The populations of two of the world's rarest bird species are recovering thanks to a remarkable turnaround in their relationship with local villagers in Cambodia.
The award-winning eco-tourism project has converted the people of Tmat Boey from poachers to gamekeepers.
Once the locals stalked the Giant Ibis and the White-Shouldered Ibis for food, but they now protect them and guide awe-struck bird lovers to the roosting and nesting sites
These bird watchers from Thailand have travelled to Cambodia's remote Northern Plains in the hope of catching a glimpse of the rare birds. Just before dawn something's spotted deep in a thicket. After a few anxious seconds they get what they've come for.
Experts estimate there are just 250 Giant Ibis left in the world; they've just seen and recorded four of them.
"They were a little far off but I'm very excited to have spotted them because you just can't see them in Thailand. They don;t exist in my country so I was lucky to see four of them."
Minutes later another rare species is spotted: the White-Shouldered Ibis.
The White-Shouldered Ibis and Giant Ibis are both listed as critically endangered.
"Bird watchers come from all over the world to visit Tmat Boey to see the very rare birds that you have there and what we've helped do is motivate community members to support conservation of these very rare birds. They could make money by hunting birds and eating them or selling them but we're helping motivate them to make money out of the live birds and conserving these extremely rare species."
And this is how they make that money - neat, wooden chalets exclusively for bird enthusiasts, right on the edge of the Ibis forest; luxury in the middle of nowhere. For $10 per night you get a clean room and bed, a shower and a Western-style toilet, and thanks to solar panels there's electricity and hot water.
The project's been so successful that it has won two major awards including the United Nation's Development Programme's Equator Prize in 2008. It's now run entirely by a committee of villagers.
With charges for guides and for food on top of accommodation the project took around $12,000 US, last year.
In return the locals agree not to hunt the birds or cut down their habitat, thus giving them the conditions to thrive.
It's a win-win situation, as far as the project leader Deb Kemoun is concerned.
"Now the project's successful and I'm thinking of ways to make it even better."
There are potential problems. The actual village of Tmat Boey has 180 families and not everyone can be involved with the project. To avoid jealousy there's a community development charge of $30 per birdwatcher if they spot the Ibises and this shared by the whole village.
"It's difficult to actually assess how the communities perceive the conservation directly. But what you can look at is their motivation and if you look at the rates of hunting, the rates of illegal logging and that sort of thing, they've dropped away dramatically. And then the important final outcome is what are the birds doing, how many birds are there and each year since the start of this development of ecotourism in Tmat Boey and the Northern Plains of Cambodia where we work, the birds have increased."
The greatest increase has been in the numbers of the White-Shouldered Ibis. When the project began in 2004 there was just one pair in the area; now there are five. To put that in context a recent survey by conservationists put numbers of the White-Shouldered Ibis at around 300 globally, so the steadily growing population at Tmay Boey is cause for genuine celebration.
It isn't clear why the Ibises have fallen so close to extinction, though hunting and habitat loss have no doubt been factors.
With backing from governments and other wildlife groups the hope is that the Tmat Boey model can be extended to more parts of Asia.
Loading...
0:50
One of the rarest birds in the worldby shitou77881,622 views
What a great positive story.
kokanekitty 1 year ago