Conservation in the Mekong Flooded Forest Landscape

Mekong Flooded Forest landscape straddles the provinces of Kratie, Stung Treng, Preah Vihear, and Kampong Thom and is home to many critically endangered species. It also has a human population of around 140,000 people, including indigenous groups, who depend for their survival on its rich aquatic and terrestrial biodiversity.
 
Cambodia’s  Mekong  Flooded Forest landscape has some of the highest fish biodiversity and is home to many endangered species including hog deer re-discovered in Cambodia by WWF in 2006. It is also home to an iconic species which is the national living treasure of the country, Mekong Irrawaddy dolphins. The landscape covers Kratie and Stung Treng provinces and faces threats from hydropower development and human-induced changes.

To protect these forests, WWF has been using the Mekong Flooded Forest landscape approach which helps us work holistically by looking beyond individual protected areas. We work on the core protected zones, buffer zones and on the surrounding landscapes where human settlements and agricultural and industrial production are. This allows us to coordinate with stakeholders more efficiently on activities that impact the landscapes and the natural ecosystems that they support. This way, we facilitate a system that ensures development is sustainable while protecting and conserving natural resources