Today, local and international representatives from the public and private sectors joined together for an inception and learning event held by the U.S. Agency for International Development’s (USAID) new Greening Prey Lang program. The event convened more than one hundred partners working toward sustainable and effective management of the Prey Lang Extended Landscape (PLEL). Participants discussed findings from an extensive period of research and consultations undertaken by the program and shared information and better practices related to law enforcement, protected area zoning and management, and sustainable financing.

"Those who live in and around Prey Lang are critical for the protection and management of this incredible landscape," noted Ms. Veena Reddy, USAID Cambodia's Mission Director. "This is why we have held numerous consultations with the communities of the Prey Lang Extended Landscape and other forest areas of Cambodia. Those consultations have underscored local communities' desire and need to develop sustainable alternative livelihoods to strengthen their ability to protect this important ecosystem."

The USAID Greening Prey Lang program, awarded in August 2018, is a five-year activity that builds upon a long legacy of support provided by the U.S. government to conserve Cambodia’s natural and cultural heritage while improving the livelihoods of rural populations. The program also supports Cambodia’s goals and international commitments for climate change mitigation and biodiversity conservation. It will work in priority protected areas that include Prey Lang, Preah Roka and Chhaeb while the overall zone of implementation spans from the shores of the Tonle Sap to the banks of the Mekong River.  

The contributions of the Prey Lang Wildlife Sanctuary and other protected areas of northern Cambodia to environmental health, biodiversity, and livelihoods are unparalleled. The Prey Lang Forest is one of Southeast Asia’s last remaining lowland evergreen woodlands and is home to over a million people as well as over 40 endangered plant and animal species. Despite its role in fighting climate change, facilitating water management, and providing vital resources to the nation’s population, the area is under threat from accelerating trends of illegal logging and land grabbing, increasing and more extreme climatic events, and continually increasing demands on the forest’s resources.

The inception and learning event brought partners together to discuss these priority areas of action and culminated an extensive period of stakeholder consultations undertaken by the USAID Greening Prey Lang program to shape the program’s five-year strategy. Consultations with an expansive network of international and domestic organizations uncovered a transformational shift in conservation, with increasing interest and engagement from the private sector to not only in invest in conservation efforts but support real livelihood benefits for local communities.

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ABOUT USAID GREENING PREY LANG

USAID Greening Prey Lang works to promote resilient, low-emission development and inclusive sustainable management in the Prey Lang Extended Landscape through a focus on communities, conservation and improved governance. The five-year program is financed by the U.S. Agency for International Development’s Mission to Cambodia and is implemented by Tetra Tech, Conservation International and the Wildlife Conservation Society. To learn more, visit www.facebook.com/USAIDGPL.

MEDIA CONTACTS

Bopha Seng, USAID Greening Prey Lang: Bopha.Seng@greeningpreylang.org