Protected areas & conservation in Cambodia
Prek Toal Bird Sanctuary
Prek Toal is a world-class bird sanctuary and Ramsar site located within the Tonle Sap biosphere reserve. Efforts from conservation groups, the ministry of environment and local rangers have led to an increase in the number of birds coming to roost in the sanctuary. Photos featured in Wayne McCallum’s Mekong Solitaire (Howl press, 2021).










Phnom Kulen National Park
Located to the northeast of the Angkor temples, the mountain range of Phnom Kulen was revealed in 2015 to be the seat of a large ancient city. In spite of being a National Park, the forest has largely been cleared for cashew plantations: it is estimated that only about 20% of the original forest is in good condition. With Archaeology & Development Foundation (ADF) and HUMY.










In recent years, archaeologists teamed up with local communities and the National Park to create Community Protected Areas around the last pockets of healthy forests remaining near the villages and developing community-based ecotourism.












Opening ceremony of the Popel village’s ecotourism center.
Marine ecosystems
Cambodia’s marine environment faces a number of anthropogenic threats, among them overfishing, the omnipresence of marine debris and the poaching of protected species. At the same time, the country is increase the number of Marine Protected Areas.









Wetlands & Birds
Cambodia has a large number of wetlands – the floodplain of the Tonle Sap and the Mekong rivers – but these are disappearing fast under new developments, farmlands and expanding plantations.






