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Phnom Kulen is a small and low plateau in the northern Cambodia still partly covered with evergreen forests and isolated from similar habitats by the Cambodian Lowland at least for 60 km. A preliminary checklist of its Odonata is provided, including 97 species. Burmagomphus sp. cf. willamsoni and Macromia callisto are for the first time reported for Cambodia.
Prey Long (Prey Lang) Forest is the largest remaining lowland rainforest in Indochina, shared by Stung Treng, Preah Vihear, Kampong Thom and Kratie Provinces of Cambodia, which has been persisted until present because of the lack of roads. It includes patches of unique evergreen swamp forests. Odonata of Prey Long forest, including Cheum Takong forest swamp, was briefly examined in December 2019, while the already deforested area was examined in June 2018. The former examination resulted in 40 species, the latter in 34 species, 60 species in total. Two species, Copera chantaburii Asahina, 1984 and Burmagomphus williamsoni Förster, 1914, are for the first time reported for Cambodia from the deforested area (Chey Saen District of Preah Vihear Province). The swamped forest of Cheum Takong provided 17 species, 5 of which were not found elsewhere in the considered area, 3 are rare and 4 generally Sondaic. Prey Long Forest should be re-examined in the rainy season soon after the road to Spong village is constructed.
The trade in bear parts for medicine and for status is a conservation challenge throughout Asia. The Asiatic black bear (Ursus thibetanus) and the sun bear (Helarctos malayanus) are endemic to this region, and populations are estimated to have declined throughout their ranges due to widespread illegal killing of bears and trade in parts, combined with loss of habitat. Previous studies have indicated that legislation alone is insufficient to prevent illegal hunting and trade, indicating instead a need to address demand for bear parts and products. We conducted mixed-method surveys in Cambodia to understand the key motivators for individuals to consume bear parts, and to understand whether specialised questioning techniques are applicable in this context. Bear part use is illegal in Cambodia and may therefore be considered a sensitive behaviour, in that individuals may be reluctant to admit to it. To counteract possible biases, four specialised questioning techniques were used in this study: randomised response technique (RRT), unmatched count technique (UCT), nominative technique (NT), and false consensus bias (FCB). All four methods serve to shield a respondent’s admittance of a sensitive behaviour from the interviewer. The results presented here show that great variability exists in anonymous methods’ efficacy in certain contexts. However, the results overall indicate that individuals in Cambodia are under-reporting their consumption of bear parts when directly asked, and that the prevalence of bear part use in Cambodia may be as high as 15% of the population, representing a significant conservation challenge.