Community patrols, recruited from some of poorest communities, are giving much needed support to national authorities to protect 17 critically endangered wildlife species.

Poh Kao and its partner NTFP local NGO provide on-the-ground protection to one of the last biodiversity hotspot in Cambodia : the Veun Sai-Siem Pang National Park.

 

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Southeast Asia’s wild tropical forests are some of the most bio diverse and threatened on Earth.

The region is ranked as one of the world’s top ten biodiversity hotspots. It has also placed in the top five for threats, with only 5% of its natural habitat remaining and some of the fastest rates of economic growth.

These forests have all lost 90% or more of their original habitat and each harbor at least 1500 endemic plant species (species found nowhere else in the world). If these forests are lost, those endemic species are also lost forever. These forests potentially support the lives of close to one billion people who live in or around them, and directly or indirectly depend on the natural resources forest ecosystems provide.

In terms of species diversity and endemism, Indoburma is one of the most biologically important regions on the planet.

Only 5 percent of the Indo-Burma Hotspot is covered by forest in pristine condition. Several key biodiversity areas, such as Veun Sai – Siem Pang National Park are known to support large numbers of globally threatened species.

Regularly new species for science are being discovered in the region.

Globally, most threatened mammals are associated with forest ecosystems.

A total of 492 globally threatened species occur in Indochina, comprising 60 mammal species, 73 bird species, 33 reptile species, 46 amphibian species, 32 fish species and 248 trees/plants species.

104 (21 %) occur in Cambodia.

CAMBODIA is considered high priorities for Conservation donors and NGOs investment because they support some of the largest extant habitat tracts in the region, and, consequently, for many species, support the most viable populations and/or represent the greatest opportunity for conservation success.

Veun Sai Siem Pang National Park

Cambodia – North East border Laos/Vietnam

Area: 57,469Ha

Veun Sai – Siem Pang National Park, with three contiguous national parks (Virachey National Park, Xe Pian National Park in Laos and Chu Mom Ray National Park in Vietnam) represents the largest area of intact forest in one piece in Asia and the best chance of maintaining the iconic wildlife in South East Asia there. Emblematic species such as Indochinese tiger, Asian elephant, clouded leopard or the Siamese crocodile, coexist with other endangered species.

Veun Sai Siem Pang National Park is home to six species of primates which 5 are on the Red List of Threatened Species IUCN, seven large carnivore species and three threatened bird species.

17 species of wildlife red listed: the most rare on the planet.

 

Researches have confirmed that this area has high biodiversity values. Were identified:

• 59 mammal species
• Including two new species –[Northern buffed-cheeked gibbon, Nomascus annamensis , Walston’s tube-nose bat, Murina walstoni]
• 139 species of bird
• 60 species of reptile and amphibian
• Including one new species –[Iridescent lizard, Lygosoma veunsaiensi]
• Many new country records .

Challenges

 

Growing investments in agro-industrial production and development infrastructure are driving large-scale deforestation in Cambodia. Wildlife trafficking and the high demand in Asia for animals and their parts has spawned an illegal trade in wildlife both regionally and globally.

Our Goal

We help to protect the Veun Sai Siem Pang National Park that is biologically outstanding and where the long-term conservation of species and ecological processes is viable.

Poh Kao works since 2006 in this wild remote area of Anamites Mountains, border Laos and Vietnam, with the goal of maintaining the remaining forests and unique biodiversity.

How Will We Get There?

Our strategies include:

• Undertake targeted actions to reduce forest loss at key landscapes for biodiversity conservation and the livelihoods of local people.
• Develop a long-term strategy for addressing the threats from large&small-scale logging and mining.
• Engage indigenous peoples and local communities to reduce forest crimes and provide key incentives to conserve and to prevent others from poaching wildlife and logging luxury wood.
• Conduct the focused wildlife research and share the resulting knowledge with authorities.
• Provide technical support to community rangers and financial support to law enforcement departments to ensure wildlife conservation laws are strong and enforced effectively.
• Collaborate with the Ministry of Environment and local communities to design and implement forest use management practices that are wildlife friendly as well as compatible with human developmental aspirations.