WCS Cambodia celebrated 25 years of protecting Cambodia’s wildlife and wild places. Since 1999, the organization has safeguarded biodiversity across five landscapes, including the Tonle Sap Lake—where WCS helped establish the world’s first and only Bengal Florican conservation areas. This anniversary builds on WCS’s 125-year global legacy, with more than 1,000 staff contributing to conservation efforts in Cambodia since the program began.
Over the past quarter century, WCS has safeguarded more than one million hectares of forests, wetlands, and grasslands. These habitats are home to national symbols, the Giant Ibis, the Royal Turtle, and the White-shouldered Ibis, remarkably rediscovered through WCS-led efforts that inspired renewed protection for critical ecosystems in Koh Kong and Preah Vihear Provinces.
“WCS’s conservation program has grown alongside Cambodia,” said Alistair Mould, WCS Cambodia Country Director. “Innovative projects over the past 25 years have shown what can be achieved when science, communities, and commitment guide conservation efforts. We are proud to contribute to Cambodia’s journey toward sustainability and environmental preservation.”
Partnering with Indigenous Peoples and local communities, WCS has advanced groundbreaking science, including the discovery of 20 previously unknown species in Keo Seima Wildlife Sanctuary in Mondulkiri Province. Among them is the O’reang Bullfrog, named to honor the Indigenous Bunong village whose steady care of the surrounding forest allowed this species to endure.
“WCS Cambodia has been a key partner in protecting some of the nation’s most important landscapes and species,” said H.E. Chuop Paris, Secretary of State of the Ministry of Environment. “We’ve also seen how joint conservation efforts can create opportunities and improve the lives of Indigenous Peoples and local communities.”
WCS-led conservation projects have engaged over 51,000 community members in initiatives ranging from community forest patrols to sustainable agriculture. The Keo Seima REDD+ project has delivered over $2 million in direct payments to 20 communities, supporting over 400 development projects. These include clean water systems for nearly 10,000 people, mobile health clinics, and meeting hall construction.
WCS incorporated IBIS Rice in 2017, paying premium prices to farmers who grow organic, wildlife-friendly jasmine rice without clearing forests. Sam Veasna Conservation Tours, founded in 2003, has channeled ecotourism revenue to communities in biodiversity hotspots. These conservation-linked initiatives and others now support nearly 25,000 Cambodians.
“The story of conservation in Cambodia is still being written,” Mould said. “The challenges ahead are great, but so is the promise of what can be achieved.”
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Visit cambodia.wcs.org/25-years for more on WCS Cambodia’s legacy. High-resolution photos and digital creatives from the event are available for download.
For press inquiries, contact Austin Romeo, WCS Director of Communications, at aromeo@wcs.org or +855 077 734 096.