Overview

Virachey National Park forms a key part of the Annamite Mountain Range, the largest remaining transboundary forest landscape in mainland Southeast Asia, and is one of the most biologically important and endangered tropical forests in the world. While Virachey has so far escaped the worst of the deforestation seen elsewhere in Cambodia, external development pressures and short-term economic interests are prompting shifts towards unsustainable resource extraction and encroachment. 

In 2018, Fauna & Flora International (FFI) carried out pioneering research on the population size and density of species in the Virachey landscape. Realising the critical importance of this landscape for species conservation, FFI began to strengthen the management of Virachey National Park, working closely with the Ministry of Environment, to secure greater protection for this vital biodiversity haven. 

Objectives

FFI is working to strengthen the management of Virachey National Park, survey its biodiversity and support communities living near the park to ensure that the forest is adequately protected. 

Our work

FFI is surveying the parks biodiversity (including studying critically endangered species), supporting zonation and management efforts, and working with Indigenous communities living adjacent to the protected area – including the Brao and Kavet people – to strengthen sustainable livelihoods and support other initiatives that reduce their dependence on hunting and fishing within the park’s boundaries. We are also supporting these communities to strengthen their own management of park resources through Community Protected Areas. This is a collaborative effort and we are working closely with national and sub-national Ministry of Environment offices, indigenous communities and local civil society organisations. 

Key milestones

  • 2021

    Large-antlered muntjac captured on camera trap for the first time.

  • 2021

    FFI initiates biodiversity surveys of Virachey National Park.

  • 2018

    FFI undertakes biodiversity surveys of Virachey, including population assessments of the northern yellow-cheeked crested gibbon.

  • 2010

    The northern yellow-cheeked crested gibbon is described as a new species to science.

Project partners

  • Cambodia’s Ministry of Environment 
  • Ratanakiri Provincial Department of Environment 
  • Non-Timber Forest Products Organisation