Much has been said — but even less done — about the environmental crisis threatening our planet. Climate change, unsustainable practices, pollution, and biodiversity loss are pushing Earth’s ecosystems to their limits. But all is not lost.
With support from Rolex Perpetual Planet Initiative partner Mission Blue, a local conservation organisation is working tirelessly to bring the ocean’s largest vegetarian mammal, the dugong, back to restored seagrass meadows in Cambodian waters. Years of industrial fishing and bottom-trawling have devastated vast expanses of seagrass and coral reefs, along with the rich marine life that depended on them. Seagrass, which forms the foundation of multiple ecosystems, is also a powerful tool in the fight against climate change, capable of sequestering more carbon than any terrestrial forest.
THE HEALTH OF THE CORAL REEF FOUND AROUND THE KEP ARCHIPELAGO WAS DECLINING RAPIDLY BEFORE MARINE CONSERVATION CAMBODIA WAS ESTABLISHED THERE IN 2013 TO PROTECT ITS DIVERSE WATERS.
MARINE CONSERVATION CAMBODIA’S ISLAND MANAGER TANGUY FRENEAT USING A QUADRAT TO SURVEY THE FLOOR OF THE SEAGRASS MEADOW IN THE KEP ARCHIPELAGO.
RACHANA THAP IS THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF MARINE CONSERVATION CAMBODIA (MCC) AND A MISSION BLUE HOPE SPOT CHAMPION
CAMBODIA’S SEAGRASS MEADOWS ARE AMONG THE LARGEST REMAINING IN SOUTH EAST ASIA. THIS SEAGRASS FORMS THE BASIS OF AN ECOSYSTEM THAT SUPPORTS HUNDREDS OF SPECIES AND IS CAPABLE OF SEQUESTERING MORE CARBON THAN ANY TERRESTRIAL FOREST SYSTEM.
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