Specialized Team Assessing Biodiversity In Cambodia's Karst Hill Landscapes

Phnom Penh, January 30, 2024 --

Fauna & Flora Cambodia is assessing biodiversity to determine the presence of wildlife species inhabiting areas in Banan district of Battambang and Thalaborivat district of Stung Treng province.

The wildlife conservation organisation shared the work recently, stressing that it was carried out in collaboration with the Ministry of Environment and local authorities.

The studies, using 30 camera traps, focus on the limestone karst hill landscapes of the areas considered to have the largest colonies of wrinkle-lipped bats.

The studies are funded by the European Union under the Biodiversity Conservation to Mitigate the Risks of Emerging Infectious Diseases Project.

The study team installed the camera traps across these karst hills from Jan. 16 to 24, and the cameras will be kept there over the next six months for continual monitoring.

The findings from this study, according to the team, will be further used to designate key biodiversity areas and support the development of karst conservation and management planning that can help mitigate the risk of emerging infectious zoonotic diseases.