Posted by gregmccann1 on 24/6/2018 at 10:11



As someone who has advocated for Virachey NP for nearly 10 years and helped promote ecotourism in the Park during that time, it saddens me to inform you all that there were be no more ecotourism in the Park anymore. It's done, over. That is what I have been told. The Park rangers, who are all poorly paid, will be losing out on extra income, and many of Brao and Kavet higlanders who live along the park's buffer zone near Sesan River used to earn some decent extra cash as guides and porters and camera-trap checkers for my team. The whole thing is just a real f--ing shame.



Just last week I published an article on Mongabay talking about how wildlife is holding on in the Park despite the threats (note: make sure you check out the video embedded in the middle of the article: it's from just one camera station!). We will continue our survey projects in the remote sections of the Park, looking for species such as Owston's civet and Large-antlered muntjac, which until now have only been found in Laos and Vietnam.



To make matters worse for Ratanakiri province, word has it that the entire Yeak Loam Crater Lake, which until very recently was managed by the Tampuan minority people, has been nationalized and sold to the Chinese, who plan to build a large hotel and casino complex there. You can find a discussion on this here. I never thought I'd say this, but I wonder if there's any reason to visit Ratanakiri anymore.

#1 gregmccann1 has been a member since 28/10/2009. Location: Taiwan. Posts: 185