David Emmett

Cambodia is an important source country for trade in tortoises and freshwater turtles (hereafter referred to as turtles) to China, yet it still contains vast swathes of forest and minimally disturbed wetlands. It is known to contain eleven native turtle species, yet many areas remain unexplored and more species are likely still to be found. Turtle conservation in Cambodia must be multi-faceted and highly adaptable in order to achieve success, and Conservation international has been working since 2003 to develop a suite of activities that address the most immediate threats to turtles. We have identified important gaps in knowledge and filled these gaps through field research. We have trained and mentored teams of Cambodian students who now conduct independent, international-quality field research to further the knowledge of Cambodia’s turtles. We have produced awareness-raising documents (calendars, posters, teaching materials), we have linked our activities to traditional beliefs and Buddhism, and we have conducted ranger training courses to raise the identification, handling and confiscation skills of Cambodian Forestry field staff. We have developed and implemented in-situ conservation activities in key sites that have been found by researchers to contain breeding populations of at least nine turtle species, with the aim being to secure these stronghold sites and ensure the long-term survival of breeding populations in the wild. In this presentation I will highlight these projects, the processes by which they evolved and were adapted to changes in knowledge, and the links we forged between field research results and in-situ conservation. I will also highlight the lessons learned and the plans for future regional work.
International conservation/field research Oral

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