Overview

Located 45 minutes from Angkor Wat, the Song Saa Reserve is a pioneering sustainable development project redefining responsible high-end tourism in Siem Reap. A sister initiative to the award-winning Song Saa Private Island, the Reserve is designed to be a global benchmark for regenerative travel—merging commercial development with social equity, conservation, and climate action.

Led by the Song Saa Foundation (SSF)—an independently registered nonprofit with 20 years of on-the-ground experience in Cambodia—the project integrates ecological restoration, biodiversity protection, and inclusive development into its core design. Programs already underway include the One Million Tree Reforestation Program, large-scale wetland and lake restoration, and biodiversity rewilding, alongside community-driven livelihood and resilience initiatives.

The Challenge

 Siem Reap’s ecosystems have suffered decades of pressure from unsustainable fishing, deforestation, and conflict, leaving forests fragmented and biodiversity diminished. The Reserve’s 156-hectare site was once covered in primary forest but had been heavily degraded prior to its acquisition. Meanwhile, the region faces mounting climate and social challenges: loss of carbon sinks, rising vulnerabilities in rural communities, and limited models of sustainable tourism that deliver tangible benefits for local people.

SSF’s response has been to combine landscape regeneration with community co-design. To date, more than 196,000 native seedlings have been propagated with a 95% success rate, establishing Cambodia’s leading private rainforest nursery—recognized by the Ministry of Environment and the World Bank as a national demonstration site. Beyond land restoration, the Foundation has played a catalytic role in regional marine protection, establishing Cambodia’s first Marine Protected Area and contributing to the creation of a 524 km2 National Marine Park. Yet, scaling these efforts requires sustained investment, technical partnerships, and climate-smart infrastructure to reduce emissions, expand waste management solutions, and formalize long-term impact monitoring.

SCF’s Involvement – Technical Assistance

The SCF TA Facility is supporting a pre-feasibility study to assess the technical, environmental, and economic viability of a regenerative ecotourism model. Key focus areas include:

• Ecological restoration design and carbon sequestration assessment
• Feasibility of sustainable infrastructure and energy systems
• Market positioning and revenue modeling for eco-tourism activities

The study will help refine the project concept and strengthen investor confidence in scaling climate-aligned tourism models across Southeast Asia.

The project described above is only receiving Technical Assistance from SCF at the time of writing. There can be no guaranty that any investments will be completed or that impact targets will be achieved.