A viewing area at the Free the Bears facility at the Phnom Thmao Wildlife Rescue Center. (Photo by Ate Hoekstra)

Ate Hoekstra, Cambodia
October 27, 2020

With COVID-19 there are no foreign tourists in Cambodia, and now only Cambodian families and a few expats drive the one hour to Phnom Thmao from Phnom Penh to visit.

Many of these organizations largely rely on income generated from the millions of tourists that normally visit Southeast Asia, but the pandemic has changed that, and its impact is severe. With no foreign visitors, animal protectors now fear for the survival of their organizations. Experts warn that wildlife is now more endangered than it was before the pandemic.

Free the Bears manager Khuoy Pesei was standing near Kong’s and Ralph’s large cage when she was talking with LiCAS.news. She estimated that since early March the number of visitors has declined by 90 percent. Volunteers now can also no longer make it to the center, because most of them were foreign tourists visiting Cambodia.

In the Asia-Pacific region wildlife tourism accounts for about US $53.3 billion of the regional Gross Domestic Product while providing some 4.5 million jobs, according to data from the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC). The WTTC said that this form of tourism is five times more valuable than the illegal wildlife trade.

Meanwhile the Banteay Srey Butterfly Centre, near the Angkor temples in Siem Reap, has felt the impact of COVID-19 as well. Having a live display of Cambodian butterflies, the center normally attracts about 20,000 tourists per year. The subsequent revenue is used for conservation and education projects, as well as to support local communities, said the center’s director Ben Hayes.

At the Elephant Conservation Center (ECC), in northwest Laos, they know all about it. The 6,000 hectares large reserve is home to 34 elephants. ECC founder Sébastien Duffillot said that his organization has lost 80 to 85 percent of its revenue.

Free the Bears also had to be creative to make up for the loss of income. Rod Mabin said that they raised money with its ‘A night in a cage’ campaign, during which over 50 people sat one night in a small bear cage to raise money.

“We raised over AUD$80,000 (about US$57,000) which covered our bear food costs for May and June. Even our 82-year-old founder and our CEO spent a night in a cage,” he said.

full.https://www.licas.news/2020/10/27/covid ... east-asia/