KSWS is home to more than 950 wild species, including 75 globally threatened species and plays a vital role in the preservation of the region’s important and vulnerable wildlife, including the world’s largest populations of endemic primates.
“If there is wildlife, but no forest, wildlife would not be able to survive. The Forest is a source of food and shelter for wild animals, thus, we have to protect and preserve both wildlife and the forest for the sustainability of our ecosystem.”
The Keo Seima Wildlife Sanctuary (KSWS) REDD+ Project has a world-class, long-term biodiversity monitoring program. Core to this program is a distance sampling line transect methodology, which provides estimates of key species abundance, distribution, and population trends for six primate species, six ungulate species, and one bird species.
In addition to this, the project records all species found at the site, including more than 20 species newly described by science. Elephant populations are monitored using mitochondrial DNA surveys, and nests of threatened bird species are recorded and protected. Camera traps are used to record the presence of rare and cryptic species, and newly developed techniques such as passive acoustic monitoring are being trialed.
