About the Mekong PAD III Project
Landcare Australia is supporting the Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) funded Mekong Protected Area and Development (PAD) III Program, a collaborative initiative to enhance development benefits and climate resilience across key landscapes in the Mekong region in South-East Asia.
Program Overview
Mekong PAD III is funded by the Australian Government under the Mekong-Australia Partnership, and implemented by partners including ICEM, IUCN, University of Tasmania, government agencies, local NGO’s and local Indigenous communities. The program aims to strengthen climate resilience and improve local community livelihood through restoring degraded ecosystems, promoting livelihoods, and incorporating nature-based solutions (NbS).
Landcare Australia’s contribution is led by Katie Selhorst, Head of Landscape Restoration and Chief Remote Pilot, who provides ecological and restoration expertise through field surveys, drone mapping, landscape analysis and community engagement activities.
Landcare Australia’s involvement in the PAD III Program currently includes project activities in two significant conservation landscapes:
- Buffer zone of Hin Nam No (HNN) National Park located within the Central Annamite landscape, Khammouane Province, Lao PDR
- Yuk Namram Community Protected Area and Srepok Wildlife Sanctuary located within the Eastern Plains Landscape, Mondulkiri Province, Cambodia
Lao PDR Project
In June, Landcare Australia joined a multi-partner mission to Hin Nam No National Park, Lao PDR’s first natural World Heritage Site and part of Southeast Asia’s first transboundary natural World Heritage Site, shared with Viet Nam’s Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park.
The mission brought together partners from ICEM, IUCN Laos, Landcare Australia, APL+, Tiger Trails Laos, the Hin Nam No National Park Patrol Team and local villagers from Gnavèt.
As part of the field mission, Katie Selhorst worked closely with Gnavèt villagers Mae Net and Mae Houng to conduct ecological restoration through on ground implementation projects. Supported by initial field surveys and local community engagement to gather insights environmental conditions and landscape values.
The mission highlighted the importance of the Houay Gnavèt River in the livelihood of the Gnavèt community. The river underpins daily activities, providing drinking water and bathing sites. It is a primary food resource providing access to fish and other edible aquatic species, and access to medicinal and native food plants. Community dependence also extends beyond the river channel into the adjoining red-clay wet forest and transitional riparian margins, which provide important subsistence resources throughout the year.
Cambodia Project
The PAD III Program is also supporting conservation activities within Srepok Wildlife Sanctuary, one of Cambodia’s most ecologically significant protected areas.
The sanctuary contains the last remaining migration corridor for Asian elephants between Cambodia and Viet Nam, making it a critical landscape for biodiversity conservation and habitat connectivity across the region.
Landcare Australia’s contribution focuses on ecological restoration through on-ground implementation projects. Supported by initial field surveys and gathering insights into local environmental conditions and landscape values, as well as local community engagement, to better understand landscape condition and conservation priorities.
Through field-based ecological restoration work, the project is strengthening climate resilience and improving local community livelihoods by supporting long-term conservation planning for this globally important wildlife corridor.
PAD III Outcomes
While the program remains ongoing, several key outcomes have already been achieved:
- Strengthening Biodiversity Knowledge
- Indigenous Community Engagement
- Enhanced Landscape Monitoring
- Regional Conservation Partnerships
- Evidence-Based Planning
- Knowledge Sharing
“One of the most rewarding aspects of the Mekong PAD III Program has been the opportunity to work alongside local Indigenous communities and conservation partners across two ecologically sensitive and culturally significant landscapes. Through field surveys, ecological restoration planning, and community engagement in Lao PDR and Cambodia, the program has reinforced the importance of listening to and learning from local knowledge to better understand landscape values, biodiversity, and sustainable land and water management practices. This two-way knowledge sharing between organisations and local communities is essential to supporting long-term sustainability, strengthening climate resilience and protecting these important environments for future generations. I’m proud that Landcare Australia can contribute ecological expertise while also learning from the people who know and care for these landscapes every day to better incorporate this learning back in Australia.”
– Katie Selhorst, Head of Landscape Restoration and Chief Remote Pilot, Landcare Australia