Khmer Times –
The government has designated the 9,293 hectare Stung Sen, a unique wetland along the Tonle Sap, as Cambodia’s fifth Ramsar Site recognised by the Secretariat of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands through a sub-decree signed by Prime Minister Hun Sen on Friday.
The site is located along the south-eastern edge of the lake. Its low-stature shrub land and surrounding natural grasslands are crucial as a foraging area and refuge for many water birds, mammals and fish. The site also plays an important role in flood mitigation during the rainy season.
Environment Minister Say Samal on Tuesday said that recognising Stung Sen as a Ramsar Site not only draws attention to the international importance of the wetland but will also bridge the way for Cambodia to nominate more wetlands as Ramsar Sites in the future.
A joint statement by Birdlife International, the Environment Ministry and the Ramsar Regional Centre East Asia on Tuesday stated that 30 percent of Cambodia is covered by wetlands, the majority of which have been identified as globally important owing to the ecosystem services that they provide and populations of threatened species that they support.