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WORLD WIDE FUND FOR NATURE

(WWF)

 

I.                   Introduction

 

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

: Jackh@bigpond.com.kh