Major non-breeding site for Sarus Crane found in southern Cambodia

Sarus Crane Grus antigone is one of a number of globally threatened waterbirds found in South-East Asia. The South-East Asian race of the species, Eastern Sarus Crane G. a. sharpii, which was once widespread, is now thought to number less than 1,500 individuals. This race breeds in Preah Vihear, Stung Treng and Ratanakiri provinces in north-eastern Cambodia. During the non-breeding season, the species concentrates at Ang Trapeang Thmor Conservation Area in north-western Cambodia, and at Tram Chim National Park and the Ha Tien Plain in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam.

During January 2002, a fourth major non-breeding site for Eastern Sarus Crane was found in Takeo province, southern Cambodia. This site was identified in March 2001, during an aerial survey by the International Crane Foundation (ICF), the Department of Forestry and Wildlife (DFW) of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF), and the Department of Nature Conservation and Protection (DNCP) of the Ministry of the Environment (MoE). A follow-up survey by Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), BirdLife International, DFW and DNCP from 4 to 6 January 2002, as part of the Danida-funded project Improved conservation planning through institutional strengthening in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam, revealed that the site supports a major non-breeding population of Sarus Crane, as well as a number of other species of global conservation concern.

The site is situated in Koh Andeth and Borey Chulsar districts, and consists of a large floodplain. The major habitats at the site are seasonally inundated grassland and lotus swamp. Local people report that Sarus Cranes have visited the site during the dry season since at least 1984. The cranes stay at the site from December to May; during the rest of the year, the site is flooded. During the Danida-funded survey, a minimum of 123 Sarus Cranes was recorded. According to local people, however, numbers are even higher during late February and March. Other species of global conservation concern recorded during the survey included Painted Stork Mycteria leucocephala, Spot-billed Pelican Pelecanus philippensis and Oriental Darter Anhinga melanogaster. As a result of these findings, the site qualifies as an Important Bird Area (IBA), a globally important site for bird conservation.

The Koh Andeth-Borey Chulsar site is bordered by An Giang province, Vietnam. It is a high priority, therefore, to conduct surveys in this area, to investigate whether Sarus Cranes also use habitats on the Vietnamese side of the border.

Initial findings suggest that the Sarus Crane population at Koh Andeth-Borey Chulsar is not under any immediate threat, as local people reported that they do not hunt the species. However, the population is potentially threatened by habitat loss, in the form of conversion of wetland to agricultural land. It is vitally important, therefore, that decision makers at all levels are made aware of the global importance of this site, so that appropriate management can be put into place and development initiatives that conflict with conservation can be avoided.