National Parks in Campudia

 

NATIONAL PARKS   For much of the 1990s the country's national park system was little more than lines drawn on a map, but this is fast changing with assistance from the UNDP and assorted NGOs. The most important national parks in the country include: Bokor, which occupies a 1000m plateau on the south coast overlooking Kampot; Ream, which includes a marine reserve and is just a short distance from Sihanoukville; Kirirom, 675m above sea level in the Chuor Phnom Damrei, 112km south-west of Phnom Penh; and Virachay, the kingdom's largest park nestled against the border with Laos and Vietnam in north-east Cambodia. Bokor is home to wild elephants and there is now accommodation available at the summit. Ream has developed a visitor program, which includes a boat trip and guided walks, while Kirirom has a basic guesthouse and is popular with Khmers at weekends. There is little in the way of facilities at Virachay, but rangers are keen to welcome visitors and have centres in Voen Sai and Siem Pang. Other protected areas in the country include biospheres and a bird sanctuary on the Tonie Sap lake and a small park in the vicinity of Kep.   GOVERNMENT & POLITICS   At the May 1993 elections Cambodia became a constitutional monarchy. Prince Sihanouk, who abdicated in 1955, accepted the crown and rules as king. The constitution of September 1993 theoretically allows for separation of powers between the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government. In practice it rarely works this way, however. Decades of war and oneparty rule have made Cambodia's administrative and legal structures slow to respond to the challenge of neutrality.   Cambodia's second election in July 1998 took place amid charges of voter intimidation and human rights abuses. The CPP was declared the victor, taking 64 seats in the assembly, while FUNCINPEC took 43 and the Sam Rainsy Party 15. It took several months for a government to form itself and this was not to happen before a series of protests, riots and deaths. Eventually King Sihanouk brokered a coalition deal that saw the some time allies and some time enemies in FUNCINPEC and the CPP again engage in an uneasy political embrace. The CPP holds 16 of the ministries while FUNCINPEC controls 15; the CPP controls most of the important financial ministries, while FUNCINPEC has the poisoned chalice of the social ministries.   Hun Sen is the country's sole prime minister, while Ranariddh has had to settle for the less influential position of president of the National Assembly. Part of the electoral deal was also the formation of a Senate to check the legislative power of the assembly, but most observers see this as little more than an indulgence for Chea Sim, CPP president and acting head of state in the king's absence. The CPP effectively controls the country today as the party is now in firm control of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces. Despite his popularity in Phnom Penh, Sam Rainsy and his eponymously named party have no role in the government and are the only effective opposition in the country.