The Cambodian Ministry of Environment is completing statistics on four areas where Irrawaddy dolphins live in Kratie and Preah Vihear provinces to prepare a dossier to apply to UNESCO for inclusion in the list of World Natural Heritage.
Ministry spokesman Neth Pheaktra said Cambodia's cultural heritages recognized by UNESCO include the Angkor Wat, Preah Vihear and Sambor Prei Kuk temple complexes and other intangible cultural heritages.
Irrawaddy dolphins live in some areas of the Mekong River.
Four freshwater dolphin sanctuaries are preparing to be listed for UNESCO recognition: Prek Kampi Dolphin Sanctuary, Prek Prasob Wildlife Sanctuary, Phnom Tbeng Natural Heritage Site and Tmat Boey Natural Tourist Area. Currently, only three countries in the world have freshwater dolphins living, of which Cambodia has the most with 92 individuals, while Indonesia and Myanmar have about 60 individuals. According to estimates, the number of freshwater dolphins in Cambodia is expected to increase by about 13-18 individuals in the past 20 years. Freshwater dolphins are currently listed as threatened by the IUCN Red List.
Mr. Pheaktra hopes that when Cambodia completes its dossier to submit to UNESCO for heritage recognition, the areas where freshwater dolphins live will receive support for protection and preservation, thereby attracting more domestic and foreign visitors.
