Tim Frewer

Forested frontiers across Cambodia have been rapidly deforested due to a complex mixture of land speculation, rural poverty and agro-industrial investment. The Ministry of Environment and its conservation backers have responded to these complexities by ramping up enforcement activities and expanding the Protected Area system (to cover 40% of Cambodia’s land mass). Expulsion from, or restricted access and use of territories, as well as prosecution, harassment and destruction of property, have reached crisis point for many indigenous communities across the country. This project will work through the Cambodia Indigenous Peoples Organization and its network of activists and communities. It will focus on five key places where indigenous communities are already active and looking for support to continue their work. It has four main phases; 1) each community will assemble a small research team, 2) skill sharing will occur across each team and parameters for research finalised 3) researchers will collect data on scope of the problem (number and nature of incidences) as well as in-depth data (ethnographic, land-use history etc). Photovoice and a multimedia component will also be included. 4) Researchers/ communities will have a plenary to verify results and decide on how to use data.