a scoping report on the ethnobotany of bokor and …

A SCOPING REPORT ON THE ETHNOBOTANY OF BOKOR AND REAM

NATIONAL PARKS

by:

Meng Monyrak, Kim Sarin and Pech Bunnat

With Contributions from:

Lun Kimhy and Peter Swift

OCTOBER 1999

Plant Resources Assessment and Training Project (Cambodia)

CONTENTS

PREFACE 3

INTRODUCTION 4

STUDY AREAS 4

Bokor National Park 4

Ream National Park 4

METHODS 4

OBSTACLES 5

BOKOR - SITE SPECIFIC ISSUES 5

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Market survey 6

Home (Interviews with traditional healers 6

Forest walks with key informants 6

Obstacles 6

Work schedule 6

REAM - SITE SPECIFIC ISSUES 6

Market survey 7

Home garden survey 7

Interviews with traditional healers 7

Forest walks with key informants 7

Additional interviews 7

Obstacles 7

Work Schedule 8

RESULTS 8

BOKOR 8

Demographics 8

Harvesting and use of plant species 9

Traditional beliefs and plants 17

Conservation threats 18

REAM 18

Demographics 19

Harvesting and use of plant species 20

Traditional belie and plants 28

Conservation threats 29

DISCUSSION 29

RECOMMENDATIONS 30

Data collection priorities 30

Priority interests 31

Priority implementation studies 31

A GUIDE TO THE APPENDICES 33

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PREFACE

There is little knowledge of ethnobotany, the interaction between plants and people, in Cambodia. An attempt is made here to start collecting data on plants used by local communities, the pressures upon plant species and factors affecting their sustainable use.

Local communities in Cambodia use wild plant species for uses as varied as medicine, food, timber and ornaments. Yet if harvests are taken at unsustainable levels these species face local, if not global, extinction. Other serious threats include habitat destruction and logging.

Presented here is "A scoping report on the ethnobotany of Bokor and Ream National Parks". The communities of Bokor National Park depend upon forest resources for daily income and subsistence. One of them is noted nationally for its bamboo harvest and fish-container production, an activity that has carried across generations. Ream National Park is one of Cambodia's protected areas facing unsustainable harvesting of forest resources.

The staff of the Department of Nature Conservation and Protection, Ministry of Environment, produced this report with contributions from park rangers and support from the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. This contribution is expected to serve in support of National Park management efforts to enhance local participation in park management, to conserve biodiversity and assure sustainable use of harvested forest resources.

INTRODUCTION

The Department of Nature Conservation and Protection (Dept. B) of the Ministry of Environment and IUCN conducted a series of ethnobotanical surveys in Bokor and Ream National Parks under the auspices of the Plant Assessment and Training Project. The purpose was to prepare a scoping report based on rapid assessment of plant resources use and harvesting from the parks, the benefits of these practices to communities and threats to species and ecosystems. It is intended that the findings presented here will ultimately contribute to management of both protected areas by highlighting priority areas for future work.

STUDY AREAS

Bokor and Ream National Parks (figure 1) are both located coastally, and are approximately 20 km apart. Both were designated by the Royal Decree "the designation and management of the Protected Areas", that was signed November 1, 1993. The Ministry of Environment and associated projects have therefore only recently had the opportunity to start managing both protected areas.

Bokor National Park

Bokor is considered by many to have the highest biodiversity of any national park. It is located (figure 2) along the Elephant Mountain range and borders the provinces of Kampot, Kompong Speu, Kompong Som and Koh Kong. It covers an area of 140,000 ha and has a maximum elevation of 1081 m. Rainfall is 4642 mm yr1 and temperatures range from 15-37oC. It is largely

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forested, and has a rich floral and faunal diversity.

There are two major threats to Bokor National Park. The first is land clearance for agriculture, evident in some places in the park. The second is timber extraction.

Ream National Park

Ream National Park — or Preah Sihanouk National Park — is in Khan Preynop province in southwest Cambodia (figure 3), along the Thai Gulf it covers an area of 21,000 ha. Rainfall is 3500 mm per year and temperatures range from 22-32oC. A large human population divided among several communities heavily influence park-ecosystems.

METHODS

In both Bokor and Ream, several methods of information gathering were employed:

1. Market surveys - these were used to gather information from local markets about species harvested from protected areas and sold. Attempts were made to determine where products were gathered, what quantities were taken and how they were used.

2. Home garden surveys — this technique was used to look at what plants were grown 'in and around dwellings and to provide — a starting point for further survey work.

3. Interviews with traditional healers - the intention here was to develop lists of utilised plants. Traditional healers were interviewed about what species they used, harvesting techniques, methods of medicine preparation, medical efficacy of their products, and also about edible plants in their harvesting areas.

4. Group discussions - these were used to have villagers rank the importance of plants identified from the previous survey methods. The first set interviewed were groups of traditional healers. Together they created maps of harvested areas. The second set was women's focus groups.

5. Forest walks with key informants - local people recognised as having significant experience in extracting forest products, such as traditional healers, were followed to see the forest they collected from, cross-check previously gathered data and look for new, pertinent, information.

Obstacles

Obstacles were encountered during the surveys:

� Women were often reluctant to talk, felt shy or otherwise embarrassed if males were present.

� Plant ranking discussions were long and repetitive causing some villagers to become bored and distracted.

� Survey periods were brief and so market surveys were limited to products in season. � Instead of calling meetings with farmers, the team tied to meet them 'in more natural

settings. Ibis meant looking for them in places such as video shops. In contrast, traditional

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healers could be called to meetings. � Ranking for plants vary from village to village, causing problems in analyses. A species

used by one village might not be known in another, for example. � In Bokor, numerous groups have extensively studied the village of Sre Prampi. The

villagers there did not take the survey as seriously as in other villages.

BOKOR - SITE SPECIFIC ISSUES

A six-person team conducted surveys; three from Dept B and three from the Bokor National Park staff.

The survey was conducted in the southern part of the park in the Kampot District of Kampot Province where the Plants Assessment and Training Project ecological component had been operating and because of easy road access. People in this area use the forest more than other communities around the park, where fishing is the primary occupation.

There are four communes in Kampot province that have communities bordering the park -Stung Keo, Mak Prang, Koh Toch and Preik Thnaot. Three villages were selected for surveys, one from each of three communes. Preik Thnaot was not surveyed.

Market Survey

The market survey was conducted at Kampot provincial market. There are no local markets in villages or communes as the provincial market is close to all survey villages. A rich diversity of products can be found there and the team was fortunate to be able to survey during the wad fruiting season.

Home Garden Survey

Five to six families were selected per village for interviews that were facilitated by the presence of village chiefs.

Interviews with Traditional Healers

A total of 16 traditional healers were interviewed. Six came from Snom Prampi, four from Anlong Mak Prang and six from Kilo 12. All were informative and happy to respond to inquiries.

Forest Walks with Key Informants

The team walled twice with traditional healers. The first walk was with one healer from Snom Prampi to Boeng Koun, a location inside the park. The second walk was with another healer, from Kilo 12, to Samnat Sal Khmao.

Obstacles

Participants often did not understand the context of questions being asked. An example was that if a question were posed about local species extraction, villagers would answer about how much longer it took to find the plants they were after. This problem was pertinent to Bokor alone given the large size of the park- as compared to Ream.

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Work Schedule

REAM - SITE SPECIFIC ISSUES

A four-person team conducted surveys, consisting of two people from Dept. B and two Park staff. Given time constraints, three of the twelve villages located around the Park were surveyed - Smach Deng, Sre Knong and Ong. Smach Deng, representing the northern part of the Park, includes two smaller settlements, Ta Ben and O Svay. Sre Knong village represented the east and Ong represented the west of the park.

Selection criteria were:

1. A village chief interested in working with the study team 2. Evidence of human pressure on local natural resources. 3. Availability of key informants with experience of growing wild plants in their homesteads.

Market Survey

Four markets surrounding the National Park were surveyed: Koh Kyong, Smach Deng, Boeng Ta Prom and O Chamnar.

Home Garden Survey

In each village the team chose 5 or 6 households that were seen to grow wild plants around their homesteads. Difficulties were found in that not many Households had planted wild species, and farmers were sometimes not at home.

Interviews With Traditional Healers

The study team interviewed five traditional healers in Sre Knong, six in Smach Deng, and one in Ong.

Forest Walks With Key Informants

Forest walks were conducted in five areas — Koh Thmey, Ta Ben, Phnom Totoeng, Phnom Ronhal and Viel Chanty.

Additional Interviews

Following data analysis, the study team conducted further interviews on species of particular interest.

Obstacles

3-10 April Survey at Snom Prampi village

26-30 April Survey at Anlong Mak Prang village

9-15 May Survey at Kilo 12 village

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Prior negative interactions between park staff members and villagers caused some difficulties to arise. In recent times, as park staff began to manage the park, arrests have been made of villagers violating park rules.

Work Schedule

RESULTS

Owing to the different ecological parameters, population pressures and interactions between people and Bokor and Ream National Parks, results from each win be presented separately.

BOKOR

The different communities around Bokor have their own, independent, socioeconomic and cultural characteristics. People living along coastal areas such Preik Thnaot, Koh Touch, Toek Thla and Toek La'ak communes, are mainly involved in fishing. Others, such as those in hilly areas Re Mak Prang and Stung Keo communes, are mainly involved in fanning and collection of NTFPs.

Demographics

The communities surveyed around Bokor that live in the forest are largely Khmer. Revenues are earned from farming, fishing and non-timber forest product (NTFP) collection. The Cham —Islamic — communities are coastal and live by fishing.

Village details, by commune, are as follows:

Stung Keo commune

� Anlong Mak Prang

Anlong Mak Prang has 769 inhabitants in 176 families. Thirty-seven of these are Muslim. Most inhabitants were born in the village; migrants are few. Income is derived from farming fruit like watermelons and bananas, planted on slopes. Women and men harvest NTFPs. The inhabitants of Anlong Mak Prang are the most skilled woodsmen among all villages surveyed

17-23 January Training and field practices

24-25 January Develop methodology and side selection

26-31 January Field work in Smach Deng village

1-3 February Field work in Ong village

4-10 February Field work in Sre Knong village

11 February Field work in Ta Ben (Smach Deng village)

12-13 February Forest survey in Koh Thmer

14-19 February Additional study in Smach Deng and Sre Cham

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during the course of this study.

Mak Prang commune

� Snom Prampi

This village is south of the park, 8 km from Kampot There is easy access to Toek Chhou, an important bamboo collection site. The village has 1927 people in 374 families, 48 of which are Muslim. Income sources vary according to social status. Middle class families grow durians. Lower class families collect NTFPs and tend the durian orchards owned by the middle class.

Villagers mainly collect bamboo, their principal interaction with forest, and a few know about traditional medicines.

Koh Toch commune

� Kilo 12

Kilo 12 is located on a highway between the ocean and Bokor National Park. The village has 2268 inhabitants in 467 families. Forty-seven families are refugees originally from different parts of Cambodia. They have formed a settlement, Chumrum, which is perceived as part of the village. Twenty refugee families have moved back to their home provinces. Villagers are mainly fishermen, farmers and NTFP collectors.

� Chumrum

Most Kilo 12 villagers fish for a living. Chumrum villagers are entirely dependent on forest to make charcoal, but have no "woodsman" knowledge of skills.

Harvesting and Use of Plant Species

Communities around Bokor perceive the park as having three use zones:

1. Foothills-useful for fire wood and fruits 2. Mountains - useful for medicinal plants, resin, good quality timber 3. Mountain tops - useful for medicinal plants

Powerful interests have conducted illegal logging operations in Bokor. In the past sawmills were located by the forest edge to process cut timber. These are now gone as required timber resources are exhausted. Now, chainsaw-based timber extraction continues in from the forest edge. Manual labour is hired to hand-carry sawn wood to ox-carts to be transported away. Chainsaw and haulage labourers are sometimes local villagers and sometimes outsiders.

Whereas income from timber extraction is still earned occasionally, it is bamboo that provides a permanent income base. Others plant products then provide supplemental income to communities.

The timing for harvesting, and those harvesting, various resources differ. These are summarised in table 1.

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Table 1: Plant product harvesters and timing of harvest in Bokor

The main plants products harvested, by village, are summarised in table 2.

Table 2: Relative levels of plant product harvest in Bokor

The study found about 300 locally useful plants. This number is significantly higher than encountered in Ream, probably because of the richer diversity of habitats and accompanying biodiversity.

Resources Harvesting season Harvesters

ANGKEAR SIL February Men and women

Bamboo Year round Men and women

Charcoal January - May Men

Construction timber Year round Men

Fencing Year round Men

Firewood Year round Men and women

Fruits March - May Men and women

Medicine Year round Traditional healers

Mushrooms May - June Women

Rattan January - April Men and women

Roots October - November Women

Vegetables Year round Women

Activity Snom Prampi Anlong Mak Prang

Kilo 12 Kilo 12 -Chumrum

Charcoal production

Small Medium None Large

Edible plant collection

Medium Medium Small Medium

Farming Large Large Small Large

Firewood collection

Medium Medium Small Small

Rattan extraction Small Medium None Small

Resin collection Small Small None None

Traditional medicine

Large Medium Large Small

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162 types of plant are used for medicinal purposes (see appendices). They include epiphytes, ferns, herbs, grasses, sedges and vines. Most of them are supplied to the provinces of Takeo, Kampot and Kompong Som. Additionally, some medicine plants can been found at O Russey market.

In Bokor and Ream it is normally male traditional healers that get medicinal plants from forests. They inherit their knowledge from their parents. Traditional healers in Bokor sometimes specialise in different sorts of ailment, such as childbirth problems or social diseases. Traditional healers in Ream tend to be generalists.

Sometimes husbands collect medicine for their families, especially for wives for issues related to childbirth.

Of the three villages examined, Snom Prampi had a relatively high number of traditional healers as they have easier access to raw materials than their counterparts in the other villages, and have a longer history of professional practice.

People using traditional medicines believe in its effectiveness and assume there will be no side effects and that costs will be less than those of modern medicines. However, they say it takes a long time to see results. In all of the three study villages, community members resort to traditional healers and medicines when clinics and hospitals cannot be afforded, or when funds for a course of treatment with modern medicines runs out before the treatment is finished. The lack of money available to pay traditional healers is therefore limited. This has meant that many have left their practice and have moved on to other 'obs; fewer are now practising the art.

� Harvesting

Large and small-scale harvesting activities take place. Traditional healers make large-scale collections and come from either within Bokor communities, or Chhuk and Angkor Chey districts. Some healers from outside the area will collect easily obtainable plants themselves and hire locals to find more elusive species. In other cases, traditional healers and others are hired by middlemen to collect medicinal plants for sale in Phnom Penh.

Small-scale collections are made for household use. It is particularly when women are about to deliver babies that their husbands 90 to the forests to collect medicinal plants.

Local communities collect medicines year round, whereas outsiders favour the dry season (November to April). Plants are generally collected from mountains, less so the foothills and mountain tops. Whereas Veal Sre, a mountain top area, is known to have many succulent plants that are effective for a variety of medicinal purposes, landmines deter collection. Currently, particularly important locations are the Kamchong Mountains and the "Bokor" part of Bokor National Park. Other popular collection locations include Puveang Kon for the Snom Prampi community, Toap Ngongit, Toap Kokoh and Ta Mano for the Anlong Mak Prang community and Kroam Damnak Sla Khmaao for the Kilo 12 community.

� Utilisation & consumption of plant based medicines

Most disease treatments involve at least three plant species. For serve problems, such as easing the trauma of childbirth, more than ten species are sometimes combined. It is believed that an increase in the number of ingredients allows more ailments to be treated with greater efficacy.

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Whereas Bokor is well known as having a wide variety of medicinal plant species, some are brought in from other areas, far and near. Within Bokor, some plants are known to have localised distributions.

Different traditional healers use different preparatory techniques to treat the same problems. Some only use plants, others combine plants with wildlife organs. Using animal organs is relatively expensive because of wildlife shortages.

It is believed that plants are more effective when used immediately after harvest.

Most traditional medicines include a combination of shrub, herb and parts of big trees such as bark. People note that the more bitter the taste of the medicine, the more effective it is in reducing body temperature.

� Economics

Through sales of traditional medicines or their ingredients to middlemen, local communities have benefited economically. Out of the 162 medicine plants encountered, 23 species have high market demand. Prices vary among markets; a medicine not available naturally around a particular village will be more expensive in its own market than one nearer to the source of the plant.

Traditional healers or middlemen hire poor families to collect plants for them. Middlemen sell products in Phnom Penh and other provincial towns. Revenue generation for families is small as plants can only be collected in the dry season. Plants in greatest demand are CHHKE SRENG, MEUM TAO HOK, BAMPONG KRALAOM, ANGKOT SAR, ANGKOT KRAHAM, VOR KUY, VOR ROMEAT, KOMAR PICH, TEPIRU, SUOT DAMREY and VOR ROMLEAY CHHEAM.

In Stung Keo commune, there is one small-scale plant to process VOR ROMEAT - collected from core zones of the park - for export. A similar venture had been set up in Kilo 12 and later closed. Another factory to the north of Bokor uses plants collected from across the park. VOR ROMEAT is thus still particularly sought after. In a day one family can collect 10 -50 kg, and collect Riel 150-200 kg-1.

Traditional healers prepare medicines, pack and sell them to the customers in villages or to middlemen. Income from selling medicine is greater than that derived from treating patients.

Edible plants have an important role in income generation and subsistence for poor families. They can be divided in four major groups - fruits, vegetables, roots and tubers and mushrooms (see appendices).

The surveys encountered 156 edible plants: 71 fruits, 54 vegetables, 9 roots and tubers, and 22 mushrooms. Thirty-one of these plants are sold in markets: 3 fruits, 10 vegetables, 4 roots and 4 mushrooms.

� Fruits

Some poor families can earn their entire income from selling fruits. Domestically and internationally, the largest demand is for SAMRONG and KHOH SI PHLAE (an acorn).

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SAMRONG (harvested in May) is exported to China and Vietnam. SAMRONG takes four years to produce fruits and is relatively expensive at Riel 5000 - 6000 kg in local markets. This high price provides incentive for local people to spend several days collecting fruits from the forest when in season. Middlemen buy fruits from the collectors at forest edges and sell in cities for Riel 20,000 kg. It commands a particularly high price because the fruits can be dried, stored and shipped to Thailand and Vietnam for sale.

Trees take five to seven years to fruit, then fruit every subsequent three years, in a masting event where all trees fruits together. It is said that a year before fruiting the bole has resin deposits. The species is now less common in Bokor than it used to be.

KHOH SI PHLAE costs Riel 2,000 kg and is harvested September — November. One of the most important species in Bokor for income generation, it is not cut down for harvest. Impoverished collectors often sleep underneath fruit bearing trees waiting for the acorns to drop.

The harvesting periods are dictated by species, and generally fruit collection occurs from April to November. Tools are simple, a bag and an axe.

According to collectors, whereas fruits were plentiful 20-30 years ago, resources are dwindling as some important types of trees — SAMRONG, TUNLOAP, KRALANH, KAMPING REACH and SEY MOAN — are often felled to collect the harvest. Additionally, demand has increased, as have the numbers of collectors. It tends to be poor families who collect fruits, as they do not own land for cultivation. Those who do own land cultivate trees selected from wild varieties, particularly PHNHIEU, MAK PRANG and SEY MOAN, which have preferred traits such as larger fruit size.

� Vegetables

Local communities sometimes collect edible vegetables as leaves from nearby forest. They are rarely actively sought, but if seen around houses or agricultural areas are picked. They used for flavouring, a vegetable or salad.

Plants can be harvested year round, but the dry season is preferred. Food preferences are changing as domesticated species replace local ones. As an indicator, it was reported

That 20-30 years ago CHUOK was often collected as food, now ignored in favour of exotic species. Examples of vegetables marketed in villages or markets are PRAMAT DEY, TROMOUNG, BAT KHTEAH and SLEK THNOENG.

� Roots and tubers

Domesticated sweet potato and cassava are preferred to wild roots and tubers. Only nine species are ever collected and these are not sold in markets. Two species that are found in Bokor but not Ream are DAMLONG KYA and DAMLONG CHROAM.

In Snom Prampi, the tuber KDEUCH was used as a supplement for rice, but is no longer important.

� Mushrooms

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22 varieties of mushroom are harvested, usually between May and July after the beginning of the rainy season. These are generally for domestic consumption, although a variety growing on Melaleuca were seen for sale at Kilo 12, the only village studied with easy access to Melaleuca forest.

More varieties of mushroom are collected from Bokor than Ream. Consumption varies from village to village. Mak Prang used more than the others, even Kilo 12 which has easier access to a large mushroom resource.

Non-edible plant use

Plants are used for many other purposes as follows:

� Timber

In Bokor, powerful 'interests control illegal commercial timber extraction. Large trees are felled and processed in sawmills. In 1993 logging started in earnest in Bokor. The government policy, known colloquially as K5 that cut trees to flush out Khmer Rouge terrorists was not enacted in the Bokor area (unlike Ream).

Most local houses are made of timber that is easily found from the park. Good quality timber is becoming relatively rare. In the three study villages, the results showed that people cut small trees to build houses, and gather these from buffer zones using hand tools. In all three study-villages, stocks of quality wood resources are depleted. Roofs are now generally made from zinc, thatch or palm. Unlike Ream, other species U-C grasses and sedges are not used for thatch, and bark is not used for walls.

The poor harvest trees such as TBENG and THLONG, which are used in local house construction and exported out of the area as concrete moulding supports. Poles of TBENG and THLONG with a diameter of 6cm dbh and length of 5-6 m are sold for Riel 1,000 - 2,000. Middlemen come to the villages to purchase the wood.

The Stung Keo part of Bokor still has good trees. Varieties used and sold are PCHET, SOKRAM, THLONG, TBENG and KAKI. Most extracted construction-quality timber is sold to the outside and not used locally.

� Fences

Various species are used to make fences, generally constructed to protect rice fields in the wet season. Trees used vary from village to village. Kilo 12 uses PROUS and KHOH; Anlong Mak Prang uses PCHEK, THLONG and TBENG. Selection is based on what is growing nearby.

People collect dead or living trees for fencing. Trees collected are up to the 10-cm dbh class. The practice is not widespread.

In Anlong Mak Prang poor villagers can generate income by cutting and selling fencing trees.

Fencing trees are cut in the dry season to facilitate transport and to build up a stock for use in the rainy season.

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� Firewood

The Khmer names of preferred species used for charcoal and firewood are CHAMBAK, PROUS, KHOH and ROMLEANG.

Almost every family consumes firewood for daily cooking. Firewood is usually collected from buffer zones and transported by ox-cart, bicycle or manually. Some families in Kilo 12 village derive limited supplemental 'income from selling firewood.

Firewood needs vary among villages. Villagers in Anlong Mak Prang sell the most firewood. Snom Prampi consumes relatively more firewood than Kilo 12, as stocks are needed for palm sugar production.

� Charcoal

Charcoal has high market demand and is not consumed locally. The newcomers of Chumrum who produce charcoal have no land and live next to the forest.

Charcoal production is a process that needs a large investment of labour and time. To produce 20 bags of 40kg weight each, 5m3 of timber is needed. Five days is required to collect wood, two more for transportation, two to place the wood for burning, and a further seven for the burning itself. The cost of transporting charcoal from the village to the market is Riel 1,000 per bag, and each bag can be sold for Riel 5,000.

Customers in Kampot prefer charcoal made from dead wood - kreak - because unlike charcoal made from living wood it does not explode. Chumrum villagers use live wood and their product sells for less than kreak- charcoal made by people of Stung Keo.

When interviewed, charcoal makers said that if alternative sources of income generation arose they would leave charcoal production.

� Bamboo

Bamboo is collected year round and plays an important role for local communities, especially for handicrafts such as rice, fruit and vegetable containers. Good quality bamboo products are common in Anlong Mak Prang. Every household utilises bamboo. This differs from Ream where handicrafts are made from other types of plant.

Bamboo products are marketed all over Cambodia. Demand can vary over time, for distant reasons. For example, in 1999 there was less demand for products in the areas around Tonle Sap Lake because of small fish catches.

Middlemen from Phnom Penh buy many community made products. Product prices and demand vary. For example, basket prices are Riel 2,500 - 6000, depending on size.

Bamboo Case Study:

There are two main varieties of utilised bamboo, RUSSEY THNGOR and RUSSEY POK that people harvest and collect to make household items such as baskets. Bamboos harvested in June-July can be harvested again in 5 - 6 months. People in Lo Et, in the Andong Khmer

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Commune, Kompong Bay District, have long time experience in making various sorts of baskets and other handicrafts products. They are almost entirely dependent on bamboo for income through handicraft production, and are said to avoid eating bamboo shoots. They are said to inherit their skills from their ancestors. 90% of Lo Et villagers are bamboo collectors and handicraft producers. Bamboo is harvested daily throughout the year except during special occasions such as Khmer New Year, or because of heavy rain. On average, 35 people collect; 40% of these are female. Outsiders also collect, from Prey Khla Commune, Kampot province, but only in the dry season.

There are different ways of harvesting bamboo depending on desired end product. To make kheng big baskets, 4 - 5m stems are cut. For L'Ey, small baskets, stems < 1m long are suitable. Everyone in the family is involved in making Kheng or L'Ey. On average, five kheng per day can be produced. Middlemen in the village buy products from villagers, yet some families transport their wares to Phnom Penh markets by themselves. The price of Kheng varies according to the quality and size, from Riel 2500 - 6000. Kheng made in Lo Et are sometimes transported to Daom Kor market in Phnom Penh, and then distributed to provincial markets or areas.

If bamboo groves are protected from fire and over-harvesting it is a sustainable resource for local communities of limited biodiversity value.

� Rattan

Rattan is collected for sale and domestic consumption in basketry. Good quality rattan collected for sale - PDAO DAMBONG, PHREAH PHDAO and PHDAO CHHVEANG - is harvested from remote areas that are often core zones of the park. Harvesting trips can last several days and are usually conducted by outsiders.

Whereas locals harvest rattan for domestic use, outsiders collect for middlemen, selling for about pay Riel 400- 500 for a 5m length. In the past a lot of rattan was collected for sale. In Snom Prampi there is a small warehouse where large and small diameter rattan is sold and boiled (a step in the rattan preparation process), tied in batches and transported out.

� Ornamental plants

Ornamental plants are less popular in Bokor than Ream. The Khmer names of plants encountered by the survey team used as ornamental plants are PHKAR KAMPHLEUNG, PHKAR ROMYOL, PRATEAL CHEUNG KDAM, DAMBONG YEAK, PRATEAL TOMPOK, PRATEAL ANGKOR CHUM, PRATEAL NEANG SNAY and PRATEAL KANTUY KRAPEU.

ANGKEAR SIL is collected from the foothills in February in the Chinese New year. It is collected in large quantities and sold over Cambodia and Vietnam.

� Resin

Resins were collected for generations. Arising in two forms, the first was liquid, Choar Toek, from various species of Dipterocarpus. There were individual use rights over these trees, which could be passed from generation to generation. They have since been logged out. The second was solid, Choar Chong, from Phoehouv. These resins develop into large lumps on branches. In the past these were collected when they fell to the ground. Now scarce, people climb trees to collect lumps when they see them, or shoot them down with slingshots. Extraction in Bokor is now restricted to solid resin collection by a few men from Snom Prampi and Anlong Mak Prang

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collecting in dense forest

� CHAN KRISNA

CHAN KRISNA is a name representing trees of Aquilaria. Some trees become infected with a fungus causing the heartwood to produce an incense ingredient of high market value. Low grades sell for US$300- 400 kg and high quality for much more. Collectors search in the dry season in groups of four or five people in core zones of the park, and stocks are reported to be low.

Traditional Beliefs and Plants

A variety of beliefs were communicated to the team. These include:

� SNAYBAY ROMEAS - Streblus asper Euphorbiaceac - is thought to be a favoured food of rhinoceros. It is used for a medicine for stomach aches. Others say that malaria will be caught if one sleeps under the tree.

� Traditional healers believe that when they tale bark from a tree, the wound must be filled with soil so that the tree will not die.

� If forest plants are planted around homes, good fortune win get better and bad fortune WM get worse.

� The resin from CHAN KRISNA is very expensive and only lucky people can find it Ills luck is temporary, as those who get rich from CHAN KRISNA are believed not to be able to stay rich for long.

� Before searching for medicinal plants forest spirits are asked for help in collecting. � One traditional healer believes that noon is the best time to collect plants. � In Koh Touch they believe PRATEAL CHANH causes malaria. � PRATEAL KDAM and DAMBONG YEAK are planted around houses to protect against

ghosts. People also believe that PRATEAL KDAM, when planted in rice fields, eradicates crabs.

� Special rituals must be used before administering certain medicines otherwise they will not be effective.

� Before planting a forest plant neat a house, it is taken to a temple to exorcise it from spirits.

� Certain areas of the forest need special rituals to be performed to ensure safety in them. In the past this was particularly important for the area of Toap Ngonget, where people would disappear if rituals were not conducted. It is now thought to be a less threatening area as women have visited the area. Other special practices are still said to needed, such as using a different vocabulary than normal, not using a pot to scoop water from streams and being careful about what one says.

Conservation Threats

The key core zone problems identified were:

1. Illegal felling of timber - Extraction of large trees began in the 1980's when the Khmer Rouge was present. Until the late 1990's, forest resources have been in serious decline in quantity and quality due to general anarchy and illegal exploitation. This has been further compounded by land speculation and clearance for agricultural purposes.

2. Forest fire - Chumrum is the village most affected by forest fire.

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3. Over collecting of species - The harvesting and collection of edible and medicine plants from the forests appeared to have very little impact on the region's ecosystems. Some targeted species, however, have suffered. Examples are trees felled for their fruits such as SAMRONG, SEYMOAN and TONLOAP. Rattans, CHAN KRISNA and highly valued plants like VOR ROMEAT are also becoming increasingly hard to find in the forest.

Buffer zone problems identified are land clearance, forest fires, and firewood and charcoal wood collection.

REAM

There are four communes surrounding the Ream National Park. Twelve villages are located inside park borders, a situation quite different from Bokor where villagers are located near the park border. The total population inside Ream is estimated by 1994 census statistics to be 12,688 -people in 2,339 families. Most are ethnically Cambodian, the remainder Chinese and Vietnamese. Immigration to the area is high.

The major income generators are fishing and farming. Minor occupations include NTFP collection, hired labour and small business. Knowledge of NTFPs is low when compared to Bokor. Income from farming and fisheries is high compared to NTFP collection.

In the 1980's, land clearance because of land speculation and security regulations in the buffer and core zones of what is now the park led to large areas of forest habitat being decimated by timber extraction and land conversion. In 1988-1989 Vietnamese took remaining large trees. In 1991 a plywood factory was built next to what is now the park border. The park was gazetted in 1993. In 1995 the Khmer Rouge lost control of the area and people moved back into the arm Park staff started to actively manage the park in 1997.

Current threats to remaining forest landscape are land speculation in the buffer zone of the park with local poor families paid to clear forestland for businessmen, and mangrove forests in Knong being cleared for shrimp farms.

Demographics

Three Villages were surveyed: Ong and Smach Deng in Ream Commune, and Sre Khnong in O Chrouv commune.

� Ong

Ong is located to the west of the National Park, close to the sea. There are 379 people in 142 families in the village and most of them are newcomers. 80% of the villagers make their living from fishing. The have little dependency on NTFPs and rarely enter forest. If medicinal plants are needed they are bought from village traditional healers. Mangrove trees from outside the park are harvested construction timber and firewood.

About 20% in the area do not own boats and are newcomers to the area. The live by exploiting forest resources and sale of labour. Their knowledge of NTFPs is limited, and collection is based on market demand.

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� Smach Deng

Smach Deng is northwest of the National Park. There is one road linking Smach Deng to Koh Sampouch, on the coast. Smach Deng village includes three small settlements by forest: Ta Ben, Chay Chkae and O Svay.

There are 1,239 people in 239 families. Most are engaged in fishing and farming. Recently, some villagers have sold land and starting encroaching the park to clear more land for agriculture. To support daily living they collect medicinal plants, tubers, vegetables and fruits from forest. Some Ta Ben villagers, including newcomers, make charcoal.

Local people are more skilful than newcomers in collecting NTFPs.

O Svay inhabitants are newcomers. Most migrated from Smach Deng village, some from Ream and Thmor from villages. They clear land for agriculture.

� Sre Khnong Village

Sre Khnong is in the eastern part of the National Park. There are 638 people in 129 families. Most are Khmer-Islam, born in the area. Some newcomers are present. The village is far from the forest compared to Ong and Smach Deng. Most inhabitants are engaged in fishing and to a lesser extent, farming. They have little skill in NTFP extraction, collecting mainly medicinal plants and firewood, and in the early part of the rainy season Smach mushrooms.

Harvesting and Use of Plant Species

Communities perceive Ream National Park in three zones:

1. Montane forest 2. Mangrove 3. Melaleuca forest

Montane forest is better for general NTFP harvest than the other two zones. The ocean yields seaweeds that are used for food domestically, or sold. Like Bogor, plants can be divided into those used for medicine, fruits, vegetables, roots and tubers and mushrooms and miscellaneous (see appendices).

Among the plants harvested, 38 medicine plants, six fruits, two vegetables, four tubers and three mushrooms are of particular use to villagers. They provide income. Some tubers can replace nice during rice shortages.

The timing for harvesting, and those harvesting, different resources varies. These are summarised in table 3.

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Table 3: Plant product harvesters and timing of harvest in Ream

A summary of plant uses encountered during Ream surveys, by village, is summarised in table 4.

Table 4: Relative levels of plant product harvest in Ream

Medicinal plants

The study of three villages in Ream National Park encountered 120 species of wild plants used for medicinal purposes. Certain exotic species are used as well, such as PONLEY, LHONG

Resources Harvesting season Harvesters

ANGKEAR SIL February Men and women

Charcoal January - May Men

Construction timber Year round Men

Fencing Year round Men

Firewood Year round Men

Fruits March - May Children

Medicine Year round Traditional healers

Mushrooms May - June Women

Rattan January - April Men and women

Roots and tubers Rainy season Women

Vegetables Year round Women

Ong Smach Deng Smach Deng -O Svay

Smach Deng -Ta Ben

Sre Knong

Charcoal production

None None Large Large Small

Traditional medicine

Small Large Small Large Medium

Rattan extraction

Large None None None None

Slash and burn

Small Large Large Large Medium

Firewood collection

Small Medium Medium Medium Medium

Edible Plant collection

Small Medium Medium Medium Medium

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SAP (turmeric), ROMEAT and TRABAEK (guava), which were not a focus for the study team. Most medicinal plants are small plants or vines. The bark of a few big tree species is also used.

The richer people of Ream prefer modem medicines to traditional cures, and in the case of serious diseases go to the hospitals Sihanoukville. As in Bokor, people believe that traditional medicines are free of side effects, that their effects take time to work and that costs are cheaper than those of modem medicines.

Each village surveyed had one (Ong) to five (Smach Deng) or more (Sre Khnong) traditional healers. They know which plants have medicinal value, and how they should be prepared and used. Knowledge is derived from parents, teachers or studying the ways of animals. One healer reported from spirits. As an example of learning from animals, one healer broke the leg of a bird called AOUD while in its nest, and then observed what sort of plants the parent brought to treat its offspring. Another observed a monkey that had just given birth, to see what plants it used to treat itself. Some villagers believe monkeys can be midwives to other monkeys giving birth. It was reported that most villagers know what kind of plants can be used to care for mothers after childbirth even if they are not traditional healers themselves.

Traditional healers believe that if they reveal secrets about medicinal plants and how they are used, their effectiveness will decrease.

� Harvesting

Medicines are collected yen round in Ream. 120 plants species are collected, 21 of high market value.

Collectors can be categorised in three groups:

1. Local villagers living in the area - they collect medicine for family consumption, especially for childbirth Issues.

2. Traditional healers - they collect medicinal plants every day and prepare medicine as required. One traditional healer makes up bags of medicinal plants for sale to middlemen from Phnom Penh.

3. Collectors from outside - these people collect medicinal plants for sale to markets. They usually collect in the dry season and target plants that are easy to find and that have a relatively high market value. Their activities appear to badly affect plant population size.

Few medicinal plants grow in mangrove and Melaleuca forest; most grow in montane forest. A few medicinal plants are ubiquitous. Areas of the park known to be particularly rich in medicinal plants are Phnom Totoeng, Phnom Taben, Phnom Ronhal and Koh Tmei.

Large scale harvesting of high value plants affects population regeneration. Plants badly affected locally were TEPIRU, VOR ROMEAT (collected for factory production), TAOHOK (a plant that is expensive and common; the roots are the required part, but these are difficult to find), VOR CHHEAM and ANG RE DEK.

One medicinal tree, TRUKUAT THMAT, is valued as a medicine but only one tree is known to remain in Ream. People are collecting patches of its bark and it is now almost dead.

� Utilisation and consumption of plant based medicines

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In general, many plants species are needed to prepare one medicine. In Ream, unlike Bokor, many required species are not available and collections need to be made from elsewhere, including Bokor. Two traditional healers are reported to use plants mixed with wild animal organs such as gall bladder, bone, and skin.

Different parts of plants are used in medicines, including roots, and bark. Sometimes entire plants are used.

Different preparative methods are employed and these include:

� Cutting the plant in small pieces, drying them and then boiling up when needed as a medicine - If the disease is particularly serious, about 1/3 of the water volume will be boiled away.

� Pickled in alcohol and drinking extract — this is particularly popular for women after childbirth or people who have worked hard, and the results are increased energy and better blood flow. Alcohol extracted medicines are not used by Muslims who boil medicinal plants in water instead.

� Grinding with liquid other than water - to reduce fever, plants are ground with coconut juice or rice water and given to the patient to drink. Some plants can be ground with alcohol and poured onto the skin over affected areas for healing.

� Vapours - a woman who has just delivered a baby will inhale vapours of medicines boiled in water.

� Tables - plants can be mixed with other plants or animal parts, burnt, powdered, mixed with honey and turned into tablets.

� Washes - Plants are left in water several hours and then used as a bath. This is particularly appropriate for children suffering from measles and chicken pox.

� Pounding to extract juices - bitter tasting plants are crushed, and the juices given to patients to drink.

Different healers used different mixes of plants and preparatory methods for the same disease. As an example, for treating haemorrhoids some healers use a combination of DONG BAT, PHLOU BAT, KANDOL BAT, SANKAE BAT, CHAE SRENG, VEAY, DUK PEAY, while others use DANGKEAP, CHEA SRENG, TAO HOK, SVAY PREY and KTHUM.

In many cases the species used for medicinal purposes are similar among Khmer, Khmer-Islam and Chinese traditional healers, but the method of use is different.

Some plants are important in many medicinal mixes and are believed to be able to treat a wide variety of disorders. Traditional healers call such plants ME TNAM. An example of such a plant is TOA HOK, perceived as akin to an antibiotic and used for treating wounds like cuts and ulcers.

� Economics

Traditional medicines are sold 'in raw and processed forms in all seasons. 21 species can be sold directly to middlemen from Phnom Penh, Takeo and Kampot or to local traditional medicine makers.

Customers can order specific traditional medicines to meet their needs.

VOR ROMEAT is becoming scarce at Ream due to over-exploitation for mark-et sale.

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Edible plants

As in Bokor, four groups of edible plants are recognised - fruits, vegetable, roots and tubers, and mushrooms

� Fruits

43 types of edible wild fruits were encountered, ten of which are marketed.

The area with the most fruit is in the centre of the park- at Phnom Totoeng. Villagers, when collecting PHNHIEV (which is more common around peoples houses than in forest), TANLOAP, PRING, KUY and MAK PRANG in the dry season use a road connecting this area to Smach Deng. SAMRONG, another market-valued fruit and also sold outside the park, is collected from Phnom Ronhal and Phnom Mlu. Other non-mark-et value fruits are taken from the buffer zone of the National Park close to villages and agricultural land. These include CHENG CHAP (not common), ROMDOUL and POUCH (Common and grown behind houses in the buffer zones).

People who collect wad fruits do so from March to May in the dry season. To gather fruit they cut branches (examples are PRING and MAK PRANG) or chop down trees (examples are SAMRONG and TANLOAP). It is mainly women and children of poor families who collect fruits.

� Vegetables

Like Bokor, vegetables are not actively sought but are collected when seen. 34 kinds of wad vegetable used by local people were encountered. In general poorer people use wild vegetables rather than richer people. Some wild vegetables like TA AON (a palm heart), RONGEANG, THOENG and TROMOUNG are enjoyed by rich and poor.

Villagers collect vegetables when they encounter them close to their homes or agricultural land. Women from poor families gather vegetables in earnest at the beginning of the rainy season.

The most important wild vegetables collected from Ream National Park are TOK, PRONG TOK, RONGEANG, PH'AO, PRAMAT DEY, NGUP, TROMOUNG, KHANH and VOR THNOENG.

� Roots and tubers

Wild tubers are especially useful for the poor when they are substituted for rice. There are six types of tubers collected and three of these have market value - DAMLONG TEAN, DOMLONG LANG and DAMLONG CHHRUK.

Smach Deng villagers, particularly women and children, dig wild tubers from the coastal sandy soil forest at Koh Sampoch, and less so in the montane forest of the park's buffer zone. Wad tubers are eaten from October to November when food is in short supply for poor and landless people.

KDOUCH is extremely important for the poor when rice is lacking. It is not marketed.

� Mushrooms

There are 13 varieties of edible mushrooms in Ream. Four of these are sold in markets -

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KONCHO, SMACH, TRACHIEK KANDOL and CHOMPUH SEH. Mushrooms are used as meat substitutes.

Mushrooms are collected at the start of the rainy season, from May to June. Women are particularly involved in collections from Melaleuca forest near their homes. Several mushroom species grow near village and agricultural land. TRACHIEK KANDOL is primarily the type collected from dead and living trees in evergreen forest.

Melaleuca mushrooms grow in sufficient quantity and have high enough demand in Thailand and Vietnam that they are important for income generation. Quantities of other mushrooms are limited; they are only eaten in villages.

In 1999, because of unusual, extra, rain in January, two crops of mushrooms were harvested.

Non-edible plant use

Other plant uses are as follows:

� Timber

Illegal logging severely depleted timber resources in and around Ream by 1993. A plywood factory close to Preik Teuk Sap and National Road No.4 used to manufacture plywood from timber extracted from what is now the park buffer zone. It is now supplied from other places including the Bokor area. Another factory, owned by a That businessman, is located near the coast on the west of Koh Samporch. It used to be supplied by timber from the core zone of the park but is now closed as the timber supply has been exhausted. A local effect was that resin extraction, which used to supply income to local people, is no longer feasible as the necessary big trees are gone.

Any logging in Ream National Park that happens now is for the domestic purposes of local people. This tends to be done by poor people harvesting small trees and bark. Wealthier inhabitants tend to by the construction materials they need from outside the area.

Case Example

TA AON

Two types of TA AON are recognised, TA AON DONG and TA AON SVA TA AON SVA. TA AON DONG has a 12-18 cm diameter and white core. TA AON SVA has an 8-12 cm diameter and a red core. The species grow particularly well in coastal and other wet areas.

TA AON is water and barnacle resistant for 30 - 40 years, and can be cut for use when > 10 years old. It can be seen in markets all year round. Freshly cut wood can be sold to furniture makers in Sihanoukville, who manufacture high quality floors, beds, sofas and other items from it. The price of a 5-m slat is Riel 15,000-20,000, an 8-m length Riel 30,000- 35,000.

The areas where TA AON can be exploited are Anlong Trey, O Svay, O Chaom, O Tul, Chraluok Kut, Veal Chanty, Prey Chaom and various other swampy areas. The resource is now scarce in O Svay, O Tul, Chraluok Kut and Anlong Trey. It remains plentiful in Veal Chanty and Damrey Phong.

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Villagers report that since 1990 the resource remains at only 20-30 % of pre-1990 levels. Losses are due to agricultural land clearance, especially in O Svay, O Tul and Anlong Trey.

Villagers report that TA AON reproduces mainly by suckers, and also seed. It flowers in May -June, and the fruits ripen red in July - August. The palms are harvested with falls with potentially special care; when cut the palm can kick back off its stump as it lethal consequences. The wood is used locally for docks and houses.

Pressures on TA AON include land clearance, fire (which kills suckers), and harvesting for palm heart.

� Fences

Pole-fences are used for dwelling and farms. Easily available plants are SMACH and PA ARV. Those with access to higher quality materials prefer to use KOKI KSACH and TA TROA.

Villagers like to cut poles from Melaleuca forest close to their village. Normally men cut and transport poles to the village or market by ox-cart. Collection of poles is decreasing following implementation of strict controls by rangers of Ream National Park.

Case Example

SMACH (Melaleuca leucodendron)

SMACH grows on acid soils; the only crop grown in the same environment is coconut. SMACH is a multi-purpose tree with uses including housing and fences. It is fast growing and has high market demand, leading people to protect it if it grows on their land. In Sre Khnong, 2 ha have been protected for the last three years.

Villagers want to protect natural SMACH forest in the national park. Communities benefit because that habitat provides wood as a cash crop and a growing environment for harvested mushrooms.

There has been one example of a powerful interests causing clearance of SMACH forest, which is now regenerating. Among villagers, whereas many want to see SMACH forest protected, they cut it because there are no clearly understood rights of ownership over it.

� Firewood

Firewood is highly desired for domestic consumption by local communities. Villagers from Ong collect from mangrove. Those from Sre Knong collect from mangrove and inland, and Smach Deng villagers collect from inland locations only. These patterns are dictated by proximity of resource.

� Charcoal

Men, for income, mainly produce charcoal in the dry season. Mangrove species are preferred. Charcoal production is illegal and generally carried out by newcomers from provinces like Kampot and Takeo; production is starting to decrease because of enforcement of park rules.

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Wood is taken from areas close to the settlements of the charcoal producers.

� Handicrafts

Handicraft production is relatively low among the Ream communities studied. They are produced for home consumption and surplus is sold.

Plants and their use in handicrafts is summarised in the table 5.

Table 5: Plants and handicraft rise in Ream

� Miscellaneous plants

In coastal areas villagers use TA AON, KOKI KSACH or SMACH as house supports. The poor use PROK SBOUV, TRIERK and KOK as thatch, which is replaced every 4 - 5 years.

Villagers focus on plants for food security rather than ornamental uses. Some plants are, however, collected for decorative purposes and these include orchids that are hung on house porches. Leaves of ANSAE are used as decorations in ceremonies. CHOENG TEUKAE is a popular ornamental.

Commercially, ANGKEAR SIL is collected for Chinese and Vietnamese New Year celebrations in February. Local people can get Riel 10,000 for one large bundle when sold to middlemen, who then sell it in Phnom Penh or Kompong San.

CASE STUDY

Chan Krisna

CHAN KRISNA is one of Several Species of the genus Aquilaria. When a particular fungus infects the wood, a resin of very high value in international markets is produced. In Ream, infected CHAN KRISNA has different names in different places, being called CHHOE LOK by some villages and KOH SNA by others. People categorise CHAN KRISNA in two varieties, one with a black bark and another grey. Of the two, black barked trees are reported to be more productive.

CHAN KRISNA has a mythological status. One traditional healer goes to "Meditation Mountain" near Smach Deng to ask spirits where the trees are. He said that sometimes the tree disguises itself as a snake, or is altogether invisible. If a tree is encountered, it may disappear before it is seen again.

Plant Handicraft

PRONG TEUK (a fern) Brooms

Vines Fish traps

Chambok Chopping blocks

Thnong Shoulder pole

Rattan Cordage for shoulder poles

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Trees used to be found in Phnom Toteung and Phnom Rontial, collected in the dry season, but stocks are now exhausted. Collection was particularly active from 1986 until 1995 - even young trees were cut for sale at Riel 250 kg-1. A processing plant has been closed. Some small, planted, Aquilaria can be seen at the site. Since 1996, park authorities prohibited collection and young trees are regenerating again, and are even domesticated. One Sre Cham villager has protected Aquilaria for 3-4 years and now has 52 trees of 8m height, 10 - 15 cm dbh. Some villagers derive income from seeds, obtaining Riel 100 for 10 seeds and Riel 500 for one tree seedling. In 1998, Vietnamese came to Ream to purchase Aquilaria seeds. Children caught the seeds faster than the villager, and have started to sprout and grow them 'in the village. If they will be of value later is open to question.

CHAN KRISNA Is divided into three quality classes, with the top quality - first class - being as expensive as gold, weight for weight. Additionally, the outer bark- of Aquilaria is said to be useful for treatment of diarrhoea.

Traditional Beliefs and Plants

Beliefs communicated to the team included:

� If certain wild plants are grown at the homestead, the fancily will become sick or unlucky. Some species of PRATEAL bring good luck, and DOMBONG YEAK protects from ghosts and evil.

� Unlucky people will not find CHAN KRISNA because spirits will hide it. Some collectors discover their target because of dreams.

� Cham people paint fingernails using KAMPEN for wedding parties. People believe that if one wants to plant it, some must be stolen from a neighbour. If the plant is asked for rather than stolen it will not grow well.

� Villagers Carefully Collect SAMRONG in the rainy season believing that a poisonous snake called Pophkeak, who also likes the fruit, will try and bite them.

Conservation Threats

Identified problems are:

1. Forest land clearance aid timber exploitation

2. Forest fires - these burn in SMACH forests every year. This has led to one Ta Aon variety o become locally endangered.

3. Species exploitation - some species are becoming rare due to exploitation. Ten medicinal plants are under extreme pressure.

DISCUSSION

This scoping report does not aim to make specific recommendations for park management planning. It attempts to highlight areas and priorities that need following up.

Bokor and Ream are very different national parks. Bokor is large, has good forest cover and

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many parts are remote from settlements. Ream is smaller and has intense human use of its habitats. Yet the data gathered show more commonality than difference when human use of plant resources is considered.

In both parks, illegal logging has taken a colossal toll on the ecosystems of the parks. Whereas there is still good forest habitat in Bokor that needs protection, most of the large trees are gone from Ream to the extent that illegal sawmills have had to close for lack of resources. From the local community perspective, not only has an essential resource been severely depleted or exhausted, revenues to the communities were small to non-existent. Paradoxically, remaining forested landscapes are still threatened by land conversion for agriculture. Most people feel that agricultural land is more important to them than a forested landscape.

It becomes evident that threats to the parks occur on two levels. The first is at the landscape level, caused by illegal logging trashing habitats and by conversion to agriculture. The second is at the species level, where species of high economic value are targeted. The commonality between both types of threat is economic. The value of the parks to those around them is less than the value of short-term, destructive, harvesting. The needs arising from short-term poverty mean that the poor and landless will continue to work for logging companies, produce charcoal, sell farms and encroach further into the parks.

No matter whether the communities using plant resources are indigenous or relative newcomers, the poor primarily use them. Modem medicines are preferred to the products of traditional healers if sufficient funds are available. The vegetables used are generally leaves and eaten more by the poor than the rich. Cassava and sweet-potato are preferred to indigenous tubers, used principally by the poor during periods of food insecurity. Many fruits fall into the same category. Charcoal production is not only destructive; it Is usually undertaken by the poor and landless who would welcome an opportunity to work in a different occupation.

A few products including some fruits, medicinal plants and CHAN KRISNA can occasionally bring in worthwhile income, enough that landless folk and other poor are hired by middlemen to search them out. These species are being depleted. Fruit trees are cut for their harvest. In this way, not only are the mother trees lost, but also genetic erosion continues as their seeds are taken away from the forest. Medicinal plans are often herbs or vines, destructively harvested. CHAN KRISNA trees are cut down 'in the search for infected wood, threatening local species long-term viability.

Conservation values are present among the communities around both Bokor and Ream parks. During discussions, many people emphasised their shock at how quickly the forests around them are disappearing. Traditional healers and the elderly appeared to have the best understanding of the relevance of biodiversity to them. Bamboo harvesters have an understanding how long-term sustainability of the resources of interests to them affects their personal future. Spiritual values of forest were recognised in many areas, and in these areas trees are not cut. Yet there are other with little understanding of the ecological value of the area, and continue to clear land for agriculture or to have a plot that they can at least call their own.

The issue of land ownership and values envelopes the conservation challenges in Bokor and Ream National Parks. People interviewed feel that the parks are not their property, so have little or no interest in their conservation. Park authorities are recognising this and are interested in looking at licensing harvesting quotas of various species.

It is against this backdrop that recommendations for follow up are work are suggested. Scientific

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surveys need to be targeted to problems arising between people and parks. From the scoping surveys discussed in this report, the following recommendations are now made.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Data Collection Priorities

� The surveys described in this report were rapid assessments attempting to obtain an overview of the issues surrounding people and parks in Bokor and Ream. The basis for data analysis was local names of plants. These plants need to have herbarium reference collections made and properly identified. With scientific names, literature on species of interest can be found and advice on issues such as cultivation and conservation.

� Only a small part of Bokor was surveyed in relation to its overall size. Further studies are needed in other areas such as Koh Sla, Pich Nil, Dey Kra Ham and Steung Sam Rong.

� Given the wide-scale dependence on bamboo, the species being utilised should be identified, their ranges defined and long-term sustainability assessed.

� There is a rich knowledge of medicinal plants in the Bokor area, now in danger of being lost as people start using modem medicines when money permits, and traditional healers are leaving their craft. This knowledge should be captured in detail at the earliest opportunity.

Priority Interests

� Species level studies are urgently required on:

1. Species reported to be already rare - SOUT DAMREY, TRUKUAT THMAT and CHAN KRISNA.

2. Species in high demand - Further economic studies are required on species that provide substantial 'incomes to communities, whether on a continuous or irregular basis. The team recommends starting with fruits like KHOH SI PHLAE (Lithocarpus sp). Additionally, timber trees over-harvested by commercial logging in the past with little local demand should be studied, particularly local mahogany and large species of Dipterocarpus.

3. Species whose seeds are being taken from the park - this includes all marketed fruit species.

4. Working with park authorities to investigate biological and social implementation options for licensed harvesting of certain species.

Priority Implementation Studies

1. Building on locally based resource assessments - resin harvesters used to mark- areas or trees for themselves and future generations. Efforts should focus on extending this sort of appreciation of trees and their sustainable use to other groups.

2. Building on local beliefs - many local traditional healers who benefit from medicinal collect to meet their needs are aware of the implications of over-harvesting plant resources. Opportunities for expanding this sort of self-control to other plant resources should be investigated.

3. Educating people with no knowledge of plant resource conservation - most village encountered bad no interest in protecting and conserving plants (take the cases where they fell trees to harvest fruits, or set fires to help assist in hunting animals). In general

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these people appear to believe that forests regenerated by themselves if trees are only manually cut.

4. Identifying spirit forests - given that these are protected by local cultures, the example should be built upon.

5. Identifying villages with priority conservation development needs - suggested here are those interested in the conservation of Melaleuca forest.

� Policy support.

1. Investigate relationship between park regulations and local resource extraction practices -villagers perceive that they are not given rights to participate 'in park management, and that the forest belong to the government. Moreover, villagers see that park and forest-based revenues will not contribute to their community's development through avenues including rural road construction, development of local sanitary and drinking water systems and school buildings. Others see land speculation by powerful people working against their interests. As such there is little motivation for people to want to protect local resources, or to even consider long-term sustainability issues. Yet people have needs from the park and so long as park-conservation regulations dictate that they cannot be met, the value to local people is zero.

2. Policy options for development of communities, especially their poorest members, in conjunction with conservation goals are required. Sustainable use of park resources might increase the value of biodiversity for all concerned and could well serve to minimise the current, long-term, risks that people pose to the parks.

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a scoping report on the ethnobotany of bokor and …

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