Why this wildlife sanctuary in Cambodia is in danger – along with hundreds more worldwide

Of the 13,000 lmportant Bird & Biodiversity Areas (IBAs) identified by BirdLife worldwide, 277 are most severely under threat. Vital sites, such as Cambodia’s Lomphat Wildlife Sanctuary, are home to globally threatened birds such as Giant Ibis and other IBA ‘trigger species’. They face the most intense pressures and need our urgent help.

Hulking past a seasonal waterhole – called trapaengs here in Cambodia – the shadowy form of a Giant Ibis probes soft mud with its immense, downcurved bill. Once this Critically Endangered waterbird has unearthed enough invertebrates, it will head deep into the forest to a treetop nest – one of 10 discovered last year at Lomphat Wildlife Sanctuary. This vast site encompasses two Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBAs) – including Lomphat, an ‘IBA in Danger’ where conservation action is now more urgent than ever.

Established in 1993, Lomphat Wildlife Sanctuary carries remarkable significance for wildlife. Its 250,000 hectares form part of the Lower Mekong Dry Forests, one of the world’s 200 most important ecoregions. Roughly the size of the island of Mauritius, Lomphat intersperses dry deciduous woodland with evergreen forest, and seasonally flooded grassland with farmland. It hosts populations of not one but three Critically Endangered birds. As well as around 50 Giant Ibises – perhaps one sixth of the global population, which is almost entirely confined to Cambodia – there are internationally important numbers of White-shouldered Ibis and Red-headed Vulture.

read more https://www.birdlife.org/news/2022/05/18/why-this-wildlife-sanctuary-in-cambodia-is-in-danger-along-with-hundreds-more-worldwide/