said he supports the ministry’s action plan and expects it will help protect and conserve Asian elephants in Cambodia. “The current challenge for elephants is the spread of people who have entered the forests, affecting the habitats of the elephants and also causing conflicts between humans and elephants. “A few days ago, four elephants ate villagers’ crops and the villagers caught and kept the animals. “We went to rescue the elephants by offering compensation to the people. I support the ministry’s conservation planning mechanism and will participate in the conservation of the elephants,” he said. Asian elephants are the largest living land animals in Asia. Cambodian elephants, meanwhile, belong to the Elephas maximus genus which is found throughout Southeast Asia from India in the west to Borneo in the east. The Asian elephant is under severe pressure throughout its range and it is classified as endangered on the IUCN red list, meaning that it faces a very high risk of extinction in the wild. In Cambodia, they are threatened by a loss of habitat and by poaching. https://www.khmertimeskh.com/501192065/40m-plan-to-protect-asian-elephants/