The meeting was held at the Annual Meeting on Vulture Conservation from 17 to 21 February, which is an opportunity for national and international environmental conservationists to plan action plans to address the threat to vultures.
For Cambodia, it is also an opportunity to share vulture conservation with delegations representing countries where vultures are still present, such as Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Myanmar.
The meeting was organized by the Cambodian Vulture Conservation Group (CVWG) and the Ministry of Environment at the Phnom Penh Era Hotel in Phnom Penh.
State Secretary of the Ministry of Environment, Mr. Sam Sam, considered the forum as an important opportunity for experts to present progress, challenges, and strategies to ensure a safe future for the world's endangered vultures.
For nearly two decades, the Ministry of Environment and the Cambodian Vulture Task Force have been working in close partnership to protect Cambodia's three species of vultures," the Secretary mentioned.
He added that through joint efforts to conserve fire vultures, grey vultures, and brown vultures, several programs are being implemented across several protected areas to address major threats, monitor their population, and ensure their long-term survival.
Director of NatureLife Cambodia Organization, Mr. Boo Worosak, stated that Cambodia is one of the Indo-Chinese countries where the three species of vultures are still endangered.
"With the efforts of the Task Force, we can confirm that the population of vultures in Cambodia is in a stable state, according to the latest census data, the number of all three species is about 130 individuals," he stated.
Experts mention that vultures are being threatened by many factors, including pollution, lack of food, habitat loss, and activities disturbed by humans, which require cooperation from all stakeholders.
On this occasion, there were also experts from Thailand who planned to study the breeding preparations of vultures to establish a presence in their country.
Ms. Jemima Parry-Jones, President of the Six Nations Organization for the Rescue of the Asian Vulture from Extinction (SAVE), called for the participation of the conservation and protection of the vulture as it is the one who cleans the environment by taking the carcasses of other animals for food.
"The protection and conservation of vultures is a precious natural heritage for Cambodia and the whole world, as well as a value for biodiversity conservation and tourist attraction," she said.
SAVE is a coalition of conservation partners from many countries around South Asia and Southeast Asia who work together to protect the survival of vultures in Asia.
The vulture is classified as the most endangered species on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List.
Vultures are animals that feed on the carcasses of other animals and they act as cleaners of those impurities from nature by eating the flesh of dead animals and helping to maintain the balance of the environment.
However, their numbers have dropped dramatically worldwide in recent decades, including in Cambodia, as the two main causes are lack of food and deaths caused by the ingestion of human-caused poisonous animal carcasses.
The Cambodian Vulture Conservation Task Force was established to prevent the extinction of vultures in Cambodia.
This includes technical participation from the Department of Expertise of the Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, along with conservation organizations including ACCB, NatureLife Cambodia, Rising Phoenix, WCS, WWF, CBGA, SVC-Tours and the Center for Biodiversity Conservation.
Over the next two days, participants will receive updates from international working groups from six countries, discussions, and learn about several key topics, including combating the urgent threat to vultures, the working group's contributions and national action plans, as well as cross-border cooperation.
In addition, the delegation will have the opportunity to learn more about Cambodia's vulture conservation efforts during a study visit to the Siem Pang Wildlife Sanctuary in Stung Treng Province.
There, they will learn about the importance of vulture animal restaurants and the results of artificial nesting platforms.
Nature Life Cambodia said that since April 2024, the organization and park rangers of the Trap Phat Wildlife Sanctuary, with financial support from Mandia Nature and BirdLife International – Asia, have organized a monthly mobile vulture cafeteria to monitor the presence of fire vultures in the scenic area of the Trap Phat Wildlife Sanctuary.
So far, two of the four vulture feeding sites have been recorded at vulture feeding sites, which is an incentive factor for the conservation of this endangered species.
The final two mobile vulture feeders will take place in February and March 2025.
The 2023 Vulture Census found 131 vultures in Cambodia, including 12 fire vultures, 77 grey vultures, and 42 brown vultures.
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