People Resources and Conservation Foundation (PRCF)

The Lomphat Wildlife Sanctuary Integrated Conservation Support Program

Under implementation since 2007, through financial support from the US Fish and Wildlife Service, BirdLife International, and core funds from the PRCF, we are carrying out this five-year management support program in Lomphat.  The immediate goal is to strengthen the conservation of tiger and other globally important species in the sanctuary through improved capacities for conservation management and a community-based collaborative management approach. Our two main objectives through this program are to:

• Improve management information within the Lomphat landscape, especially the understanding of specific pressures on habitats and wildlife, and the application of appropriate responses.
• Establish flexible mechanisms that encourage sustainable and collaborative management approaches between protected area officials and local communities.

Focused Protection for White-shouldered Ibis and Giant Ibis Project

Once widespread throughout Southeast Asia, the giant ibis and white-shouldered ibis are now considered critically endangered, and restricted to the dry forests of north-eastern Cambodia. With the support of the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund, we are carrying out a project to expand existing conservation and community resource management approaches at Lomphat Wildlife Sanctuary.

Through this project, we aim to locate nesting, feeding, and roosting sites for both species of ibis throughout the sanctuary, and to involve local village groups in the monitoring and protection of the species, particularly during the vulnerable breeding season. At project completion, we will prepare an action plan targeting the protection of the two ibis species.

RAPIDS Project

The RAPIDS project, initiated in 2009, is a joint collaboration between the PRCF and the 3S River Protection Network. The project responds to the threat presented by numerous hydroelectric dams presently proposed on the Sekong, Sesan, and Srepok rivers. The PRCF provides technical advice to the project, which is conducting a preliminary environmental impact assessment of the proposed Lower Sesan III Dam.

Our objective is to ensure that global conservation issues and local community concerns are properly considered during the full environmental impact assessment that Cambodian law requires, but which often involves only limited public participation. We also hope that the associated awareness activities will also raise the profile of conservation and community concerns in the region.