Angelina Jolie funds Cambodian wildlife sanctuary

April 16, 2003

16 April 2003

By Reuters

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — Hollywood star Angelina Jolie

has agreed to pay $5 million over the next 15 years to

set up a wildlife sanctuary in a former Khmer

Rouge–controlled area of Cambodia, a senior charity

official said recently.

Jolie, who fell in love with the war-scarred southeast

Asian nation while filming the action movie Lara

Croft: Tomb Raider, has already paid a first

installment of US$350,000 to get the ball rolling,

said Mounh Sarath, head of Cambodian Vision in

Development.

The project aims to protect more than 20,000 hectares

(49,500 acres) of forest in northwest Cambodia, which

five years ago was still controlled by remnants of the

brutal ultra-communist Khmer Rouge, responsible for

the genocide of the Killing Fields.

The money would also go towards helping war veterans

and amputees rebuild their lives, the charity said.

" This is a great opportunity for us to restore

deforested areas and protect wildlife to ensure local

communities will not destroy them, " Mounh Sarath said.

Source: Reuters

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