Sam Veasna Conservation Tours

Sam Veasna Conservation Tours (SVC) is Cambodia's pioneering bird tour operator, founded in 2006 and named after the late Cambodian ornithologist Sam Veasna. Registered as a local NGO with the Ministry of Interior, SVC holds exclusive access to Wildlife Conservation Society project sites and channels tour revenue back to the rural communities that protect them. Based in Siem Reap, the company runs custom and small-group birding trips ranging from half-day excursions to multi-week expeditions covering the Northern Plains, Cardamom foothills, Mekong floodplain and Mondulkiri forests. Signature targets include the Critically Endangered Giant Ibis, White-shouldered Ibis, three vulture species at carcass-feeding stations, and Cambodia's only true endemic, the Cambodian Laughingthrush. SVC's conservation-linked ecotourism model is widely cited as one of the most successful in Southeast Asia.