Sites - Important Bird Areas (IBAs)

Ornithological information During the survey, 43 nests of Oriental Darter were observed on 14 November 2001.

Site description The IBA is centred on the Stung Sen Core Area of Tonle Sap Biosphere Reserve. The IBA is located at the south-eastern end of Tonle Sap Lake, to the north of the point where the Tonle Sap River leaves the lake. The vegetation of the IBA is characterized by botanically unique gallery forest along rivers, dominated by Barringtonia acutangula and Diospyros cambodiana. Although disturbed, this habitat is the most species-rich tall forest around Tonle Sap Lake. The IBA supports an important breeding colony of Darter Anhinga melanogaster, as well as a significant breeding concentration of Grey-headed Fish Eagle (Ichthyophaga ichthyaetus).

Populations of IBA trigger species

Protected areas

Protected area	Designation	Area (ha)	Relationship with IBA	Overlap with IBA (ha)
Stung Sen	Multiple Use Management Area - Core Area	6,355	protected area contained by site	6,355
Tonle Sap	UNESCO-MAB Biosphere Reserve	1,481,257	protected area contained by site	6,355

Habitats

Land use

Other biodiversity Long-tailed Macaque (Macaca fascicularis)Asiatic Softshell Turtle (Amyda cartilaginea), Malayan Box Turtle (Cuora ambionensis), Malayan Snail-eating Turtle (Malayemys subtrijuga), Yellow-headed Temple Turtle (Hieremys annandalii), [Siamese Crocodile (Crocodylus siamensis)].

Management considerations The major threats to biodiversity at the IBA are hunting and egg collection. These activities are usually conducted opportunistically by local people, whose main occupation is fishing. When local people encounter a nest site, eggs or chicks will be collected, regardless of species or stage of development. In October 2001, local people collected around 500 Darter eggs from within the IBA. Additional threats to biodiversity including cutting of trees for firewood, and, in areas of higher elevation, clearance of forest for agriculture.

Protection status Stung Sen Core Area, Tonle Sap Biosphere Reserve contains the IBA

Conservation response Recommendations- Enforcement activities should be undertaken by appropriate Government personnel to control illegal hunting and fishing activities, particularly in the Stung Sen Core Area.- The Stung Sen Core Area should be removed from the fishing lot system and give conservation status as a Fish Sanctuary under the Fisheries Law.- A local conservation program based on the successful model of Prek Toal (IBA #3) should be initiated to protect the wet season breeding colonies of Darter.- Further surveys should be carried out to identify any, as yet undocumented, breeding colonies, particularly of Darters in the wet season and adjutants in the dry season. - Initiate an environmental education program, based on the successful model in Prek Toal (IBA #3). This should work with both adults and children, but particularly through the local schools throughout the Stung Sen Core Area.

Further web sources of information 

Site account from Directory of Important Bird Areas in Cambodia: key sites for conservation (Seng Kim Hout 2003)

References Document nameGoes F. and Hong C. (2002). The status and conservation of large waterbirds on the Tonle Sap Great Lake, Cambodia 2000-2001. Wildlife Conservation Society, Phnom Penh.Pech Bunnat and Long Kheng (2001). Survey on Oriental Darter colony and reptiles. Unpublished report, Wildlife Conservation Society, Cambodia.McDonald, A., Pech Bunnat, Phauk Virak and Leen Bunton (1997) Plant Communities of the Tonle Sap Floodplain. UNESCO, Phnom Penh.Mundkur, T., Carr, P., Sun Hean and Chhim Somean 1995. Surveys for large waterbirds in Cambodia. March - April 1994. Cambridge, UK: IUCN/SSC.Carr, P. (1993) Bird observations from the southern reaches of the Tonle Sap Lake in central Cambodia from 9th April to 16th June. Unpublished.Carr, P. (1994). Cambodia, the last refuge for rare and endangered waterfowl in Southeast Asia. Sea Swallow 43: 35-37.