The wildlife of Cambodia is very diverse with at least 162 mammal species,[1] 600 bird species,[1] 176 reptile species (including 89 subspecies),[2] 900 freshwater fish species,[1] 670 invertebrate species, and more than 3000 plant species.[1] A single protected area, Keo Seima Wildlife Sanctuary, is known to support more than 950 total species, including 75 species that are listed as globally threatened on the IUCN Red List.[3] An unknown amount of species remains to be described by science, especially the insect group of butterflies and moths, collectively known as lepidopterans.[4]
Many species in Cambodia, including several endemic ones, are recognized by the IUCN or World Conservation Union as threatened, endangered, or critically endangered due to deforestation and habitat destruction, poaching, the illegal wildlife trade, and farming, fishing, and forestry concessions. Intensive poaching may have already driven Cambodia's national animal, the kouprey, to extinction, wild tigers to extirpation, and Eld's deer, wild water buffaloes and hog deer are at critically low numbers.
Wildlife in Cambodia includes dholes, elephants, deer (sambar, Eld's deer, hog deer and muntjac), wild oxen (banteng and gaur), panthers, bears, and tigers. Cormorants, cranes, ibises, parrots, green peafowl, pheasants, and wild ducks are also found, and species of venomous snakes and constrictors are numerous. Deforestation, mining activities, and unregulated hunting, have diminished the country's wildlife diversity rapidly.
Cambodia also has many endangered species, including Asian elephant, Siamese crocodile, wild water buffalo, and the Germain's silver langur.
Only preliminary research has been done on butterflies and moths (lepidopterans) in Cambodia, even though it is an abundant lifeform in the country. No identification literature exists for Cambodia on this group yet.[4]
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Cambodia supports more than 3,000 identified plant species, many of which are endemic to unique local ecosystems such as the Tonlé Sap floodplain, forests of the Cardamom and Dâmrei Mountains, and elevated plains. These ecosystems provide diverse habitats that sustain a variety of plant species, contributing to the country's rich biodiversity.
In Cambodia forest cover is around 46% of the total land area, equivalent to 8,068,370 hectares (ha) of forest in 2020, down from 11,004,790 hectares (ha) in 1990. In 2020, naturally regenerating forest covered 7,464,400 hectares (ha) and planted forest covered 603,970 hectares (ha). Of the naturally regenerating forest 4% was reported to be primary forest (consisting of native tree species with no clearly visible indications of human activity). For the year 2015, 100% of the forest area was reported to be under public ownership.[9]
National flower
Rumdul: Cambodia's national flower is the rumdul (Mitrella mesnyi). This flower is valued for its fragrant yellow-white blooms and is commonly found in rural areas across the country. It symbolizes elegance and is often used in traditional ceremonies and festivals.
Rare and endangered species
Several plant species in Cambodia are considered rare and/or endangered, highlighting the importance of conservation efforts:
Nepenthes bokorensis: One of two rare pitcher plants endemic to Cambodia, found growing in the Dâmrei Mountains. This species is notable for its insect-trapping mechanism and distinctive pitcher shape.
Aquilaria crassna (chankreussna): A critically endangered tree species valued for its aromatic resin, known as agarwood, used in perfume and traditional medicine. Overharvesting for its valuable resin has significantly reduced its population in the wild.
Cinnamomum cambodianum: A non-scented species of cinnamon tree endemic to Cambodian forests, primarily in the Cardamom and Dâmrei Mountains. It is also possibly present in the border region between Cambodia and Thailand. This tree species faces threats from illegal logging and habitat destruction.
Conservation efforts
Efforts to preserve Cambodia's flora include the establishment of protected areas and national parks, such as Preah Monivong National Park and the Cardamom Mountains Protected Forests. Organizations and government initiatives are working towards sustainable management and conservation practices to protect these valuable plant species and their habitats.
Threats
Sand mining in waterways, overfishing, illicit fishing methods, and the illegal wildlife trafficking are the three main threats to biodiversity in Cambodia.[10] In the Cardamom Mountain region, poaching through snaring is another major factor in the decline in the population of pileated gibbons, dholes, serows, spotted linsangs and many more.[11]
See also
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (June 2015)
Cát Tiên National Park is a national park located in the south of Vietnam, in the provinces of Đồng Nai, Bình Phước and Lâm Đồng. It is approximately 150 km north of Ho Chi Minh City. It has an area of about 720 km2 and protects one of the largest areas of lowland tropical forests left in Vietnam. Since 2011, Cát Tiên National Park has been a part of Đồng Nai Biosphere Reserve.
The Cardamom Mountains, or the Krâvanh Mountains, is a mountain range in the southwest part of Cambodia and Eastern Thailand. The majority of the range is within Cambodia.
India is the world's 8th most biodiverse region with a 0.46 BioD score on diversity index, 102,718 species of fauna and 23.39% of the nation's geographical area under forest and tree cover in 2020. India encompasses a wide range of biomes: desert, high mountains, highlands, tropical and temperate forests, swamplands, plains, grasslands, areas surrounding rivers, as well as island archipelago. Officially, three out of the 36 Biodiversity Hotspots in the world are present in India: the Himalayas, the Western Ghats, and the Indo-Burma region. To these may be added the Sundarbans and the Terrai-Duar Savannah grasslands for their unique foliage and animal species. These hotspots have numerous endemic species. Nearly 5% of India's total area is formally classified under protected areas.
Kaziranga National Park is an Indian national park and a World Heritage Site in Golaghat and Nagaon districts of Assam, India. It is refuge for the world's largest population of great one-horned rhinoceros. Kaziranga has the highest density of tigers among protected areas in the world and was declared a Tiger Reserve in 2006. The park has large breeding populations of elephant, wild Asiatic water buffalo and swamp deer. Kaziranga is recognized as an Important Bird Area by Birdlife International for conservation of avifaunal species. The park has achieved notable progress in wildlife conservation with respect to other protected areas in India.Kaziranga was declared a Tiger Reserve in 2006
The wildlife of Laos encompasses the animals and plants found in the Lao People's Democratic Republic, a landlocked country in southeastern Asia. Part of the country is mountainous and much of it is still clad in tropical broadleaf forest. It has a great variety of animal and plant species.
The wildlife of the Democratic Republic of the Congo includes its flora and fauna, comprising a large biodiversity in rainforests, seasonally flooded forests and grasslands.
The state of Karnataka in South India has a rich diversity of flora and fauna. It has a recorded forest area of 38,720 km2 which constitutes 55 of the geographical area of the state. These forests support 25% of the elephant population and 20% of the tiger population of India. Many regions of Karnataka are still unexplored and new species of flora and fauna are still found. The mountains of the Western Ghats in the western region of Karnataka are a biodiversity hotspot. Two sub-clusters of the Western Ghats, Talacauvery and Kudremukh, are on a tentative list of sites that could be designated as World Heritage Sites by UNESCO. The Bandipur and Nagarahole national parks which fall outside these subclusters were included in the Nilgiri biosphere reserve in 1986, a UNESCO designation. In the Biligiriranga Hills the Eastern Ghats meet the Western Ghats. The state bird and state animal of Karnataka are Indian roller and the Indian elephant. The state tree and state flower are sandalwood and lotus. Karnataka is home to 524 tigers.
There are more than 2000 species of fauna that can be found in Tamil Nadu. This rich wildlife is attributed to the diverse relief features as well as favorable climate and vegetation in the Indian state. Recognizing the state's role in preserving the current environment, the state government has established several wildlife and bird sanctuaries as well as national parks, which entail stringent protective measures. Tamil Nadu is also included in the International Network of Biosphere Reserves, which facilitates international recognition and additional funding. There are five national parks and 17 sanctuaries that serve as homes to the wildlife.
Lomphat Wildlife Sanctuary is a protected area covering 2,514.68 km2 (970.92 sq mi) in eastern Cambodia that was established in 1993. It is heavily forested and straddles Ratanakiri, Mondulkiri, and Kratie provinces. It is home to a variety of endangered wildlife such as banteng, gaur, dholes and sun bear, as well as leopards, Eld's deer, sambar deer, muntjacs and wild pigs. In addition, a number of rare birds are present: surveys have confirmed the presence of green peafowl, greater and lesser adjutant storks, sarus cranes, oriental pied hornbills, giant ibises, white-shouldered ibises, milky and woolly-necked storks, and slender-billed and white-rumped vultures, which are increasingly rare in most of South and Southeast Asia.
Ratanakiri Province in northeastern Cambodia is home to many species of animals. One 1996 survey of an area to the northwest of Lomphat Wildlife Sanctuary recorded 44 mammals, 76 birds, and 9 reptile species. The following is an incomplete list of species recorded in Ratanakiri.
Pakistan's native fauna reflect its varied climatic zones. The northern Pakistan, which includes Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit Baltistan, has portions of two biodiversity hotspots, Mountains of Central Asia and Himalayas.
The fauna of Sindh live in an area with a semi arid climate. With its coastal and riverine forests, its huge fresh water lakes, mountains and deserts, Sindh supports a large and varied wildlife population.
Botum Sakor National Park is the largest national park of Cambodia. Situated on the coast of the Gulf of Thailand, Botum Sakor is a peninsula projecting southwest from the Cardamom Mountains. The national park comprises an area of 1,825.85 km2 (704.96 sq mi) and spans three districts of Koh Kong Province: Kiri Sakor, Botum Sakor and Koh Kong. The park is under the administration of the Cambodian Ministry of Environment, and a small part of the park is included in the Southern Cardamom REDD+ Project (SCRP).
The Central Indochina dry forests are a large tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests ecoregion in Southeast Asia.
The Cardamom Mountains rain forests is a tropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion in Southeast Asia, as identified by the WWF. The ecoregion covers the Cardamom Mountains and Elephant Mountains and the adjacent coastal lowlands in eastern Thailand and southwestern Cambodia, as well as the Vietnamese island of Dao Phu Quoc.
The Angkor Centre for Conservation of Biodiversity (ACCB) is a non-governmental organization in Cambodia. ACCB is "one of the first nature conservation and endangered wildlife rescue and breeding centre" in the country. It works towards the conservation of wildlife and biodiversity in Cambodia. Established in 2003 by the German organizations of Allwetterzoo Münster and the Zoological Society for the Conservation of Species and Populations, ACCB's goals include the rehabilitation of confiscated wildlife, breeding of selected species, environmental education, local community involvement, research, and in-situ conservation. Dr. Stephan Goetz from Munich has provided major financial support via Stiftung Artenschutz, a consortium of zoos and nature conservation organizations. The ACCB is a project of the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums.
Khao Chamao - Khao Wong National Park, is a National Park in Khao Chamao District, Rayong Province in Thailand. The park covers an area of 52,300 rai ~ 84 square kilometres (32 sq mi) of forested mountains. North of the national park is the larger Khao Ang Rue Nai Wildlife Sanctuary.
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