Stung Sen / Santuk / Baray (16672)
Cambodia, Asia
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Year of last assessment: 2012
National site name: Stung Sen / Santuk / Baray
Central coordinates: Latitude: 12.4167, Longitude: 104.8833
System: freshwater, terrestrial
Elevation (m): 4 to 16
Area of KBA (km2): 1101.13516
Protected area coverage (%): 8.98
KBA classification: Global/Regional TBD
Legacy site: Yes
Site details
Site description: The IBA is located to the south of Kampong Thom town, within the inundation zone of Tonle Sap Lake. The IBA comprises and one of the largest remnant tracts of seasonally inundated grassland within the Tonle Sap floodplain, variably influenced on its eastern and northern fringes by deepwater rice. This habitat is mixed with scattered, but often extensive, areas of dense scrub, lotus swamps, sedge beds, and, in the dry season, numerous small to medium-sized ponds. At the height of the wet season (August-October), the whole IBA is inundated. Parts of the IBA lie within Tonle Sap Multiple Use Area, designated under the 1993 Royal Decree on Protected Areas, and Tonle Sap Biosphere Reserve.The IBA is a very important breeding site for Bengal Florican Houbaropsis bengalensis during the dry season (December to May). In the wet season (May to July), a number of non-breeding waterbirds visit the site, including adjutants Leptoptilos spp., Painted Stork Mycteria leucocephala and Asian Openbill Anastomus oscitans. In addition, the IBA supports a substantial wintering population of Manchurian Reed Warbler Acrocephalus tangorum, as well as small numbers of wintering Greater Spotted and Imperial Eagles Aquila clanga and A. heliaca. In addition, the largest flock of White-shouldered Ibis Pseudibis davisoni recorded in Cambodia in recent decades was observed here in 1999.
Rationale for qualifying as KBA: This site qualifies as a Key Biodiversity Area of international significance because it meets one or more previously established criteria and thresholds for identifying sites of biodiversity importance (including Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas, Alliance for Zero Extinction sites, and Key Biodiversity Areas) The site has been reviewed and re-confirmed as a KBA in the process of compiling the revised 2011 CEPF Ecosystem Profile for the Indo-Burma Hotspot.
Additional biodiversity: Other regionally significant birds species occur in the site such as Asian Openbill, Wooly -necked Stork, Brahminy Kite, Blak-shouldered Kite,Creasted Serpent Eagle, Grey -headed Fish-Eagle, Sport-billed Duck and Comb Duck. Non-bird biodiversity: Long-tailed Macaque (Macaca fascicularis), Silvered Langur (Semnopithecus cristatus).
Habitats
Land use: agriculture | fisheries/aquaculture | nature conservation and research
| IUCN Habitat | Coverage % | Habitat detail |
|---|---|---|
| Grassland | 25 | |
| Shrubland | 25 | |
| Wetlands(Inland) | 25 | |
| Artificial - Terrestrial | 25 |
Threats
Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: Although there is no permanent human settlement within the seasonally inundated area, a number of villages and associated rice paddies are situated at the limit of the inundation zone. During the dry season, as floodwaters recede, large numbers of people move into the inundation zone, from a radius of over 50 km away, to fish, harvest grasses, gather brushwood and wetland plants, and graze domestic livestock in herds that can number several hundred animals. This causes high levels of disturbance throughout large areas of the IBA. Deepwater rice is cultivated annually in the eastern and northern parts of the IBA. During this period, much of the area is ploughed by tractor, which presents a serious threat to nesting Bengal Floricans, in the form of disturbance and nest destruction. A potential future threat is further conversion of grassland areas to deepwater rice cultivation.Another major threat to biodiversity at the IBA is hunting for both food and trade, which affects all waterbirds in the area, and also the Bengal Florican. Hunting has almost certainly accounted for a major decline in florican numbers in the recent past. However, conservation interventions over the last two years appear to have significantly reduced hunting levels in the IBA.
| Threat level 1 | Threat level 2 | Threat level 3 | Timing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Agriculture & aquaculture | Annual & perennial non-timber crops | Small-holder farming | Ongoing |
| Biological resource use | Hunting & collecting terrestrial animals | Intentional use (species being assessed is the target) | Ongoing |
| Biological resource use | Fishing & harvesting aquatic resources | Unintentional effects: subsistence/small scale (species being assessed is not the target) [harvest] | Ongoing |
Additional information
References: Document nameDavidson, P. (2001) A further twelve new species for Cambodia. Cambodia Bird News 7: 26-35Goes, F. (ed.) (2000) Recent Sightings. Cambodia Bird News 6: 44-51Goes, F. and Davidson, P. (eds.) (2002) Recent Sightings. Cambodia Bird News 9: 47-59.Goes, F., Hong Chamnan, Davidson, P. and Poole, C.M. (2001). Bengal Florican (Houbaropsis bengalensis) Conservation in Kompong Thom Province, Cambodia. Phnom Penh: Wildlife Conservation Society Cambodia Program.Sam Veasna (1999) Survey for Sarus Crane and other endangered bird species in Southern Kompong Thom province, Cambodia. Unpublished report to Oriental Bird Club, UK.Seng Kim Hout et al. (2002) Field survey of seasonally flooded wetlands located in the east of Tonle Sap Lake in Kampong and Siem Reap Provinces. Unpublished report, Wildlife Conservation Society, Cambodia.