(January 06, 2010) A rapid field-based assessment of the the Sre Ambel river and surrounding areas was implemented in late 2008 by a collaborative team comprising members of Global Wildlife Conservation (GWC), the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), Conservation International–Cambodia (CI), the Forestry Administration (FA) and the Ministry of Environment (MOE).The survey, which lasted approximately four weeks, primarily focused on the numerous river valleys punctuating the coast and on a select group of foc...

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(January 04, 2010) The Community-based Production Forestry (CPF) pilot project seeks to demonstrate that a community-based enterprise is a realistic model for future forest management in Cambodia. Its aim is to provide timber for the market, satisfy government stakeholders, and address community concerns at the same time. The CPF model addresses the crucial social issues of the emerging community forestry sector (such as decentralized/local decision-making, customary use and local tenure), yet also takes into acco...

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(January 04, 2010) Gibbon surveys have been conducted in Preah Vihear Protected Forest and its periphery from 2006 to 2009, with important populations discovered in the area. Pileated gibbons feed mostly on fruits and shoots, and unsurprisingly the majority were found in denser, evergreen and riverine forest. However, an important number were also found in drier deciduous forest. The density was estimated at 0.3 groups per km2. This is low compared to other sites, but may reflect the large proportion of dry forest...

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(January 04, 2010) WCS is working with the Cambodian Fisheries Administration (FiA) to develop a strategy for the sustainable harvesting of watersnakes in the Tonle Sap Lake. This comes after research indicated that the emergent snake 'fishery' occurring on Tonle Sap Lake resulted in an estimated 6.9 million snakes (mostly homalopsids) being removed annually, representing the world's largest exploitation of a single snake assemblage. Interviews with hunters suggest that snake catches could have declined by as much...

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(January 04, 2010) Many local communities in Cambodia have little control over the management of their land and other natural resources, and consequently little incentive to actively engage in the conservation of these areas. WCS and government partners have pioneered efforts to help local communities obtain land tenure rights, and engage in economic activities such as ecotourism and the cultivation of wildlife-friendly produce, that are compatible with conservation. In this way, local communities have an economic...

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(January 04, 2010) The production of verifiable carbon credits requires an estimation of the net change in carbon emissions resulting from a climate change mitigation project. To estimate this change, the actual emissions that take place over the life of a project are compared with the modelled projection of emissions under the 'without project' or 'baseline' case. Formulation of this baseline case requires an estimate of carbon stock within the project site and also an estimate of the expected carbon stock of fut...

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(January 01, 2010) Remote cameras are being used to try and confirm the location of Tigers within the Seima Protection Forest (SPF). Paired Camera-traps are distributed across the SPF, and are automatically triggered when a Tiger walks between the two cameras.Camera-traps are situated in suitable locations within the SPF. Trapping locations are areas that are likely to be used by tigers, such as trails, old logging roads and dried river beds. Following a decade of field activities in the SPF, conservation project ...

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(January 01, 2010) A key proposal in the effort to protect Tigers in the Seima Protection Forest is the creation of 'strict protection zones'. These are areas where resource gathering will be prohibited and access strictly controlled.At present residents of local villages have traditional rights to harvest non-timber forest products, principally tree resin, bamboo, rattan and fish, from all parts of the SPF. This is allowed under the Forestry Law, and is part of overall goal of the project to secure livelihoods fo...

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(January 01, 2010) The "Bird Nest Protection Project" encourages local people in the Northern Plains landscape to locate, report and monitor nest sites, and therefore reduces the exploitation of eggs and chicks by these communities. The project also increases the breeding success of threatened water birds.This highly effective project provides benefits to local communities to conserve threatened birds. Under the project, local people are offered a reward for reporting nests, and are paid to monitor and protect the...

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(January 01, 2010) Recent data analysis has confirmed that Prek Toal is the most important breeding site for waterbirds in and around the Tonle Sap Biosphere Reserve (TSBR), while also highlighting several additional sites that are important for waterbirds. It also suggests that Prek Toal is not only a breeding site, but that significant numbers of Spot-billed Pelican, Oriental Darter and Lesser Adjutant stay in the area the whole year round.The data suggest that Boeung Tonle Chhmar is an important feeding site in...

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(January 01, 2010) The Ang Trapeang Thmor site boasts a long history dating back to the Angkorian era. Remains of an ancient laterite bridge are visible on the present-day main access road leading to the reservoir, which was part of a major causeway road. This road caused water to accumulate to the north of the causeway, contributing to the wetlands which are a key feature of the habitat today.During Pol Pot's Democratic Kampuchea regime, an 11-km stretch of the east-west causeway was converted into a dam, along w...

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(January 01, 2010) Holding complete Sarus Crane counts at the beginning, middle and end of the dry season allows us to piece together the complex pattern of crane movements as they move between wetland areas scattered throughout the country.In January almost all of the cranes were concentrated in the Tonle Sap basin area and Boeung Prek Lapouv, in the Mekong Delta (a total of 601 were counted). Analysis of the 2008 and 2009 shows that large numbers of Sarus Cranes use the Tonle Sap grasslands and nearby seasonal a...

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(January 01, 2010) The annual Vulture census provides information on the minimum populations of the three target vulture species in Cambodia. This information is vital for conservation planners across the species' range.It provides accurate information on the vulture populations, as regular monthly vulture restaurants do not usually take place simultaneously and so individuals may often be counted more than once at successive restaurants. By contrast, the census ensures that each bird is counted only once, and dat...

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