Pangolin Conservation in Cambodia: Status and Threats

Cambodia sits at the heart of one of Southeast Asia's most biodiverse regions. Its lowland evergreen forests, deciduous dipterocarp woodlands, and riverine gallery forests provide habitat for an exceptional range of wildlife -- including one of the region's most heavily trafficked mammals. The Sunda pangolin (Manis javanica) is present across Cambodia's remaining forest landscapes, but decades of hunting pressure and habitat clearance have pushed this species to the margins of its former range.

Listed as Critically Endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the Sunda pangolin has undergone an estimated population decline of at least 80% over three generations across its Southeast Asian range. Cambodia's forests represent one of the remaining strongholds for this species in the Mekong region, making effective conservation here disproportionately important for the species' survival.

Where Sunda Pangolins Occur in Cambodia

Sunda pangolins are documented across three primary landscape zones in Cambodia.

The Cardamom Mountains in the southwest represent the largest and most intact forest block in mainland Southeast Asia outside of Myanmar. This landscape, covering approximately 4.4 million hectares across Koh Kong, Kampot, Kampong Speu, and Pursat provinces, provides both the lowland forest habitat and the relative remoteness that pangolins require. Camera trap surveys and community ranger data confirm the species is present, though at unknown density.

The Eastern Plains landscape in Mondulkiri and Ratanakiri provinces supports deciduous dipterocarp forest characteristic of the Indochinese dry zone. This habitat type is used by pangolins, though drier conditions and greater human access have increased hunting pressure compared to the wetter Cardamoms.

The Northern Plains in Preah Vihear and Stung Treng provinces contain extensive lowland dry forests and are the subject of ongoing monitoring by the Wildlife Conservation Society Cambodia programme. Pangolin presence is documented but population density data are limited.

Legal Framework and Enforcement Reality

Cambodia's primary wildlife legislation, the Law on Natural Protected Areas (1993) and the Law on Environmental Protection and Natural Resource Management (1996), provides legal protection for pangolins. The 2008 amendment to the Wildlife Protection Law explicitly prohibits the hunting, capture, killing, trade, and transport of protected wildlife including all pangolin species.

Criminal penalties under Cambodian law for wildlife trafficking include fines of up to 10 million Khmer riel (approximately USD 2,450) and imprisonment for terms of up to ten years for serious offences. Prosecutions for pangolin trafficking have occurred, but sentences frequently fall below maximum thresholds and conviction rates are inconsistent.

A structural challenge in Cambodia is the overlap between legal and illegal wildlife use. Subsistence hunting traditions are deeply embedded in many rural communities, and the legal distinction between traditional hunting and commercial poaching for trade is not always enforced consistently. This ambiguity creates space for commercial poachers to operate with reduced risk.

The Trafficking Pipeline

Cambodia's geographic position makes it a critical node in the regional pangolin trade. Sharing land borders with Thailand (north-west), Laos (north), and Vietnam (east), and possessing deep-water port facilities at Sihanoukville on the Gulf of Thailand, Cambodia is both a source country for wild-caught pangolins and a transit corridor for pangolins trafficked from further afield.

TRAFFIC monitoring data and seizure records indicate two primary flow patterns:

• Domestic source to Vietnam: Sunda pangolins caught in Cambodian forests are transported overland through Kampong Cham, Prey Veng, and Svay Rieng provinces toward the Vietnamese border crossing at Moc Bai/Bavet or Xa Mat/Trapeang Phlong. Vietnam is the primary destination market for live animals and frozen carcasses.
• Transit from further west: Pangolins originating in Myanmar and Thailand have been documented moving through Cambodia en route to Vietnam and, for container shipments, through Sihanoukville port. The port's volume of containerised traffic and historically inconsistent inspection protocols have made it a known transit hub for multiple wildlife commodities.

Notable seizures have included live Sunda pangolins at Cambodian-Vietnamese border checkpoints and frozen pangolin carcasses in commercial vehicle inspections. The Forestry Administration and the Ministry of Environment have conducted joint operations with the Wildlife Rapid Rescue Team (WRRT) operated by Wildlife Alliance targeting both poachers in the field and traders in urban markets.

Conservation Programmes

Wildlife Alliance operates Cambodia's most active frontline pangolin conservation programme. The WRRT conducts market raids and border interceptions in Phnom Penh and the southwest, while the Cardamom Rainforest Landscape Programme embeds ranger stations throughout the Cardamom Mountains and operates a wildlife rescue and rehabilitation facility in Phnom Tamao. Confiscated pangolins that survive trafficking are assessed for rehabilitation potential, though Sunda pangolins are among the most difficult species to maintain in captivity due to their highly specialised termite and ant diet and extreme sensitivity to stress.

WCS Cambodia works across the Eastern Plains and Northern Plains landscapes, supporting ranger training, camera trap monitoring networks, and community outreach programmes. WCS data contribute to national and regional assessments of Sunda pangolin status published through IUCN channels.

WWF-Cambodia focuses on demand reduction, working with government partners to develop awareness campaigns targeting consumers in Cambodian urban centres where wild meat markets operate. These campaigns address pangolins alongside other threatened species.

Forestry Administration and Ministry of Environment jointly manage Cambodia's protected area system and maintain ranger stations across national parks including Cardamom Mountains National Park, Virachey National Park, and Phnom Prich Wildlife Sanctuary. Capacity building support from international NGOs has improved patrol frequency in some priority areas.

Habitat Pressures

Cambodia's forest cover has declined substantially since the 1990s. Economic land concessions granted to agribusiness interests cleared large areas of lowland and transitional forest, particularly in the central plains and eastern lowlands. Cassava, rubber, and sugar plantations expanded rapidly into previously forested land between 2000 and 2015.

While large-scale concession expansion has slowed following international pressure and changes in commodity prices, smallholder encroachment on forest margins continues. Charcoal production, which requires access to mature hardwood forest, drives incremental clearing and opens access tracks that increase hunter access to previously remote areas.

Infrastructure development, including road expansion and dam construction in the Cardamom region and Mekong basin, poses ongoing habitat fragmentation risk. Improved road access into previously inaccessible forest areas consistently correlates with increased bushmeat hunting intensity in Cambodia and across Southeast Asia.

Captive Rescue and Rehabilitation

Sunda pangolins confiscated from traffickers in Cambodia are transferred primarily to the Phnom Tamao Wildlife Rescue Centre, operated by Wildlife Alliance under agreement with the Ministry of Environment. The centre receives dozens of pangolins annually from WRRT operations.

Rehabilitation of Sunda pangolins is challenging. The species requires live ants and termites in sufficient variety to maintain nutritional health; substitute diets based on commercial ant supplements or ground termite paste have met with mixed results. Stress mortality is high in the first days and weeks following rescue, particularly for animals that have been transported long distances or held in poor conditions.

Animals that survive the initial recovery period and are assessed as candidates for release are fitted with microchip transponders and released in protected core zones within the Cardamom landscape. Post-release monitoring using camera traps and periodic recapture attempts generates data on survival and habitat use, though tracking is limited by the nocturnal and fossorial nature of the species.

Priorities for the Coming Years

Conservation practitioners working in Cambodia identify several priorities for improving pangolin outcomes:

1. Ranger density and pay reform: Adequate patrol coverage of the Cardamom landscape requires more stations and better-paid rangers. High turnover among poorly paid rangers limits institutional knowledge and patrol effectiveness.
2. Border enforcement intelligence: Coordinated intelligence sharing between Cambodian, Vietnamese, and Thai enforcement agencies would disrupt trafficking networks that currently exploit border transitions as enforcement gaps.
3. Demand reduction at the Vietnamese border: The primary market driving Cambodian pangolin harvest is Vietnam. Demand reduction efforts focused on Vietnamese consumers, particularly younger urban demographics, offer the highest leverage for long-term pressure reduction.
4. Community benefit models: Converting village communities from passive observers to active conservation participants requires economic incentives. Community ranger employment, ecotourism revenue sharing, and sustainable livelihood alternatives to bushmeat hunting have demonstrated success in pilot areas.
5. Sihanoukville port inspection capacity: Improving container scanning and intelligence-led inspection at Cambodia's primary deep-water port would reduce its utility as a transit hub for pangolin shipments moving toward East Asia.

Frequently Asked Questions