National Park Management Alternatives
Attributes
Medium: Land
Country: Cambodia
Analytical Framework(s): Economic Analysis
Study Date: 2000
Publication Date: 2001
Major Result(s)
| Category | Resource/Environmental Good | KHR (2000) |
KHR (2014)1 |
USD (2014)2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Net Present Value | Experimental park3 | 37,452,000,000.00 | 65,627,139,600.00 | 16,131,104.33 |
| Net Present Value | Ghost park | 38,317,600,000.00 | 67,143,930,480.00 | 16,503,930.45 |
| Net Present Value | Dream park | 45,623,900,000.00 | 79,946,759,970.00 | 19,650,856.85 |
About the Inflation Adjustment: Prices in Cambodia (KHR) changed by 75.23% from 2000 to 2014 (aggregated from annual CPI data), so the study values were multiplied by 1.75 to express them in 2014 prices. The study values could be expressed in any desired year (for example, to 2026) by following the same inflation calculation and being sensitive to directional (forward/backward) aggregations using your own CPI/inflation data.
Study Note: The Ream area has historically been the home of large human settlements. Subsistence farming and fishing constitute the most important sources of income. Nature provides fish, firewood, medicine, fruits, building material, meditation mountains, beaches of white sand and aesthetically pleasing sunsets. Commercial entrepreneurs and human greed threaten all these benefits.
Study Details
Summary: The objectives of this report are two-fold: (1) to determine how the establishment or the destruction of the Park distributes benefits and costs among different stakeholders; and (2) to formulate strategies for the management of these stakeholders in order to achieve conservation goals. Five surveys were undertaken in the field to provide social, economic and ecological data for cost benefit- and stakeholder analyses. These included: a survey of 15% of households in local communities; three different contingent valuation surveys of tourists in Kompong Som and park visitors; and a forest inventory of the Park's mangroves.
Site Characteristics: Preah Sihanouk "Ream" National Park is located in southwestern Cambodia, in the province of Kompong Som. The Park covers 21,000 hectares of terrestrial and marine habitats. Approximately 26,600 people live within the boundaries of the Park. Important stakeholders include local communities, commercial loggers and fishermen, park authorities, the Cambodian Ministry of Environment and tourists.
Comments: The authors noted that the potential to turn the park into a major tourist destination is real. There is strong interest among Cambodian and foreign visitors for the recreational services of Ream. This would provide funding to help manage the park. Inadequate facilities and insecurity are serious obstacles to making Ream a popular tourist destination. However, there is popular demand for better-managed and accessible scenic areas. Without long-term commitment and additional investments, the landscapes of Koh Sampoach and Phnom Samathik will remain undiscovered by the general public.