An integrated assessment for preliminary zoning of Peam Krasop Wildlife Sanctuary, Southwestern Cambodia

Peam Krasop Wildlife Sanctuary (PKWS) is one of the most significant coastal wildlife sanctuaries in Cambodia because it maintains a sizeable area of both mangrove forest and evergreen forest, as well as a number of globally threatened species. However, both unique habitat and critically endangered species in the sanctuary have been declining at an alarming rate (especially from the mid 1980s to the late 1990s) due to human activities such as charcoal production, over fishing, overexploitation of wildlife and NTFPs, land clearance for agriculture, and illegal hunting which have also grown along with immigration into the sanctuary and urbanization of the surrounding area. The purpose of this assessment was to (i) generate information that can be used to identify preliminary management zones in PKWS based on the assessment of biodiversity, livelihoods, and socio-economics, (ii) understand the perception and perspectives of local people on PKWS management and the proposed zoning system, (iii) develop preliminary recommendations for a partial zoning scheme for PKWS supported by high quality maps, and (iv) build capacity of staff of the Ministry of Environment to develop approaches for zoning of protected areas under the PA Law 2008.