Mangrove Forest

Seven or eight kilometres outside of Koh Kong city, or Krong Koh Kong, in Cambodia is an enormous mangrove forest where visitors can observe the delicate ecosystem that locals (and probably an NGO or two) have turned into a thriving ecotourism project.

The mangrove forests of Cambodia are environmentally important, providing homes to hundreds of species of wildlife, including, it's said, the famous Irrawaddy dolphins, a pug-nosed species related to the killer whale which are endangered due to the destruction of their natural habitat. (The dolphins are often visited by tourists in their habitat 20 km outside the Cambodian town of Kratie.

Koh Kong province's mangrove forests have been deteriorating since 1979, when the Khmer Rouge were overthrown. At that time, Koh Kong was sparsely populated, and many of the newly displaced Cambodian population chose to make Koh Kong home. The bridge from Thailand and the sealing of roads to the capital have only served to increase the population further, and more fishing and charcoal production has put enormous pressure on the mangroves and their ecosystem.