1. Background: The
World Wide Fund for Nature was formed in 1961 in Gland Switzerland, and is the
world’s largest independent organization dedicated to the conservation of
nature. The WWF Network funds over 500
conservation projects in nearly 100 countries in Africa, Asia, Europe, and
North and South America. WWF’s mission is to achieve the conservation of nature
and ecological processes by:
·
preserving genetic, species, and ecosystem
diversity;
·
ensuring that the use of renewable energy
resources is sustainable both now and in the longer-term for the benefit of
life on earth; and,
·
promoting actions to reduce pollution and the wasteful exploitation
and consumption of resources and energy.
WWF
has been active in Cambodia since 1993, initially supporting biological surveys
to identify priority conservation sites within the country. WWF also sponsored training courses and
study tours for government officials on the topics of protected area
management, tiger conservation, and transboundary co-operation in natural
resource management. As a partner in
the USAID-funded Cambodia Environmental Management Project (CEMP), WWF placed
an advisor in the Ministry of Environment (MoE) and focused its attention on
the conservation of Virachey National Park.
WWF’s interest in Virachey stems from the fact that it is one of the
largest relatively intact areas of natural forest remaining in mainland
Southeast Asia, it may contain species of international conservation
importance, and the Sesan and Sekong river watersheds, which drain the
protected area, are important in ensuring the in-stream flows in the Lower
Mekong.
Since January
1998, WWF has worked with Department of Nature Conservation and Protection
(Department B), the Protected Areas Office (PAO) and the Community Forestry and
Bufferzone Management Unit (CFBZMU) at the MoE, the Wildlife Protection Office
(WPO) at the Ministry of Agriculture, Forests, and provincial government
agencies and NGOs in Ratanakiri and Stung Treng Provinces to develop an
appropriate protected area management strategy for Virachey.
2. Objectives
·
To strengthen conservation planning and management practices
·
To improve understanding of bio-diversity and resource use patterns
3.
Counterparts/Partners: Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Agriculture,
Forestry and Fisheries.
4.
Activities: Protected Area
Management, Biological/Ecological Surveys, Community Resource Planning and
Management, Wildlife Trade Control.
5.
Location: Ratanakiri, Stung Treng Provinces and Phnom Penh city
II.
The Activities Related to Mekong
1. Current Activities: Conservation in
Virachey National Park and the adjacent buffer zone is an important element to
managing the Sesan and Sekong River
watersheds. The Sesan and Sekong are
major tributaries of the Lower Mekong River.
2.
Further Activities
·
Conservation and land-use planning in Ratanakiri, Stung Treng, and
Mondulkiri Provinces.
·
Community resource management, including fisheries in selected areas
of Ratanakiri, Stung Treng, and Mondulkiri Provinces.
·
Environmental education/public awareness of the ecological, social,
and economic values of the Mekong Basin (linked to a larger regional strategy).
III.
Contact Details
- Contact Person |
: Jack Hurd, Program
Manager |
- Address |
: Ministry of
Environment; #48, Samdech Preah Sihanouk St., Phnom Penh |
- Fax/Phone |
: (855-23) 218 034/023
218 034 |
- E-mail |