About Us

Over the past century, Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) has established long-term conservation presence in the last wild places across the Americas, Africa, Asia, and Oceania, built strong and trusting partnerships, and acquired a depth of knowledge that ensures effective conservation action. We protect these last wild places because they are intact, biodiverse, most resilient to climate change, and bastions for large, iconic wildlife species.

In Cambodia, WCS is implementing a conservation program for the critically endangered Siamese Crocodile  in and around the Sre Ambel River system of Southern Cambodia. WCS Cambodia also works with local communities, government and local NGOs to protect large waterbirds like the White-shouldered Ibis and Giant Ibis at Cambodia’s Northern Plains.

The WCS-Indonesia Program works with the Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park to protect the Sumatran Ground Cuckoo. Between 2005 and 2006 WCS-IP conducted an assessment on the distribution and conservation status of the Sumatran Ground Cuckoo in the Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park through combining camera trap survey, village questionnaire and bird’s market surveys around Bukit Barisan area.

ASAP Species That We Work On

What We Do

Siamese Crocodile

WCS Cambodia has outlined five main activities for the conservation project:

  1. Support community patrols to prevent the illegal harvest or entanglement of crocodiles in fishing gear, illegal fishing, and destruction of habitat.
  2. Engage local people to locate crocodile nests and collect all nests for incubation at the new facility.
  3. Establish a captive breeding facility for genetically pure Siamese crocodiles.
  4. Support the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries to finalise Cambodia's 10-year national strategic plan for Siamese crocodile conservation and management.
  5. Work with the Fisheries Administration and Crocodile Farmers Associations of Siem Reap to identify purebred crocodiles for conservation-breeding

Patrolling

A local community team patrols the Sre Ambel river system, visiting each of the four wetlands where the crocodiles occur at least twice a month. Community teams have also been trained in patrolling techniques, data collection and implementation of SMART (Spatial Monitoring and Reporting Tool), which enables patrolling efforts to be monitored, evaluated, and adaptively managed.

Monitoring and Surveys

Surveys are conducted each month throughout the nesting season to search for crocodile nests and hatchlings, which if found, will be collected for incubation and head-starting at a captive facility.

DNA testing of the existing confiscated crocodiles

WCS is collaborating with the IUCN Crocodile Specialist Group and other partners to develop the facilities and capacity in Cambodia to conduct genetic testing of Siamese crocodile samples within the country.

Developing the capacity to analyse samples within the country will greatly facilitate the ability to identify additional purebred Siamese crocodiles currently in captivity to help enhance captive breeding and reintroduction and reinforcement efforts.

Establishing a captive breeding facility

The WCS team is currently in the process of establishing a facility to hold genetically pure Siamese Crocodile for captive breeding purposes.

Ibises

Ibis RiceTM

Ibis Rice is an award-winning wildlife-friendly product. WCS Cambodia works with local communities to develop land-use plans for villages with globally important populations of ibises. These plans set out areas for growing rice and areas for protection. Local farmers are empowered to adhere to these land-use plans and abide by conservation regulations receive a premium price for their rice from SMP, a local NGO. SMP market and sell the product - Ibis Rice - at participating restaurants and outlets in Siem Reap and Phnom Penh.

Tmatboey Ibis Ecotourism

At Tmatbauy village in Kulen Promptep Wildlife Sanctuary in the Northern Plains, WCS Cambodia has developed a community-based tourism enterprise that links sightings of Giant and White-shoulered Ibises by international bird-watchers and naturalists to direct payments into a Community Development Fund. Villagers also earn money directly from tourists who stay in the lodge. The community have used the Community Development Fund to furnish a library and purchase medical supplies, as well as paying people from the village to protect the ibises. The ecotourism project has since been expanded to Preah Vihear Protected Forest, Prek Toal and other sites in the Tonle Sap Lake.

Nest Protection and Monitoring

Across the Northern Plains, the Birds’ Nest Protection scheme enables local communities to earn an income that is directly related to successful conservation of threatened birds’ nests. Local people receive an initial payment when they report a nest to rangers or conservation staff. They then receive a daily wage for protecting that nest, which is doubled if the nest fledges successfully. The scheme thereby reduces exploitation of eggs and chicks by the community itself while increasing the breeding success of the ibises and other threatened large waterbirds. Up to 500 nests are protected annually across the Northern Plains. Monitoring demonstrates that the populations of species such as White-shouldered Ibis have increased significantly in the Northern Plains, owing to increased breeding success.

Sumatran Ground-cuckoo

Being extremely rare and enigmatic, the bird has become an attraction for birdwatchers. Community members from villages in the vicinity of the park serve as local guides in escorting the mostly foreign tourists to the areas where the birds occur. However, since these activities are currently unregulated, they do not take into account the conservation requirements of this almost unknown species. We would therefore like to propose an approach that would provide conservation benefits by engaging local communities in sustainable birding and biodiversity conservation, including:

  1. Establish community guide mechanism in collaboration with national park authority
  2. Establish regulations, code of conduct, and procedures for birding activities
  3. Organize training and capacity-building activities for guides
  4. Engage local communities in monitoring and patrolling

Where We Work

Global

Contact Details

2300 Southern Boulevard Bronx, New York 10460

Web & Social Media

Photo Credits

Featured image: Jeremy Holden