PHNOM PENH, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- The population of globally vulnerable sarus cranes in Cambodia was stable, with 178 birds recorded in 2024, a conservationist said on Wednesday.
Sarus crane is the tallest flying bird, standing up to 1.65 meters tall, and it is listed as a vulnerable species in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List.
"According to the 2024 census results, a total of 178 sarus cranes were recorded in Cambodia," Bou Vorsak, chief executive officer of NatureLife Cambodia, told Xinhua.
"This number is similar to the 2023 census results, which registered a total of 180 sarus cranes," he added.
Vorsak said that in the last 10 years, the number of sarus cranes has declined due to high mortality rate and lower nesting success.
"Additional threats include deteriorating habitat conditions, nesting disturbance, poisoning caused by agricultural chemical pesticide use, lack of food, hunting, change of water regime, and also climate change factors," he said.
The conservationist said Anlung Pring, located in the southwest Kampot province's Kampong Trach district, was a vital wetland supporting more than 35 percent of the sarus crane population during its non-breeding season from December to May each year.
He said in a bid to conserve sarus crane and to improve local livelihood, the Ministry of Environment, in collaboration with NatureLife Cambodia, launched the Crane Rice initiative in 2019, and this initiative engaged farmers with rice fields near Anlung Pring to support both the cranes and local livelihoods.
Vorsak said the initiative promoted the cultivation of native, crane-preferred rice varieties without the use of chemical fertilizers or herbicides, and farmers left five percent to 50 percent of their rice yield in the fields as supplemental food for sarus crane during its non-breeding period.
He added that on average, Crane Rice farmers collectively produced about 300 tons of rice annually.
"Crane Rice is a nature-based solution initiative dedicated to conserving sarus crane from extinction by fostering strong community support," Vorsak said.
He said that to date, the number of Crane Rice farmers has grown from 40 to 120 households, and safe habitat has expanded from 219 hectares to 386 hectares.■