Hammered by years of debt, drought and desperation, Cambodia’s smallholder farmers have long supported themselves by sending family to work in Phnom Penh factories. But the pandemic has upended the arrangement, forcing unemployed workers back to failing farms.
Chea Seila is one of the few conservationists who spends the months of listening needed to earn locals’ trust, villagers and colleagues say. For her, it’s the communities, with deep wells of knowledge, who are critical to protecting Stung Treng’s wetlands.
In Stung Treng, villagers are experiencing unexpected changes to their environment: disappearing fish, dying forests, eroding islands. As they grapple with changing natural cycles, they project their fears onto the giant Don Sahong dam that looms upstream.
Former Cambodia Daily readers say they miss their routine of reading critical, balanced news coverage of the nation. Many say their news diet had shifted — with some left hungry — since the newspaper’s closure.
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