Native species
to the Central Cardamom Mountains include
(confirmed):
Indotestudo
elongata
Cyclemys
atripons
Amyda
cartilaginea
Heosemys
grandis
Manouria
impressa
Siebenrockiella crassicollis
Cuora amboinensis
Reported
Malayemys subtrijuga
Pelochelys
cantorii
Hieremys
annandalii
Juvenile elongated
tortoise (Indotestudo elogata), found in an area of high pine
forest.
|
What's
New
Research
is currently being conducted in a large wetland in the Central
Cardamom Mountains.
Preliminary research has tentatively suggested the presence of the
leaf turtle, Cyclemys dentata complex, and the Asiatic
softshell turtle, Amyda cartilaginea in the marsh. Based
on previous research by the turtle team in similar habitats in the
Cardamom Mountains, the marsh could also hold several additional
species such as the black marsh turtle, Siebenrockiella crassicollis,
and the Asian giant pond turtle, Heosemys grandis.
Two students,
Sitha and Koulang, holding up a set of turtle hooks removed from
the Areng River in the survey area.
A ten-day turtle
survey in the Areng Valley by students from Phnom Penh National University
(BP Conservation Award winners) and David Emmett of Conservation International
turned up the first verified record for Manouria impressa
in Cambodia, along with a first record for the Cardamom Mountains
for Siebenrockiella crassicollis.
The addition
an assortment of Cyclemys, Indotestudo elongata,
and Heosemys grandis also surfaced during the field survey,
which involved trapping in the Areng River and timed transect surveys
in evergreen forest and marshland.
Juvenile
Amyda cartilaginea found at a house in Tatai Leu village in
the Cardamom Protected Forest. |
|
Summary
The project aims
to develop ongoing tortoise and freshwater turtle research and conservation
activities in and around the Central Cardamoms Protected Forest (CCPF),
Cambodia, to help reduce threats to wild populations.
Cambodia’s turtles
are threatened by hunting and trade. The Cardamom Mountains comprises
one of the last remaining areas of wilderness in Cambodia. Isolated by
remote mountain terrain, the CCPF contains at least five globally threatened
tortoise and freshwater turtle species.
Under the project, supported by a BP Conservation Award,
Khmer students from the Royal University of Phnom Penh will assess the
species composition, distribution and abundance, ecology, values of,
and threats to turtles native to the CCPF. Technical support is being
provided by Conservation International, presently managing a conservation
program in cooperation with the Forestry Administration in the Central
Cardamom Mountains.
This project is
intended to guide regional conservation and management actions, and
will provide baseline data for monitoring protected area management
and community-based natural resource management activities.
The project involves
four main activities:
(1) Training of six students in basic survey and identification
techniques,
(2) Interview-based
surveys in local communities to gain information on the presence, status,
and perceived threats to native species,
(3) Carry out field-surveys
of tortoises and turtles across a range of habitats;
(4) Develop culture-sensitive
public awareness and education activities, targeting local communities,
and people.
Contact
Details
Mr
Sitha Som:
E-mail: sithasom@yahoo.com
|
Main Focus: Involve
students in research and conservation focused on tortoise and
freshwater turtles in the Cardamom Mountains of Cambodia
Location:
Central Cardamoms Protected Forest (CCPF)
Administered
by: The Royal University of Phnom Pehn with
technical support provided by Conservation International
Established:
2004
|
Project
supported by:
|
BP Conservation
Award |
 |
Conservation
International |
|
Sitha, one of
six students from the Royal University of Phnom Pehn, working on
a project, supported by a BP Conservation Award. Seen here working
with Cyclemys atripons (leaf turtle).
|
Three shells
that were found in the house of a Vietnamese man in village of Thma
Bang. The shells are of Cyclemys, Heosemys grandis and
Indotestustudo elongata.
|
Cyclemys (probably atripons) that students captured
in a baited trap, and are measuring.
|
|
