The marine habitats surrounding the islands off of Cambodia’s mainland in the Gulf of Thailand remain largely undiscovered and there is now an urgent need to devise a sustainable management plan for the area in the face of planned developments.

Coral Cay Conservation at the invitation of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) is conducting scientific assessments of the area’s marine resources to aid in the sustainable development of the island of Koh Rong and conservation of its’ unique marine habitats. The marine conservation project is run from the ‘Beach House’ on the island in collaboration with Diveshop Cambodia and local community.

To ensure that CCCs work is accepted at a grass roots level and to test the long-term viability of a project, we always run a 3-month pilot project and Cambodia was no different. Thankfully the 3-month pilot phase from July to September 2009 was successful and that was thanks to the effort from all the volunteers as well as the vast amount of local support received from Ministry, local partners and community.  The project has built on the success of the pilot phase and is forecast to run for 2 years. As part of pilot phase a complete and thorough science report was published click here to read the Pilot Project Report.
 

The long-term aims for the project are to help establish a coastal management plan for the islands and set up a series of marine protected areas which will help secure the most diverse and sensitive coastal habitats. We will be working closely with the local communities to assist them in creating a sustainable and eco-friendly tourism industry in the area to help benefit them directly.

Meet the community of Koh Rong here >>