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Resuscitating education in Cambodia

In 2005 Fauna & Flora International began teaching and supporting research and conservation activities at Cambodia’s premier universities, starting with the Royal University of Phnom Penh. In little more than a year Cambodia’s first Masters of Biodiversity Conservation course was established.

Cambodia has long lacked the capacity to study and conserve its rich biodiversity, or to ensure that its development is environmentally sustainable. Decades of under investment in science and education were followed by the infamous Pol Pot Regime, which murdered countless teachers, monks and scientists and destroyed many libraries and other resources.

The recovery of Cambodia’s science and education sectors has been hampered by the lack of suitable training opportunities and information resources for students and young professionals. Today it is not uncommon to encounter foresters who are ignorant of the link between deforestation and soil erosion, park directors who cannot name more than ten species living in their area and major developments approved without Environmental Impact Assessments due to the lack of competent practitioners to conduct them.

This project is addressing these problems and meeting a growing demand from young and not-so-young Cambodians who care about their environment. The Masters curriculum has a wide range of modules including applied research, conservation biology, natural resources management, environmental impact assessments, project design and fundraising.

Over 50 postgraduate students are already enrolled on the course. They include a diverse mixture of government officers, teachers, recently graduated students and staff from non-governmental organizations.

The project, which receives invaluable support from the DEFRA Darwin Initiative, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Museum in Paris, is also establishing permanent learning resources at the university and providing training and facilities to establish Cambodia’s first national herbarium and zoological reference collection.