A Northeastern section of the Mekong River that is home to a number of endangered species has been designated a conservation site by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.
A prakas issued by Minister Chan Sarun on April 23 officially declared a 56-kilometre section of the Mekong mainstream between Kratie and Stung Treng towns, known as the Mekong Flooded Forest, as a “management and conservation site for biodiversity and fisheries resources”. …
Kevin Ponniah
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013050765443/National/flooded-forest-gets-protection.html
Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam are among the six countries whose bird species will suffer, in the future, from the effects of climate change, according to a research conducted by two British scientist institutions. …
The document, published by Global Biological Change magazine, assesses a future distribution in more protected sites of nearly 370 endangered species in the eastern Himalayas and the regions near Mekong. …
The Economic Times
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/environment/flora-fauna/climate-change-threatens-asian-birds/articleshow/18443828.cms
Sitting at his outpost overlooking the Mekong River, Deab Kuy remembers an incident some years ago when fishermen threatened to attack him if they were stopped from casting their nets around the river’s sandy islets here in Sambok commune.
The outpost, little more than a wooden house on the banks of Mekong, is one of 15 set up in Kratie and Stung Treng provinces where a total of 77 unarmed “river guards” monitor local fishing communities to protect the area’s endangered freshwater dolphins. …
While few can argue that saving the Mekong Dolphin is a noble cause, local fishermen say the conservation program is pushing them into poverty, and river guards say they are bearing the brunt of local resentment. …
In September the government approved a sub-decree demarcating a 180-km-long conservation area stretching from Kratie province to the Lao border. Gill-nets fishing cages and equipment used to electrocute fish is strictly banned in the protection zone. …
By Khuon Narim and Dene-Hern Chen, P. 1
http://www.camnet.com.kh/cambodia.daily/ (Note: Infrequently Updated.)
Residents of Kratie province had an education in conservation yesterday as the government and outside partners reiterated a September sub-decree banning gill nets on a sizable stretch of the Mekong in a bid to protect the badly endangered Mekong River dolphin.
Touch Seang Tana, head of the Commission for Mekong Dolphin Conservation and Ecotourism Development, told workshop attendees that prohibiting gill nets could cause fishermen’s catches to shrink, but maintained that it would give them an opportunity to ultimately boost their incomes by offering dolphin-watching excursions and souvenirs. …
The government sub-decree, which went into effect on September 25, bans “the usage of all kinds of gill nets in the core zone” – which extends 180 kilometers into Kratie from the Lao border – “during both the dry and the rainy season”.
By Chhay Channyda, P. 4
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2012102559409/National-news/kratie-workshop-pushes-dolphin-protection.html
Two studies have found that development on Bokor Mountain in Kampot province is threatening some of the area’s plant and animal species. The Sokimex Group has been granted development rights for the entire mountain and in May, the first of three hotels to be built was opened.
Concerns have been raised in the past about the effects on other wildlife, including tigers and elephants, which live on or near the mountain Sokimex in the past has said it will work to limit the development’s impact on the environment. …
Economics Today Staff
http://etmcambodia.com
In an effort to boost tourist numbers, the Ministry of Tourism will host an eco-tourism seminar in the northeastern provinces to showcase its main attraction, the Irrawaddy dolphins of the Mekong River.
Thong Khon, Minister of Tourism, said last week that officials attempted to hold the eco-tourism seminar in October, but because of scheduling issues, officials have moved the event to November this year. …
Touch Seang Tana, chairman of the Commission for Dolphin Conservation and Development of Mekong River Dolphin Ecotourism Zone, said yesterday that the population figures for the Irrawaddy dolphins varied from study to study, with some quoting about 100 and others as many as 200. …
Rann Reuy, P. 7
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2012092458861/Business/dolphin-drawcard.html
An ongoing project to build hotels, luxury villas and a casino on Kampot province’s Bokor Mountain is a threat to the area’s unique animal and plant species, according to two new studies.
Local conglomerate Sokimex Group has been granted property development rights on the entire mountain, which is officially a national park. In May, Prime Minister Hun Sen opened the first of three hotels the $1 billion development plan envisions will be built. …
Concerns have been raised in the past about the mountaintop development’s impact on (…) wildlife, including tigers and elephants, which live on and around Bokor. …
Simon Lewis, P. 18
http://www.camnet.com.kh/cambodia.daily/ (Note: Infrequently Updated.)
There has been an ioncrease in fishing activity in the dolphin conservation zones along the Mekong River in Kratie and Stung Treng provinces, putting pressure on the critically endangered Mekong dolphin population, the chairman of the Commission for Mekong River Dolphin Conservation and Eco-tourism Development said yesterday.
Touch Seang Tana said fishing in Kratie province has increased by about 20 percent this year, and illegal fishing activities-which involve the use of gill nets that can trap and kill dolphins-have also increased. …
This is due to the jump in fish prices, which now range from $5 to $10 per kg, compared to last year’s prices of $1 to $2 per kg. …
Khan Chomnan, Kratie province’s deputy governor, disagreed with Mr. Seang Tana, saying that the number of cases of illegal fishing have dropped from 185 cases during the first eight months of last year compared to 85 cases this year during the same period.
Dene-Hern Chen and Nhem Srey Roth, P. 20
http://www.camnet.com.kh/cambodia.daily/ (Note: Infrequently Updated.)
Prime Minister Hun Sen on Friday approved a new sub-decree geared toward increased protection of the endangered Mekong river dolphin through a series of fishing and motorised transport restrictions in the Mekong river in Kratie and Stung Treng provinces.
The Council of Minister’s sub-decree, obtained on Friday by the Post, sets out to meet management and conservation obligations on Cambodia for the species. …
The sub-decree bans the use of all kinds of fishing grills and motorised transport exceeding 30 kilometres per hour.
The clearance of forest and large-scale construction of infrastructure along the island near Kratie in the protected zone is also prohibited under the 12-point sub-decree. …
The Mekong river dolphin protection zone covers 7,630 square metres and stretches 180 kilometres from Laos into Cambodia.
Chhay Channyda, P. 6
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2012082758286/National-news/pm-hun-sen-gives-pro-dolphin-decree.html
A dam project set to flood thousands of hectares of protected forest and displace about 1,500 indigenous minority villagers in one of Koh Kong province’s most precious ecosystems should be scrapped, opposition Sam Rainsy Party MP Son Chhay said yesterday.
The 109-megawatt dam project in the Cheay Areng Valley is to be built by the Chinese state-owned firm Guodian Corporation and expected to flood up to 20,000 hectares, with about half of the reservoir in the Central Cardamom Protected Forest.
After returning from an investigation of the site, Son Chhay said the dam on the Stung Areng river would be a tragedy for the indigenous Chuong villagers – who have cultivated the area for centuries – and those who appreciated one of the country’s last, truly unique forests.
“It’s a great loss because we do not have many places in the country like that left. So many forests have been destroyed. This area has the rare animals, the endangered species, the mountain crocodile – so many rare animals I have never seen before,” he said…
May Titthara and David Boyle
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2012042055676/National-news/dont-dam-minority-mp-says.html
Officials and environmentalists yesterday agreed to draw up new measures to save the endangered Mekong dolphin and find more information on why the species is disappearing.
At the end of a three-day workshop in Kratie province, officials and representatives from the World Wildlife Fund signed a declaration to undertake the measures by April…
Dene-Hern Chen and Nhem Srey Roth, p.23
http://www.camnet.com.kh/cambodia.daily/ (Note: Infrequently Updated.)
