The People - Police Officers

Police play important role in protecting the forest

The police as protectors of the forest

The police play a vital role in protecting the forest by stopping illegal hunting and logging. For this reason, provincial police officers always accompany the patrols carried out by the rangers of the Srepok Wilderness Area Project. Like the rangers, they are also looking for signs of illegal activities, but unlike the rangers, only the police have the authority to actually arrest and apprehend offenders. The rangers meanwhile can only confiscate illicit wildlife and extract a pledge from the culprit that he won't hunt or trap in the forest again. While this persuasive approach may be effective, especially with local people, others, more desperate for the lucrative returns of the wildlife trade, may be prepared to forcefully defend their ill gotten gains. Armed, the police are there to make sure the law is enforced.

Extending tenures for better protection


Note Ponlea and Loas Cham have both been police officers for just two years. As a part of their regular rotation, they have been seconded by the Srepok Wilderness Area Project. Usually police officers change post every three months, but WWF has been able to reach an agreement with the provincial authorities to keep the officers on for at least six months. This way they get to know the territory and the rangers they are working with.

Patrolling with former poachers

The police already know some of the rangers and actually pursued them when in former lives they were hunters and wildlife traders. In fact, both Ponlea and Cham were persuaded to join the project by Lean Kha, the patrol leader who for decades hunted the Dry Forests for large game. Asked how he liked working with reformed hunters, Ponlea, glancing over at Kha, is very diplomatic. He is "very happy they have changed their jobs," he says with a smile.

Learning from the (former) enemy

Both he and Cham enjoy working with the rangers and are learning a lot from their former adversaries. They help the rangers scout for wildlife tracks and Cham finds it exciting to record the different species. He boasts of seeing banteng, gaur and giant muntjac, and is learning the names and calls of the different birds. However, neither officer has sighted any hunters or trappers since joining the project although both have had prior encounters. It seems word has gotten out that this area is being patrolled.

Committed to enforcing the law

The two young officers claim not to have been given any training in wildlife legislation, yet both know it is illegal to hunt or to even carry a gun. They also recognize bush meat and can spot snares and covert hunting camps. Neither, however, has ever been called upon to give evidence in court, an indication that law enforcement is still weak. Ponlea doesn't feel soft though and he is prepared to fully enforce the law. Asked how he would feel about evicting poor peasant who had encroached on forest land to eke out a living, he shows little sympathy. "The law applies to a poor person the same as it does for someone who is rich," he says.

Working conditions on the project

Working with the project also offers material advantages. The salary - US$60 a month plus a US$30 hardship allowance which is pooled with the other rangers to pay for food - is higher than regular police pay. The accommodation too is much better than at the police station, a dilapidated thatched hut a few kilometres down the river from the project's headquarters. But there are also hardships: long hikes in the forest; weeks away from the family; and the constant threat of sickness, especially malaria.

Still they would like to stay with the project longer if it were possible. Their motivation is simple yet sincere. "I want to conserve the wildlife for the next generation and for the country," says Ponlea.