| Cardamom Mountains | |
|---|---|
| Krâvanh Mountains | |
 Vista across the Cardamom Mountains. From Khao Khitchakut National Park (Thailand). | |
| Highest point | |
| Peak | Phnom Aural |
| Elevation | 1,740 m (5,710 ft) |
| Coordinates | 12°00′N103°15′E / 12.000°N 103.250°E /12.000; 103.250 |
| Dimensions | |
| Length | 300 km (190 mi) NW/SE |
| Width | 70 km (43 mi) NE/SW |
| Geography | |
  Cardamom Mountains Krâvanh Mountains in Cambodia Show map of Cambodia Cardamom Mountains Cardamom Mountains (Thailand) Show map of Thailand | |
| Countries | Cambodia andThailand |
| Geology | |
| Rock age | Cambrian[1] |
| Rock type | Metaconglomerate |
TheCardamom Mountains (Khmer:ជួរភ្នំក្រវាញ,Chuŏr Phnum Krâvanh[cuəpʰnumkrɑʋaːɲ];Thai:ทิวเขาบรรทัด,Thio Khao Banthat[tʰīwkʰǎwbān.tʰát]), or theKrâvanh Mountains, is a mountain range in the southwest part ofCambodia andEastern Thailand. The majority of the range is within Cambodia.
The silhouette of the Cardamom Mountains appears in theprovincial seal ofTrat Province in Thailand.[2]
The mountain range extends along a southeast-northwest axis fromChanthaburi Province in Thailand, andKoh Kong Province in Cambodia on theGulf of Thailand, to theVeal Veang District inPursat Province, and extends to the southeast by theDâmrei (Elephant) Mountains.[3] The Thai part of the range comprise heavily eroded and dispersed mountain fragments of which theKhao Sa Bap,Khao Soi Dao andChamao-Wong Mountains, east, north and west ofChanthaburi respectively, are the most prominent.
Dense tropicalrainforest prevails on the wet westward slopes which annually receive from 3,800 to 5,000 mm (150 to 200 in) of rainfall. By contrast, only 1,000 to 1,500 mm (40 to 60 inches) fall on the wooded eastern slopes in therain shadow facing the interior Cambodian plain, such as theKirirom National Park. Most of the mountains are a dense wilderness, with almost no human population or activity, but on the eastern slopes,cardamom andpepper are grown commercially, and several large-scale construction projects have begun since the turn of the century.
The highest elevation of the Cardamom Mountains isPhnom Aural in the northeast at 1,813 m (5,948 ft). This is also Cambodia's highest peak.
Other important summits in the Cambodian parts are:
In Thailand, the most prominent peaks are:
The Cardamom Mountains holds many historic sites and relics from the 15th- to 17th-century specifically. This includes a number of exposed burial sites of a type known asjar burials. The burials are scattered around the mountains, set out on remote, natural rock ledges, and contains 60 cm exotic ceramic jars and rough-hewn log coffins.[4][5][6]
The jar burials are a unique feature of this region, and form a previously unrecorded burial practice in Khmer cultural history. Locallegends suggest the bones are the remains of Cambodian royalty. Along with these jar burials archeologists have discovered various material evidence associated with the remains, such as glass beads consisting of various colors and composition. These glass beads, which were a common product in maritime trade between nearby countries, were most likely obtained by Cardamom Mountain communities by trading forest products, such as wood and resin, that they had access to.[7]
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A unique rock art cave site known as Kanam depicts ancient elephants, elephant riders, deer and wild cow (or buffalo) in red ochre paint.[8] The site is located in the eastern part of the Cardamoms near Kravanh Township (Pursat Province). The Cardamoms are home to one of the largest protected wild elephant populations in Southeast Asia. The human riders may represent elephant capture and training activities - a major cultural tradition among various ethnic groups in the area until the 1970s. Traditions, experts, and elephant populations were decimated by theKhmer Rouge Regime.
The cave and paintings may have played important roles for rituals and magic used to placate ancestors and spirits; seek protection (elephant capture is very dangerous); bring good fortune; and transmit specialized knowledge (teaching/training).
Some of the paintings may be various species of wild cow or buffalo. It is difficult to distinguish the possible cow from the possible deer representations due to the simple silhouette style. However, cowhides are extremely important for lassoes, ropes, snares and riggings related to elephant capture. Local elephant masters claimed there was more ritual and magic associated with these highly critical items than all others related to elephant capture. Thus, wild cow or buffalo representation might be expected.
The large representation of deer may relate to the massive deerskin trade to Japan in the 15th - 17th centuries. Taiwan's deer populations had been almost annihilated due to insatiable demands for Samurai armor and Japanese accessories made of deerskin. Deerskin sourcing shifted to Cambodia and Thailand. As deer populations decreased, local hunters also may have resorted to more investment in magic and ritual to seek assistance from ancestors and spirits to increase luck. The paintings are thought to date from the late Angkorian period through the post-Angkor period (contemporaneous with the jar burials, perhaps created and used by the same ethnic groups). The site may date to as early as the Funan period (1st - 6th centuries) when the practice of capturing, training, and trading live elephants was first historically noted (a mission was sent to China in 357 AD with trained elephants as part of the tributary gifts to Emperor Mu of Jin). Whether or not elephant capture, training, and use for labor, prestige and warfare existed prior to the Funan period is unknown. It is possible that the practice, technology and knowledge was obtained through South Asian influence in the early first millennium AD.
These paintings help with understanding the ecological history. Local ethnic groups were able to maintain, sustain and promote elephant populations through a somewhat symbiotic relation until the 20th century. Deer and wild cow/buffalo, however, may have been hunted to near extinction by the 15th - 17th centuries. Eld's deer, muntjac, sambar, gaur, kouprey and banteng were probably far more prevalent in the past.
Part of the mountains are home to indigenous people, including theChhong in both Thailand and Cambodia,[9] and the ethnicPor (orPear) inPursat Province, Cambodia.[10] They all belong to the group known asPearic peoples. In Cambodia, indigenous people are collectively referred to asKhmer Loeu.
This largely inaccessible mountain range formed one of the last strongholds of theKhmer Rouge, afterVietnamese forces toppled their regime inPhnom Penh during theCambodian–Vietnamese War. The border with Thailand in the west acted as a conduit for foreign support of and, eventually, a sanctuary for fleeing Khmer Rouge fighters and refugees.[11]
The inaccessibility of the hills has also helped to preserve theprimeval forest andecosystems of the area relatively intact. In 2002, however, a transborder highway to Thailand was completed south of the Cardamoms, along the coast. The highway hasfragmented habitats for large mammals, such as elephants, big cats and monkeys. The highway has also opened up for agriculturalslash-and-burn projects and opportunistic poaching for endangered animals, all degrading the natural value and the forests’ ecosystems.[12]
Tourism is relatively new to the Cardamom Mountains. In 2008,Wildlife Alliance launched a community-basedecotourism program in the village ofChi-Phat, marketed as the "gateway to the Cardamoms".[13] Tourist visitors to Chi-Phat continue to grow and the community is regarded as a model for community-based ecotourism, with approximately 3,000 annual visitors generating more than $US 150,000 for the local community.[14]
International conservation organizations working in the area includes Wildlife Alliance,[15]Conservation International,[16] andFauna and Flora International.[17] In 2016, the southern slopes of the Cardamom Mountains were designated as a new national park;Southern Cardamom National Park.[12] It appears, however, that rampant illegal poaching is continuing nonetheless.[18]
These relatively isolated mountains are part of theCardamom Mountains rain forests ecoregion, an importantecoregion of mostlytropical moist broadleaf forest.[19] Being one of the largest and still mostly unexplored forests inSoutheast Asia, it is separated from other rainforests in the region by the largeKhorat Plateau to the north. For these reasons, the ecoregion is home to several endemic species and is a refuge for species that have been decimated or are endangered elsewhere. TheVietnamesePhú Quốc island off the coast of Cambodia has similar vegetation and is included in the ecoregion.[19]
Most of the ecoregion is covered in evergreen rain forest, but with several different habitats. Above 700 metres, a special thick evergreen forest-type dominates, and on the southern slopes of the Elephant Mountains, dwarf coniferDacrydium elatum forests grow. On the Kirirom plateau,Tenasserim pine forest is found. The northern part of the Cardamom Mountains is home to the southernmost natural habitats ofBetula (speciesBetula alnoides). Throughout,Hopea pierrei, anendangered canopy tree rare elsewhere, is relatively abundant in the Cardamom Mountains. Otherangiosperm tree species areAnisoptera costata,Anisoptera glabra,Dipterocarpus costatus,Hopea odorata,Shorea hypochra,Caryota urens andOncosperma tigillarium.[20] Otherconifers includePinus kesiya,Dacrycarpus imbricatus,Podocarpus neriifolius,P. pilgeri andNageia wallichiana.[21][22]
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The moist climate and undisturbed nature of the rocky mountainsides appear to have allowed a rich variety of wildlife to thrive, although the Cardamom and Elephant Mountains are poorly researched and the wildlife that is assumed to be here remains to be catalogued. They are thought to be home to over 100 mammals, such as thelarge Indian civet andbanteng cattle, and most importantly the mountains are thought to shelter at least 62 globally threatened animal species and 17 globally threatened trees, many of them endemic to Cambodia.[23] Among the animals are fourteen endangered and threatened mammal species, including the largest population ofAsian elephant in Cambodia and possibly the whole of Indochina although this still needs to be proved. Other mammals, many of which are threatened, includeIndochinese tiger,clouded leopard (Pardofelis nebulosa),dhole (a wild dog) (Cuon alpinus),gaur (Bos gaurus), banteng (Bos javanicus), the disputedkting voar (Pseudonovibos spiralis),Malayan sun bear,pileated gibbon (Hylobates pileatus),Sumatran serow (Capricornis sumatraensis),Sunda pangolin and theTenasserim white-bellied rat.[24] There are at least 34 species ofamphibians, three of them described as new species to science from here.[25]
The rivers are home to bothIrrawaddy andhumpback dolphins and are home to some of the last populations on Earth of the very rareSiamese crocodiles and the only nearly extinctnorthern river terrapin, orroyal turtle remaining in Cambodia. While the forests are habitat for more than 450 bird species, half of Cambodia's total of which four, thechestnut-headed partridge, Lewis's silver pheasant (Lophura nycthemera lewisi), thegreen peafowl (Pavo muticus) and theSiamese partridge (Arborophila diversa) are endemic to these mountains. A reptile and amphibian survey led in June 2007 by Dr Lee Grismer ofLa Sierra University in Riverside, California, USA, and the conservation organisationFauna and Flora International uncovered new species, such as a newCnemaspis gecko,C. neangthyi.[23][26]
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With the establishment of the Southern Cardamom National Park in May 2016, nearly all of the Cardamom Mountains are now under some form of high level protection, mostlynational park area andwildlife sanctuaries. However, the level of active protection has been criticised.[27]
The human population of the Cardamom Mountain Range, although very small, is extremely poor. Threats to the ecological stability and biological diversity of the region include illegal wildlifepoaching,habitat destruction due toillegal logging, construction and infrastructure projects, plantation clearings, mining projects, andforest fires caused byslash-and-burn agriculture. While the Cambodian forests in the Cardamom Mountains are fairly intact,[citation needed] the section in Thailand has been badly affected.
Protections in the Cardamom Mountains comprise the following:
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The flora, fauna and ecosystems of the Cardamom Mountains are threatened by large construction and infrastructure projects, mining,illegal logging, and opportunistic hunting and poaching.[28]
Conservation work in the range has included the Central Cardamom Protected Forest project (July 2001–September 2004), implemented byConservation International’s Cambodia programme with Cambodia’s Forestry Administration.[29] Despite the very high level of protectional status, the actual protection of the conservation areas and implementation of the law has been very poor.[27] The violation of the protection laws has happened on all levels, from opportunistic locals, and local business entrepreneurs, to governmental institutions, foreign companies and international criminal organisations. In the late 2010s, international conservation organisations, and theUN, has collaborated with the Cambodian government to halt a number of planned construction projects and clearings in protected areas. In 2016, the Cambodian government established a collaboration with international conservation organisations to increase on-ground patrolling and actual park ranger services, building several ranger headquarters and hiring armed personnel with arresting rights. This might signify a change in the destructive trends, at least concerning governmental responsibilities.[30]
The Cardamom Mountains are an emerging tourist destination.[31]
The village of Chi Phat runs a Community-Based Eco-Tourism project with the support of conservation NGO,Wildlife Alliance. Previously a logging and hunting community, villagers now make sustainable income through homestays, multiple day guided treks to natural and cultural sites, mountain bike, boat and bird watching tours.[citation needed]
The Wildlife Release Station inKoh Kong Province is a release site for animals rescued from the illegal wildlife trade in Cambodia by the NGO Wildlife Alliance. Binturong, porcupine, pangolins, civets, macaques and an array of birds are among the many species that have been released on site. The station was opened to tourists in December 2013, offering guests an insight into the workings of a wildlife rehabilitation and release site while staying in jungle chalets and enjoying Cambodian hospitality. Activities offered can include feeding resident wildlife, jungle hiking, radio tracking and setting camera traps to monitor released wildlife.[citation needed]
Wild Animal Rescue (WAR Adventures Cambodia) also organize a wide range of deep jungle activities from the family trekking to the hardcore RAID adventure, jungle orientation and survival training course, even animals and human tracking course, all in the region of Sre Ambel in the South-west of the Cardamom mountains.[citation needed]
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| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
