Suwanna Gauntlett, co-founder and executive director of Wildlife Alliance, talks about protecting wildlife in Cambodia. Cambodia has long been one of Asia’s five main source countries for wildlife exported for traditional Asian medicine, exotic pets, and meats. Suwanna tells “The WildLife” host Laurel Neme that when she first arrived in this southeast Asian country in the late 1990s, “you could hardly see any signs of wildlife because of the destruction.” Wildlife was sold everywhere. But that’s changing. Illegal wildlife trade has declined by about 70% in the last 10 years due to a multi-pronged approach working directly with communities and governments both to combat the illegal wildlife trade and to improve forest management. Suwanna and Wildlife Alliance often focus on fighting land development/forest conversions and instead providing alternative and more diversified and sustainable means of making a living. Already, as a result of this work, the government has avoided 28 economic land concessions and saved over 2 million acres of forestland. One of those that Suwanna talks about in this interview are her efforts in the southern Cardamom mountain range, one of Asia’s last seven elephant corridors and Cambodia’s largest remaining intact forest, where her program has reduced elephant poaching there by 95 percent, tiger poaching by 50 percent and forest fires by 80 percent. However, those successes are now under threat due to the recent approval of a land concession for a proposed titanium mine. This episode of “The WildLife” aired on The Radiator, WOMM-LP, 105.9 FM in Burlington, Vermont on March 21, 2011.
The WildLife: Dung Beetle Adventures, Part II, Doug Emlen
The WildLife: Dung Beetles & Weaponry, Part I, Doug Emlen
The WildLife: Whooping Cranes, Matt Mendenhall
The WildLife: Moon Bear Farming & Rescue, Jill Robinson
The WildLife: Sun Bears, Siew Te Wong
The WildLife: Mongabay.com, Rhett Butler
The WildLife: Corals & Coral Reefs, Kristian Teleki
The WildLife: Illegal Reptile Trade, Bryan Christy
The WildLife: Domestic Asian Elephants in Thailand, John Roberts
The WildLife: Orangutans & Conservation Approaches Part II, Michelle Desilets
The WildLife: Orangutans Part I, Michelle Desilets & Shawn Thompson
The WildLife: Killer Whales & Vocalizations, Ari Daniel Shapiro
The WildLife: Wildlife Friendly Certification, Julie Stein & Elephant Seal Update, C. Heinrichs
The WildLife: Tiger trade & farming, Grace Ge Gabriel
The WildLife: Illegal Parrot Trade in Mexico & CITES, Juan Carlos Cantu
The Wildlife: Wildlife Health, Steve Osofsky, Part II
The WildLife: Wildlife Veterinarian in Botswana, Steve Osofsky, Part I
The WildLife: Wild Cats, Lisa Tekancic & Creature Call Contest Answers
The Wildlife: Amphibian Trade, Alejandra Goyenechea
The Wildlife: Wildlife Biologist Adventures, Susan Jewell
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