Nature conservation in Indochina has been given a boost after the first of two small grants were approved by BirdLife International.
BirdLife is charged with the regional implementation of the the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF).The Harrison Institute will get USD 20,000 to carry out original field research on the poorly-known Wroughton’s Free-tailed Bat (otomops wroughtoni) in Chhep District, Preah Vihear Province, Cambodia.Only three sightings of the shy bats have been recorded: two in India and one in Cambodia. Workshops and media coverage over the course of the project will aim to inform local communities, students and conservationists about the crucial role of the bats in the ecosystem.Nearly USD 5,000 has been pumped into the Missouri Botanical Garden for 20 junior botanists and students from Viet Nam to attend the first international symposium of the Flora of Cambodia, Laos and Viet Nam in Phnom Penh, Cambodia this month.The money will build a strong network of academics, researchers and conservation professionals in the hope that they will generate new scientific knowledge and primary baseline data for informed decision-making about the conservation of threatened plants in Indochina. The CEPF has called for an investigation into the status and distribution of globally threatened plant species in Indochina."We are very pleased to be issuing the first of a couple of small grants under the CEPF only months after funding has been approved," said Jonathan C. Eames, Programme Manager of BirdLife International in Indochina. "These two organisations submitted early applications with tied in closely with CEPF’s investment priorities, and we believe their work will provide a strong foundation for future conservation in Indochina".
