In a bid to stop and prevent forest land encroachment in Preah Monivong Bokor National Park in Kampot province, the Ministry of Environment has equipped rangers with drones to assist them in their patrol, intervention and crackdown in a timely and effective manner.

Ministry spokesman Neth Pheaktra handed over the drones and other equipment to rangers at the provincial environment department on August 27.

Pheaktra commended the rangers for their commitment in protecting natural resources, wildlife and ecosystem in Cambodia.

“Our officers face risks, hardship and even dangers in fulfilling their work, in addition to disease and other obstacles like floods,” he said.

Nevertheless, he said rangers still need to increase their capacity both in legal and technical aspects, keep abreast of advancements in information technology and remain highly ethical.

“Getting training to improve their capacity is necessary because forest or park rangers face a lot of challenges posed by criminals who have guns or homemade rifles, and dangers posed by snares set up in the forests for illegal poaching,” he said.

As a show of appreciation, five outstanding rangers out of 41 were awarded with certificates as part of the recent World Ranger Day celebrations.

According to Pheaktra, there are currently 1,260 park rangers stationed in natural protected areas and biodiversity corridors across the country, covering 7.3 million hectares, or 41 per cent of the country’s surface.

The protected areas are divided into national parks, wildlife sanctuaries, protected landscapes, multiple-use area, natural heritages, wetland areas and biodiversity protected corridors.