NatureLife Cambodia and Davane partner to protect endangered Sarus Cranes and support local farmers

On Wednesday 8 January, NatureLife Cambodia and Davane officially launched the sale of Crane Rice in the Davane store. The event marked the beginning of a partnership dedicated to preserve Cambodia’s last remaining Sarus Cranes. It also featured the signing of a one-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the two parties.

Keynotes speakers included Mr. Chheng Makara, CEO of Davane, Mr. Bou Vorsak, CEO of NatureLife Cambodia and Mr. Hong Chamnan, Director of Freshwater Wetland Conservation Department. Each spoke in turn to emphasize the importance of this private and public sectors collaboration as a step toward bird conservation in Cambodia.

“We are thrilled to collaborate with Davane to expand Crane Rice markets nationwide through today’s MoU signing,” Mr. Bou Vorsak said.

“Crane Rice represents a business model with a mission—to preserve this majestic species. Four years ago, this was just a hope; but today, we are proud of the partnership with NatureLife Cambodia. Crane Rice is a fine quality red jasmine that stands for consumers, farmers, and nature— which are the three guiding principles of Davane,” Mr. Chheng Makara said.

The Sarus Crane (Antigone Antigone sharpii) is the tallest flying bird in the world, with some birds reaching up to 1.80 metres tall. In the last ten years, the number of Sarus Cranes in Indochina has declined by nearly 80%, dropping from 850 birds to just a few hundred. This decline is attributed to deteriorating habitat conditions, nesting disturbance, poisoning by agricultural chemical pesticide use, lack of food, hunting, and climate change. In 2024, only 178 birds were recorded in Cambodia.

Mr. Hong Chamnan explained that “to tackle this issue, the Ministry of Environment alongside multiple international and national organisations (including NatureLife Cambodia) worked on creating a group called the Sarus Crane Working Group (SCWG).”

The main goal of the SCWG is to facilitate all activities to protect the Sarus Cranes in key locations in Cambodia and Vietnam.

In 2019, the Ministry of Environment and NatureLife Cambodia collaborated and launched the Crane Rice initiative. Guided by 12 key criteria, this program engages farmers with rice fields near Anlung Pring to adopt sustainable practices that benefit both the cranes and the local communities.

Farmers who join the initiative also agree to leave 5% to 50% of their rice yield in the fields as food for the Sarus Crane during its non-breeding period. On average, Crane Rice farmers collectively produce about 300 tons of rice annually, balancing ecological conservation with sustainable agriculture.

“Our villagers are committed to practicing sustainable agricultural techniques that benefit the Sarus Crane, a source of great pride for our community,”  Mrs. Cheng Sovanna, chief of the Crane Rice Farmers Group, said in a press release. “We deeply thank all Crane Rice consumers—your choice not only promotes good health but also helps improve our livelihoods and protect the Sarus Crane for our next generations.”

The initiative promotes the cultivation of two native, crane-preferred rice varieties, Red Jasmine and Pong Lolork, without the use of chemical fertilizers or herbicides.

When asked about the different rice varieties, Davane CEO replied that the Red Jasmine was the favourite variety of Davane customers, which explained their decision of only selling the Red Jasmine Crane Rice in store.

Mr. Bou Vorsak also detailed some of the benefits of Crane Rice for the participating farmers. They are given free organic fertilizer and free rice seeds, alongside training on sustainable farming and fertilizer application. The rice left in the fields to feed the birds is also compensated. And all the rice is bought from the farmers at a price that is 5% higher than the market price.

“Crane Rice is a nature-based solution initiative dedicated to conserving the Sarus Crane

from extinction by fostering strong community support,” Mr. Bou Vorsak added.

“Over the past four years, the number of Crane Rice farmers has grown from 40 to 120 households, and the safe habitat has expanded from 219 hectares to 386 hectares. The annual increase in Crane Rice yield is a testament to the program’s success.”

Answering a question from an attendee, Mr. Bou Vorsak indicated that the annual yield of Crane Rice is of two tons per hectare.

The CEO of NatureLife also added that since the program started, they had been able to observe the cranes foraging in the Crane Rice fields.

The launch event was a success, with over twenty attendees and stakeholders from Davane, NatureLife Cambodia, Ministry of Environment, CRDT, WWT, USAID Morodok Baitang, HUSK, Sansom Mlup Prey, World Vision Cambodia, and more. Everyone was able to ask questions and get a packet of Crane Rice to try at home.

When asked if Crane Rice would eventually be exported internationally, Mr. Bou Vorsak replied: “Yes, that is the plan for the future, but NatureLife Cambodia will need to collaborate with more private sector organisations like Davane in order to reach that point.”

This event marks the beginning of a long and meaningful journey between a conservation NGO and the private retail sector, to drive lasting change for Sarus Crane conservation and the livelihoods of local farming communities.

Mr. Hong Chamnan expressed the hope to replicate this initiative to other wetlands across Cambodia, encouraging this balance of conservation work and sustainable agriculture, and leading to the increased awareness on Sarus Crane conservation.

“The Ministry of Environment supports the Crane Rice initiative and encourages everyone to buy this product that contributes to the benefit of both the cranes and local livelihood,” he said.

“Sarus Crane is a symbol of our nation’s pride,” Mr. Chheng Makara emphasized in his speech. “A hundred years from now, we want our grandchildren to marvel at the Sarus Crane as we do today!”