Chhaeb-Preah Roka Wildlife Sanctuary

Chhaeb-Preah Roka Wildlife Sanctuary
Khmer: ដែនជម្រកសត្វព្រៃឆែប-ព្រះរកា
Chhaeb-Preah Roka Wildlife Sanctuary is located in Cambodia
Chhaeb-Preah Roka Wildlife Sanctuary
Location within Cambodia
LocationPreah Vihear and Stung Treng provinces, Cambodia
Coordinates14°05′N 105°09′E / 14.08°N 105.15°E / 14.08; 105.15
Area3,475.68 km2 (1,341.97 sq mi)
Established17 July 2023
Governing bodyMinistry of Environment

Chhaeb-Preah Roka Wildlife Sanctuary (Khmer: ដែនជម្រកសត្វព្រៃឆែប-ព្រះរកា), also romanised as Chhaep-Preah Roka or Chhep-Preah Roka, is a 3,475.68 km2 (1,341.97 sq mi) protected area in northern Cambodia. It extends across Preah Vihear and Stung Treng provinces and forms part of the protected-area network of Cambodia's Northern Plains. The present sanctuary was established in July 2023 by merging the former Chhaeb and Preah Roka wildlife sanctuaries and incorporating additional land into the protected area.

The sanctuary contains extensive deciduous dipterocarp forest, together with semi-evergreen and evergreen forest, seasonally inundated grasslands and numerous seasonal forest pools. These habitats support threatened birds and mammals including the giant ibis, white-shouldered ibis, sarus crane, Asian elephant, banteng, gaur and Eld's deer.

History

Preah Vihear Protected Forest and Chhaeb Wildlife Sanctuary

Part of the present sanctuary was first protected on 30 July 2002, when Sub-Decree No. 76 established a protected forest in Preah Vihear Province for the conservation of plant and wildlife genetic resources. The area became known as the Preah Vihear Protected Forest.

Following the transfer of a number of protected forests from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries to the Ministry of Environment, Sub-Decree No. 79 reclassified the area as Chhaeb Wildlife Sanctuary on 9 May 2016. The sanctuary covered 190,027 hectares in Preah Vihear and Stung Treng provinces.

Preah Roka Wildlife Sanctuary

Preah Roka Wildlife Sanctuary, also known as Prey Preah Roka Wildlife Sanctuary, was established by Sub-Decree No. 75 on 9 May 2016. It covered 90,361 hectares in Preah Vihear Province. The sanctuary formed a wildlife corridor between Chhaeb Wildlife Sanctuary and Kulen Promtep Wildlife Sanctuary. Surveys reported a mosaic of habitats supporting at least 28 threatened species, including giant ibis, white-shouldered ibis, Eld's deer and banteng.

Merger

On 17 July 2023, the Cambodian government issued Sub-Decree No. 174 establishing the combined Chhaeb-Preah Roka Wildlife Sanctuary. Its new boundary covered 347,568 hectares in Preah Vihear and Stung Treng provinces, making it substantially larger than the two preceding sanctuaries combined. The enlargement formed part of a wider series of 2023 sub-decrees that incorporated land previously classified as biodiversity conservation corridors into Cambodia's protected-area system.

Ecology and biodiversity

The sanctuary lies within one of the largest remaining expanses of deciduous dipterocarp forest in mainland Southeast Asia. The former Chhaeb portion was estimated to comprise approximately 67 per cent deciduous dipterocarp forest, with smaller areas of semi-evergreen forest, open grassland and seasonal pools known locally as trapeangs. The wider landscape also contains evergreen forest along watercourses and on more fertile soils, as well as seasonally inundated grasslands and wetlands.

A camera-trap survey conducted in the former Chhaeb Wildlife Sanctuary during the 2012–2013 and 2013–2014 dry seasons recorded 30 species of large mammal over 7,483 camera-trap nights. Recorded species included Eld's deer, banteng, jungle cat and the endangered large-spotted civet, which was the fourth-most frequently photographed species in the survey. A subsequent 2017 survey confirmed the continued presence of Eld's deer, although detections were relatively infrequent. Deer used seasonal pools more intensively where water levels were higher and surrounding trees were larger, while human and domestic or feral pig activity were negatively associated with their use of a site.

A genetic study of Asian elephants published in 2025 estimated that the population occupying the former Chhaeb and Preah Roka sanctuaries numbered approximately 20 individuals, with a 95 per cent confidence interval of 13–22. Six individual elephants were detected in both former sanctuaries, demonstrating movement between the two areas.

The sanctuary is particularly important for large waterbirds. Giant ibis and white-shouldered ibis depend on deciduous dipterocarp forest, wetlands and seasonal pools for feeding and breeding. A study using giant ibis nest records from Chhaeb, Preah Roka and Kulen Promtep found a decline in seasonal surface-water availability between 2000–2004 and 2016–2020, with an estimated 25 per cent reduction in suitable dry-season giant ibis habitat across the study area.

Communities and management

The sanctuary is administered by the Ministry of Environment. The Wildlife Conservation Society has provided technical and financial support for conservation work in the Northern Plains, including biodiversity monitoring, law enforcement, land-use planning, community protected areas, ecotourism and wildlife-friendly agriculture.

The forest is culturally and economically important to the Indigenous Kuy people. Communities use the forest for resin tapping and the collection of mushrooms, fruit, medicinal plants and other non-timber forest products. Mature dipterocarp resin trees may be inherited between generations and have both livelihood and spiritual significance.

Between 2020 and 2022, a participatory resource-mapping and zonation process was undertaken across the former Chhaeb and Preah Roka sanctuaries. It involved 84 meetings in 48 villages and 3,064 participants. Community land, agricultural areas, cultural and sacred sites, non-timber forest-product areas and wildlife habitat were mapped to inform proposed core, conservation, sustainable-use and community zones.

Conservation initiatives in the wider Northern Plains include community ecotourism, wildlife-friendly rice production and direct payments for protecting the nests of threatened birds. The Bird Nest Protection Program employs local people to report and guard nests until chicks fledge. An evaluation found that the programme improved nest success and contributed to increases in at least three bird populations.

Threats

The sanctuary is threatened by illegal logging, hunting, agricultural expansion, land clearance and commercial pressures including mineral exploitation. Illegal logging has been particularly well documented in the former Preah Roka sanctuary, where the loss of resin trees has affected Kuy livelihoods.

In 2021, the Cambodian Youth Network reported 213 instances of suspected illegal logging recorded during two surveys of Preah Roka. The Ministry of Environment disputed the findings, stating that some of the recorded timber was old or came from resin trees legally approved for use. Investigations published following the 2023 merger continued to report extensive logging within the sanctuary, as well as restrictions and legal pressure affecting community forest patrols.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Sub-Decree no. 174 on the establishment of Chhaep Preah Roka Wildlife Sanctuary". Open Development Cambodia. 17 July 2023. Retrieved 31 July 2026.
  2. 1 2 3 Mamalis, L.; Arnold, K. E.; Mahood, S. P.; Khean, M.; Beale, C. M. (2024). "Quantifying the availability of seasonal surface water and identifying the drivers of change within tropical forests in Cambodia". PLOS ONE. 19 (7) e0307964. Bibcode:2024PLoSO..1907964M. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0307964. PMC 11285917. PMID 39074133.
  3. ↑ "Sub-decree No. 76 on Establishment of Protected Forest for Genetic Resource, Plants and Wildlife Conservation in Preah Vihear Province". Open Development Cambodia. 30 July 2002. Retrieved 31 July 2026.
  4. ↑ "Sub-decree No. 79 on Establishment of Chheb Wildlife Sanctuary". Open Development Mekong. Open Development Cambodia. 9 May 2016. Retrieved 31 July 2026.
  5. ↑ "Sub-decree No. 75 on Establishment of Preah Rokar Wildlife Sanctuary". Open Development Mekong. Open Development Cambodia. 9 May 2016. Retrieved 31 July 2026.
  6. ↑ "Stakeholders worked together to verify locations for wildlife sanctuary demarcation". Wildlife Conservation Society Cambodia. 29 January 2017. Retrieved 31 July 2026.
  7. ↑ Diepart, Jean-Christophe; Frewer, Tim; Scurrah, Natalia (2025). "Where Does the Boundary Fall? Conservation Assemblages and Their Discontents in a Protected Area, Northern Cambodia". In Suhardiman, Diana; Rigg, Jonathan; Marschke, Melissa (eds.). Rethinking Environmental Governance: Broadening the Scope, Deepening the Perspectives. Leiden University Press. pp. 47–71. hdl:2268/335302. Retrieved 31 July 2026.
  8. 1 2 Geary, Matthew; Hartley, Matt; Ball, Zoe; Wilkes, Sammie; Khean, Mao; Ball, Rachel J.; Peters, Catherine M.; Muir, Anna P. (2023). "Camera traps and genetic identification of faecal samples for detection and monitoring of an endangered ungulate". Raffles Bulletin of Zoology. 71: 120–127. doi:10.26107/RBZ-2023-0011.
  9. 1 2 3 "Northern Plains". Wildlife Conservation Society Cambodia. Retrieved 31 July 2026.
  10. ↑ Suzuki, Ai; Thong, Sokha; Tan, Setha; Iwata, Akihisa (2017). "Camera trapping of large mammals in Chhep Wildlife Sanctuary, northern Cambodia" (PDF). Cambodian Journal of Natural History. 2017 (1): 63–75. Retrieved 31 July 2026.
  11. ↑ Sinovas, Pablo; Smith, Chelsea; Keath, Sophorn; Chantha, Nasak; Kaden, Jennifer; Ith, Saveng; Ball, Alexander (2025). "Giants in the landscape: status, genetic diversity, habitat suitability and conservation implications for a fragmented Asian elephant population in Cambodia". PeerJ. 13 e18932. doi:10.7717/peerj.18932. PMC 11910960. PMID 40093415.
  12. 1 2 Lovgren, Stefan (2 June 2025). "Cambodian Forest Defenders at Risk for Exposing Illegal Logging". Yale Environment 360. Retrieved 31 July 2026.
  13. ↑ Diepart, Jean-Christophe; Oeur, Il (June 2023). Communities at the Core of Protected Area Management: Learning from Customary Tenure Documentation Experiences in Cambodia (PDF) (Report). MRLG Case Study Series. Phnom Penh: Mekong Region Land Governance, Wildlife Conservation Society and Highlanders Association. pp. 8–13. Retrieved 31 July 2026.
  14. ↑ Clements, Tom; Rainey, Hugo; An, Dara; Rours, Vann; Tan, Setha; Thong, Sokha; Sutherland, William J.; Milner-Gulland, E. J. (2013). "An evaluation of the effectiveness of a direct payment for biodiversity conservation: The Bird Nest Protection Program in the Northern Plains of Cambodia". Biological Conservation. 157: 50–59. Bibcode:2013BCons.157...50C. doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2012.07.020.
  15. ↑ Narim, Khuon (27 April 2021). "Illegal logging continues in protected areas despite COVID-19 restrictions". CamboJA News. Retrieved 31 July 2026.
  16. ↑ Flynn, Gerald; Ball, Andy; Kroypunlok, Meng (9 October 2023). "Communities track a path of destruction through a Cambodian wildlife sanctuary". Mongabay. Retrieved 31 July 2026.