The Mekong Delta in Southeast Asia used to have large grasslands. Floods occur every year, leaving patches of wetlands that provide living space for important waterbird populations. However, decades of widespread shifts to agriculture, and more recently aquaculture, have left fewer and fewer habitats intact.
Kampong Chak in southeastern Cambodia is one of them. Stretching across the southern border, this Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) consists of more than 1,000 hectares of seasonally inundated grasslands dotted with paperbark. It is home to a variety of waterbirds, including eastern snake perch and black-tailed godwit (both Near Threatened), and is known for its globally important population of Sarus Crane (Vulnerable).
The largest species in the Crane family, this species has a bright red head contrasting with a gray body, which, combined with its spectacular courtship rituals, is one of the most recognizable water birds in Asia. Although the range of the Southeast Asian subspecies has declined, Sharpieespecially troublesome, has been eradicated in Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines.
At present, its population is mainly concentrated in Cambodia, and the 2022 national census only found 156 birds. Kampong Trach and nearby Boeng Prek Lapouv (another at-risk IBA and sanctuary for Bengal Florian (Critically Endangered)) are home to the most important wintering population of Sarus cranes in the country.
Fortunately, much of the IBA is officially protected as part of the Anlong Principe Reserve. However, the small size of the wetlands, coupled with frequent encroachment by surrounding farms that also use high concentrations of polluting chemical pesticides, make them highly threatened.
Sadly, these threats are mirrored in Sarus crane populations. As many as 150 of these enigmatic birds once foraged in Kampong Chak and its adjacent rice fields. However, this number has steadily declined in recent years, with BirdLife partner NatureLife Cambodia’s 2021 annual species census recording a new low, with fewer than 100 cranes in the IBA.
The group moved quickly, launching an imaginative new initiative with the Cambodian Ministry of Environment, which manages the Amlong Purin Reserve. At the heart of its work is training and encouraging farmers around the IBA to use bird-friendly farming methods, including growing native rice varieties, reducing the use of chemical fertilizers and agreeing not to encroach on protected areas.
Farmers who sign up are known as “hemi” and can then sell their harvest for a premium. Although the program will only start in 2022, 100 farmers have already participated following a successful pilot project the previous year, increasing the area of healthy Sarus Crane habitat within the IBA by nearly a third.
“According to the monitoring results in 2022, Anlong Purin has attracted more than 50% of the total number of Sharus cranes in Cambodia and Vietnam, of which 82% are foraging in the crane rice fields. This is a good sign that the crane rice plan is working to solve the problem contributing to food shortages,” said Vorsak Bou, CEO of NatureLife Cambodia. “The cooperating farmers were also delighted to be part of the project – not only did it help Sarus Crane, it contributed to local livelihoods,” he added.
NatureLife Cambodia also trained various community members to patrol IBA’s main wetlands with park rangers, and organized various workshops and events with local schools and communities to raise awareness of the importance of healthy wetlands. Encouragingly, there are signs that Sarus crane populations in the region are beginning to stabilize, offering new hope for this iconic species.
