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U.S. Wildlife Conservationist Honored in Cambodia SAN FRANCISCO, California, February 18, 2002 (ENS) - Dr. Suwanna Gauntlett, a U.S. wildlife conservationist working in Cambodia, has been awarded the Gold Medal for National Reconstruction and Rehabilitation for her work in stopping wildlife crime in the southeast Asian country. The Gold Medal is the highest award that can be conferred upon an individual in Cambodia. For helping the country strengthen wildlife law enforcement and educate the public, Gauntlett received the medal from Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen in the capital Phnom Penh on February 7.
In partnership with the Cambodian Department of Forestry, Gauntlett created a unique mobile unit designed to combat poaching and illegal wildlife trade throughout the country. After the first six months of operation, staff of the mobile unit detained or warned 92 wildlife traders, rescued over 5,000 live animals and released 95 percent of these back into their natural habitats. Released wildlife includes eagles and other endangered birds, pangolins, civets, snakes, turtles, monitor lizards, and other species protected under the laws of Cambodia. Gauntlett played a pivotal role in founding WildAid, a San Francisco based, two year old nonprofit organization that specializes in rapid, action based intervention in wildlife crises, followed by creation of long term, sustainable solutions.
In Cambodia, Gauntlett directs field operations of WildAid's Cambodia Wildlife Conservation Program. In the streets around Phnom Penh's Orussie Market, elephant tails and bear bile, leopard skins and tiger penises are for sale. Restaurants in the capital serve illegal meals of wild animals, although Cambodia is a signatory to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, and the Prime Minister has signed a decree to protect the country's wildlife. Gauntlett and WildAid have worked with the Cambodian Department of Forestry to put up educational banners in the streets of Phnom Penh. Billboards were built along the roads to the provinces, government declarations were posted in all the restaurants, and new regulations were issued by the Mayor of the city. WildAid's television series appealed to villagers to participate in wildlife protection. The government introduced new local laws last year to coincide with the education campaign aimed at curbing the wildlife destruction.
Sun Hean, deputy director of the wildlife protection office, told "The Times of India" newspaper last August that the new legislation would replace old laws which were difficult to enforce and lacked clear punishments. Gauntlett and WildAid assisted the government last year in setting up a core team of rangers to conduct anti-poaching patrols in mountainous Bokor National Park near the port town of Sihanoukville. Over the last twelve months, the rangers detained or warned over 200 poachers and loggers, confiscated 74 chainsaws and 8,234 snare traps. The WildAid supported rangers cannot arrest poachers outside of the park boundaries so they cooperate with the mobile unit to stop hunters operating in villages around the park. The most recent success of this teamwork was the arrest of three hunters who killed an elephant and wounded another just outside Bokor National Park. There has been some backlash against Gauntlett's activities. Last June, a group of alleged illegal loggers who were detained and had their chainsaws confiscated were suspected of a grenade attack that injured seven park rangers, three seriously, the "Cambodia Daily" newspaper said.
Hong Daravuth, field coordinator for WildAid, said at the time that regular patrols of park rangers, some who have been given rifles, motorbikes, and high-tech surveillance equipment, have drastically reduced widespread illegal logging in the area. WildAid workshops provide training on enforcement, how to conduct sting operations, identifying wildlife species at risk and what to do with the animals when they are confiscated. Sessions include practical, hands-on exercises for investigations, arrests, confiscations, maintaining confidentiality, and basics for the care and transportation of wildlife. WildAid works through its small, locally staffed offices in Bangkok, Phnom Penh, the Galapagos Islands, Vladivostok, London and Washington, DC, strengthening field protection for animals, combating illegal wildlife trafficking, and persuading consumers of threatened wildlife to change their habits. Copyright Environment News Service (ENS) 2002. All rights reserved. |
Dr. Suwanna Gauntlett
(Photo courtesy 
Gauntlett signs a Memo of Understanding
with the Cambodian Department of Forestry & Wildlife (Photo courtesy
WildAid)
Southeast Asian box turtle, heavily exploited for
food and traditional medicine (Photo by Peter Paul van Dijk courtesy
Bokor National Park (Photo courtesy 