The team at Fauna & Flora - Cambodia Programme recently completed an extensive study of the country’s coastal environment. This large-scale project, spanning 2022 to 2023, saw them analyse a total of 243 sites dotted around the nation's coast.

Recently, the marine plastics division of the programme, along with representatives from the Ministry of Environment, embarked on another field trip. This journey, taking place from July 10 to 14, led them to Koh Rong Sanloem to finish data gathering at the remaining sites.

Fauna & Flora - Cambodia Programme took to social media to share the disconcerting discoveries of the team.

"We have now surveyed a total of 243 sites across the entire coastal environment of Cambodia, between 2022 and 2023. All in all, plastic items, particularly single-use types like bottles, Styrofoam pieces, bags, cups, to name a few, our team found across survey sites are truly concerning for Cambodia’s marine ecosystem,” read the post.

The team called for public participation in addressing the issue.

It is helpful to remember that our everyday choices matter. By using less and less single-use plastic items in the first place and switching to more sustainable alternatives like reusable bags, bottles and cups to store our daily food, drinks and other purchases, we are taking a crucial step toward solving this problem together.