indigenous
Two Ratanakiri communes where indigenous communities received communal land titles as shown in government decrees released in September 2022. (Google Satellite)

Communal Titling Ends in Relief for Some, Anxiety for Others

Indigenous communities attempting to register communal lands are often left in bureaucratic limbo and are at risk of losing this land, advocates said this week, even as the government handed more than 4,000 hectares to three communities in May. 

Bunong villager Pon Peul herds her buffaloes back as the dusk sets in, in March 2022. (Tran Techseng/VOD)

‘Everything Changed’: Cambodia’s Gold Rush Weighs on Indigenous Livelihoods

Labeled a “great achievement” for Cambodia’s post-pandemic recovery, the country’s biggest goldmine also exemplifies some of the challenges facing indigenous communities seeking to protect traditions. “It’s something very dangerous to lose culture, lifestyle and traditional practices,” one Bunong lawyer said.

Mixed bamboo and semi-evergreen forest in Keo Seima Wildlife Sanctuary in November 2018 (Wikimedia Commons)

Indigenous People Protest Over Farmland in Keo Seima Sanctuary

More than 200 indigenous people in Mondulkiri province’s Keo Seima district protested on Tuesday for access to farmland inside a wildlife sanctuary, which the Environment Ministry banned them from last month, citing conservation laws.

A Hengfu sugarcane plantation in Preah Vihear province in July 2019 (VOD)

Plantations Skirted Laws to Amass Land, Driving Locals Into Debt

Sugar plantations in Preah Vihear have skirted land laws to amass territory, driving indigenous people into debt. Now, the EU is examining the land concessions, among other rights concerns, as it finalizes a decision on whether Cambodia will keep duty-free trade preferences.

Representatives of indigenous communities, NGOs and the Rural Development Ministry gather for a workshop in Phnom Penh on October 10, 2019. (Khun Vanda)

Indigenous Communal Land Registrations Lagging

The registration of communal land for indigenous people has lagged — with just 24 of an estimated 455 communities receiving titles — due to inadequate funding and other challenges, NGO and government officials said.