Advancing Effective Co-Management of Marine Ecosystems in Cambodia’s Kampot and Kep Provinces

Cambodia’s marine environment harbors rich biodiversity within expansive coral, seagrass, and mangrove habitats. Cambodia’s southwest coast, which includes Kampot and Kep provinces, is home to regionally important coral reefs, southeast Asia’s largest seagrass meadows, and a globally important marine mammal area. This productive ecosystem supports valuable artisanal fisheries (fish, shrimp, blue swimmer crab) and threatened megafauna like marine turtles, dugong and Irrawaddy dolphin. Destructive fishing practices and rapid coastal development threaten these marine ecosystems and the livelihoods of coastal communities. In response, we are working to advance effective co-management of this area with government and community partners through creation of one new marine protected area, known locally as a Marine Fisheries Management Area (MFMA), in Kampot and operationalizing a recently gazetted MFMA in Kep.