It was established in 1993, as the Cambodian government began to take action for the protection of the country's threatened natural resources.

The national park's biological value is defined by its combination of rivers, forests, mangroves, estuaries, beaches, coral reefs, wildlife, and marine life.

Ream National Park constitutes the south-east of Prey Nob district of the Sihanoukville Province bordering the Gulf of Thailand.

[3] Wildlife found or reported in the national park includes, but is not limited to: rhesus monkeys, dugongs, turtles, dolphins, mouse-deer, Sarus crane, and pelicans.

Almost 30,000 people or 5,500 households live in the five communes that overlap or border Ream National Park, and population growth rates are estimated at nearly 3%.

[7][8] A wide range of groups and individuals have converging and diverging interests or stakes in the park's resources.