Marine turtles in Cambodia 161
including legislation on marine turtles. This legislation in- cludes Anukrat 123,a 2009 sub-decree that identifies 58 aquatic species and genera, including five marine turtle spe- cies, as threatened nationally. Protected turtle species are also explicitly referred to in articles of the overarching Fisheries Law, thus affording marine turtles increased legal protection. Furthermore, the Cambodian government has ratified several international conventions (Try et al., 2002), including the Indian Ocean & South-east Asia Marine TurtleMemorandumofUnderstanding (CMS, 2009), a legal- ly non-binding international agreement aiming to conserve marine turtles and their habitats in the region. The Fisheries Administration and WWFachieved initial
progress towards conservation action for marine turtles through a series of workshops, studies and awareness- raising activities during 1999–2002, which provided training for turtle monitoring and data collection, including the first ever tagging of a marine turtle in Cambodia. Renewed en- gagement in marine turtle conservation has occurred from 2010, primarily by the Fisheries Administration in collabor- ation with Fauna & Flora, local NGOs, private-sector repre- sentatives and community partners. In 2010, Fauna & Flora conducted an initial assessment
across Cambodian coastal provinces aiming to verify any re- maining marine turtle nesting areas and gather information on turtle distribution, threats and the value of marine turtles to coastal communities (Fauna & Flora International, 2011). Fauna & Flora staff gathered information from consulta- tions with government experts, who reported past green turtle nesting in the Koh Rong Archipelago (Fig. 1) and sporadic hawksbill turtle nesting in remote areas of the wider Koh Rong Archipelago, where discarded hawksbill turtle carapaces had been reported. Interviews with fishers and coastal community members in the Koh Sdach Archi- pelago indicated periodic in-water sightings of green turtles. During this initial assessment, interviewees in Koh Kong province also reported green turtle nesting on Koh Kong Krao (the largest and least developed Cambodian island), with the species being sighted regularly in surrounding sea- grass beds, whereas hawksbill turtles were reportedly rare in this area (Fig. 1). An extensive programme of collaborative work by the
Fisheries Administration and Fauna & Flora followed the initial assessment, including the development and ongoing implementation of a National Plan of Action (2016–2026) for marine turtles in Cambodia, and this work is continuing into 2023 and beyond (McNamara, 2016; Fisheries Admin- istration, 2017; Vong et al., 2018). Here we synthesize the available data on marine turtles in Cambodia, drawing information from more than a decade of work conducted by Fauna & Flora, the Cambodian Fisheries Administration and other partners.Wetriangulate sources, including social surveys, in-water and nesting beach monitoring, stakeholder workshops and interviews with
fishers, to provide an up-to-date overview of the current population status of marine turtles in Cambodia, the threats to these species and the progress achieved through conser- vation efforts. This synthesis fills a critical gap in the pub- lished literature on the conservation of marine turtles in South-east Asia.
Methods
Provincial consultations (2015) Weheld three consultation workshops during July 2015 with participants from the four coastal provinces of Kep, Kampot, Koh Kong and Preah Sihanouk (McNamara et al., 2015). These workshops aimed to capture information on values associated with turtles, recent turtle sightings, turtle meat and egg consumption, and key threats to turtles. A total of 100 people participated, identified through the local knowledge and connections of Fauna & Flora staff, who ensured the representation of diverse stakeholder groups encompassing the government, communities, NGOs, private sector and research institutions (Table 1). All participants were given a fixed verbal statement in
Khmer, which outlined the conditions of the consultation workshops, sought their consent to participate, and ex- plained the purpose of the scientific investigation. The workshops were facilitated by Fauna & Flora staff alongside government officials responsible for fisheries management and marine turtle conservation. During the workshops, facilitators used a marine turtle guide to clarify species identification and capture variations in local names. We also used fishing gear identification guides to verify the types of gear used. We conducted the consultations in Khmer and English through a combination of large group sessions and smaller breakout groups that discussed five predetermined topics.We used mixed methods to gather information:
Values Weinvolved participants in a facilitated discussion on the values of marine turtles to each person as an individ- ual (e.g. religious, personal, cultural, economic and interge- nerational values). We then asked them to discuss what values were most important for people in their particular province. We compiled the resulting individual statements from the group discussions as shared statements, to identify any broad differences between provinces regarding the per- ceived value of marine turtles.
Sightings We divided participants into groups and pro- vided them with a printed map with a grid of 1 × 1 km cells. We then helped them to indicate where they had sighted marine turtles and turtle nests historically. Additional information requested included how long ago turtles were sighted (,1 year ago (July 2014); 1–5 years
Oryx, 2023, 57(2), 160–170 © Fauna & Flora International, 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Fauna & Flora International doi:10.1017/S0030605322000862
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