Northern Plains

The Northern Plains of Cambodia are the largest remaining intact block of a unique landscape that once covered much of Indochina. The landscape is one of the most spectacular and important areas of south-east Asia for biodiversity, with over 450 bird species and large mammals such as Asian elephants, gaur and banteng. Local communities, who depend on rain-fed paddy or upland rice fields for their livelihoods, supplement these activities with small-scale animal raising and collection of non-timber forest products. The Northern Plains Landscape covers an area of 543,912 hectares and is a mosaic of deciduous dipterocarp, semi-evergreen, and evergreen forest, interspersed with natural grasslands. It comprises four protected areas in Preah Vihear Province: - Chhaeb Wildlife Sanctuary (190,027 hectares) - Kulen Promtep Wildlife Sanctuary (238,255 hectares) - Preah Roka Wildlife Sanctuary (90,361 hectares) - Phnom Tbaeng Natural Heritage Park (25,269 hectares)