Overview

In 2001 one of the rarest birds in SE Asia, the Giant Ibis, was photographed by a camera trap in Cambodia.  Its existence had not been confirmed in over 50 years, and until then many feared it had been lost for good.  The rediscovery of the Giant Ibis presented an opportunity to link conservation efforts to poverty alleviation in Cambodia, a country still affected by decades of war and genocide.  The Wildlife Conservation Society and their local partners developed a multifaceted approach to promote conservation of the ibis and other threatened wildlife, and designed the approach to incentivize local people to engage in conservation efforts.