BirdLife The Magazine June 2016

IRREPLACEABLE
not just one, but five Critically Endangered bird
species. These include 50% of the global population
of White-shouldered Ibis Pseudibis davisoni
and 10% of the world’s Giant Ibis Thaumatibis
gigantea. You will also find a dedicated BirdLife
team, skilfully covering huge distances every day
on urban motorbikes unsuitable for the sandy
terrain, diligently monitoring crucial forest pool
habitats, or working with an enforcement team
to report illegal logging and confiscate wood
and captured wildlife. Some rangers, like Mem
Mai, are former hunters and have an ear so well
trained that they can monitor bird song over the
noise of the motorbike engine.
THE PRESERVATION
OF WILD PLACES IS
OFTEN PITCHED AS
A BATTLE BETWEEN
THE INTERESTS
OF WILDLIFE
AND THE INTERESTS
OF PEOPLE.
THIS IS NOT TRUE
Ask Project Officer Eang Samnang and he will
tell you the exact location of all three Critically
Endangered vulture species’ nests. Or he will
explain that the vulture “restaurant” they created
to supplement feeding, necessitated by a decline
in large wild mammals now supports 73% of all of
Cambodia’s vultures.
In the local villages, you will find Dina Yam,
Community Outreach Officer, showing educational
films to prevent wildlife poisonings, or
helping people build up herds of cattle and
buffalo. Lately, the Cambodia team and Forestry
Administration had an economic land concession
cancelled to prevent the clearance of the
forest for plantations and came one step closer
to ensuring protected status.
HUGE PROTECTED FOREST JIGSAW
COMPLETED
Welcome to the new Prey Siem Pang Lech
Wildlife Sanctuary in Cambodia, home to five
Critically Endangered bird species and local communities
T
he picture on the jigsaw box shows an
extensive swathe of unified nature, beyond
borders, of thriving wildlife and local communities
across 700,000 ha in Laos, Cambodia and
Vietnam. Together, they make one of the largest
protected landscapes in South-east Asia.
However, for the last couple of years, one of the
most valuable jigsaw pieces in the world was
missing: a large deciduous forest called Western
Siem Pang, in northern Cambodia. Now, it has
finally been slotted into place. Welcome to the
new Prey Siem Pang Lech Wildlife Sanctuary. In
this newly protected forest you will find Endangered
Eld’s Deer Panolia eldii roaming along with
2 Giant Ibis
Thaumatibis gigantea.
Photo Jonathan C. Eames
Suffice to say that the BirdLife Cambodia
Programme has been working hard for years to
protect Western Siem Pang. 2014 saw celebrations
when the northern half was declared a Protected
Forest. But the puzzle was not completed until
the Prey Siem Pang Lech Wildlife Sanctuary was
created, covering over 65,000 ha in the remaining
southern half of the forest. The Cambodian
Prime Minister, Hun Sen, signed the sub-decree
establishing Prey Siem Pang Lech Wildlife Sanctuary
on 9 th May 2016, with a boundary that
follows almost exactly BirdLife’s proposal. Now
this boundary completes the regional protected
area jigsaw combining forest in southern Laos,
northern Cambodia and western Vietnam. This
latest sub-decree also sees the upgrade of the
northern half of Western Siem Pang forest from
its Protected Forest status, bringing the total area
designated as Wildlife Sanctuary to 132,321 ha.
“We are delighted with this decision and BirdLife’s
Cambodia team will continue to support the
Ministry of Environment to manage this wildlife
sanctuary”, said Bou Vorsak, BirdLife Cambodia
Programme Manager. “This success comes from
working in close collaboration with our government
partners, the Forestry Administration of the
Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries,
and the General Department of Administration
for Nature Conservation and Protection of the
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JUNE 2016 • BIRDLIFE
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