Through its luxury accommodation Shinta Mani Wild, the Shinta Mani Foundation – joint winner of the Community, Conservation and Sustainability category at the 2020/21 Experientialist Awards – is stepping up to protect Cambodia’s Cardamom Rainforest at a time when illegal poaching and logging create mounting pressure. With the recent addition of more rangers to patrol the forest and an upcoming partnership with a furniture line to fund greater lines of protection, the foundation hopes to expand its influence in the region.
There’s something magical about Cambodia’s jungles, including the Cardamom Rainforest, one of the most species-rich of its kind. There, bird calls echo throughout, the ground wriggles with the movement of snakes and insects, and the leaves of cinnamon and chinkapin trees glisten and rustle…the whole place pulses with life. But these days, much of that life is at stake.
The Cardamoms are home to more than 60 threatened or endangered wildlife species and 17 threatened tree species, and, though the area is split into multiple protected national parks, illegal poachers still tear through the forest. Their targets are animals like Sunda pangolins (which fetch around $80 a pound on the black market), moon bears (sought after to produce bear bile medicine), clouded leopards, elephants, and more. Luckily, the Shinta Mani Hotel Group’s dedication to protecting the Cardamom Rainforest has seen it ramp up its efforts this year.
It’s not just poaching that impacts this precious ecosystem – recently discovered illegal logging routes threaten the lives of the above-mentioned species and others, like near-extinct Siamese crocodiles. Despite wins this year (Siamese crocodile eggs were discovered in the wild in July), environmental and poaching pressures continue to mount.
That’s where Shinta Mani Wild comes in. The luxury tented camp, which opened in 2018, is the second of three Shinta Mani properties (of which we’re self-proclaimed fans), the result of a partnership between interior designer and OutThere friend Bill Bensley and Cambodian businessman Sokoun Chanpreda. When Chanpreda and Bensley purchased the property in the Cardamom Rainforest, the area had been designated as a mining concession, but due to its location on a wildlife corridor at the intersection of three national parks, it also served as a key migration route for several species. In conversation with OutThere, Bill jokes: “Not being a miner or a lumberjack in this life, I thought ‘I’m going to figure out how to conserve the site’”.
The Shinta Mani Hotel Group combines non-profit and for-profit practices, supporting projects in local communities through the Shinta Mani Foundation. For Shinta Mani Wild, that has meant staffing the accommodation with local villagers, some of whom previously turned to poaching or logging to make a living. Shinta Mani has also partnered with an organization called Wildlife Alliance, which protects threatened climates and animals around the world.
Wildlife Alliance runs a ranger station on the Shinta Mani Wild property, and this year the foundation expanded the team from 8 to 14 rangers, who directly protect over 2,000 hectares and influence an even greater area. Eco-tourism also plays a role in preserving this part of the Cardamoms. With one tent to 27 hectares of forest – and not a single tree cut down to build the property – guests are fully immersed in the natural environment their stay helps protect. There’s a three-night minimum, so guests are “fully inundated and educated about what we’re doing” says Bill.
Besides boasting a 400 m/1,300 ft zipline entrance to the property, Shinta Mani Wild also offers numerous outdoor adventures like kayaking, swimming, hiking, mountain biking, and even joining anti-poaching patrols. “We send our clients out into the woods all day” explains Bill, “and they’ll come back with several snares under their arms”.
The Shinta Mani Foundation is working on plans to further expand ranger presence, which will be funded in part by the sale of a new furniture line Bill has designed in partnership with Baker-McGuire Furniture, called Wild. The pieces in the line are inspired by some of the Cardamom Forest’s threatened species, like spotted coffee tables with all the grace of clouded leopards, or chaise lounges reminiscent of elephants. Bill fought for an extra cut of the profits, 100% of which will go to the Shinta Mani Foundation for use in the Cardamom Rainforest. According to Bill, “a pair of chairs will keep a ranger in the forest all year”.
Shinta Mani Wild continues to offer travellers a unique upscale jungle experience while also attempting to protect one of Cambodia’s richest natural resources. So far, Bill says, it’s working: “While our influence isn’t perfect, if we weren’t there, I couldn’t tell you what that forest would be like. If not completely dead, it’d be completely stripped of wildlife…”.
In Cambodia, which has lost over 30% of its forests between 2001 and 2023 to logging and land grabs, initiatives like those spearheaded by Shinta Mani Wild are essential not only in offering protection to wildlife and its habitats but also in giving locals an incentive to do their part. With the economic opportunities Shinta Mani Wild brings to such a remote area through tourism, those involved with illegal poaching and logging as a result of economic struggles may find an alternative way to thrive.
www.shintamanifoundation.org | www.shintamani.com
Photography courtesy of Shinta Mani Wild and Wildlife Alliance
