The Cardamom Mountains in Cambodia%u2019s Koh Kong province are at risk again. After Wildlife Alliance and petitioners around the world narrowly defeated a planned titanium mine, the region is threatened again by an Australian-funded industrial agriculture plantation growing bananas for export markets.
The Cardamom Mountains are home to more than 74 endangered and vulnerable species and half of Cambodia bird species. The banana plantation threatens to sever one of the last remaining elephant corridors in Asia, devastating a forest that is only just recovering from historic logging and mismanagement %u2013 and a growing ecotourism economy that represents a model for sustainable development.
Last year, Lonely Planet named the Koh Kong Corridor one of the world%u2019s Top Ten Destinations due to the vibrant forests, waterfalls, and wildlife. We must protect the Cardamom Mountains for the sake of the forests, the wildlife and the communities that depend on it.
Dear Mr. Costello,
I urge you, Indochina Gateway Capitol, and bkk to end your proposed banana plantation in the Cardamom Mountains.
The Cardamom Mountains are one of the last intact rainforests in Southeast Asia. They are home to more than 74 endangered and vulnerable species, a critical elephant corridor, and people who make their living from ecotourism dependent on the health of the ecosystem.
If the development of the banana plantation moves forward, you will wreak irreversible damage on the land, wildlife, and people who call the Cardamoms home.
The banana plantation will last only a few years before soils are depleted and not last forever, but the Cardamom Mountains will have to deal with its consequences forever. Please find another site to grow bananas, and work with conservationists and local communities to preserve the beauty, wildlife, and way of life in the Cardamom Mountains.
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Sincerely,
[Your name here]
