Just twenty years ago, Cambodia was described as “one of the least explored countries” in Southeast Asia as only 30 bat species were then known from the country. Two decades on, understanding of Cambodian bats has grown markedly due to increased field research and improved survey coverage. Coupled with taxonomic advances, these have led to dozens of new country records and as of February this year, the discovery of five new bat species to science. As a result, 81 bat species are now confirmed in Cambodia, although as many other species in neighboring areas of Laos and Vietnam have yet to be recorded in the Kingdom’s under-studied border regions, the true number is undoubtedly much greater.

These advances are important for several reasons. First, they clearly demonstrate that bats represent a large part of the mammal fauna of Cambodia. For example, if we assume that around 200 mammal species occur in the country as a whole, then bats account for roughly 40% of all Cambodian mammals. This figure might surprise many, but is actually typical for Southeast Asian countries and means that efforts to conserve the Kingdom’s mammals must consider bats if they are to succeed. Second, because accurate species inventories are essential for effective conservation planning and provide a basis for most environmental impact assessments and decision-making on biodiversity, the new data on the status and distributions of bats can inform these processes to much better effect nationally.

There are many reasons we should care about Cambodian bats. For instance, because insectivorous bats eat enormous quantities of economically-important insect pests every night, they reduce pest damage to many agricultural crops and thereby contribute to national food security. However, the many services provided by bats are under-valued or overlooked all too often. As one example, conservative estimates based on just one pest species (the white-backed planthopper) indicate that seven cave colonies of the wrinkle-lipped bat in Cambodia prevent the loss of over 2,300 tons of rice or daily rice meals for over 20,800 people each year. Allied to this, the same bats provide hundreds of tons of highly potent plant fertilizer each year whose sale and use greatly improves local incomes and crop yields. Yet despite these benefits, none of the karst areas where these caves occur were represented in nationally protected areas until very recently.