https://cambodia.wcs.org RSS feeds for WCS Cambodia 60 https://cambodia.wcs.org/about-us/latest-features/id/15921/bamboo-producer-group-is-happy-to-see-their-business-keep-growing.aspx#Comments 0 https://cambodia.wcs.org/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=8535&ModuleID=46005&ArticleID=15921 https://cambodia.wcs.org:443/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=15921&PortalID=133&TabID=8535 https://cambodia.wcs.org/about-us/latest-features/id/15921/bamboo-producer-group-is-happy-to-see-their-business-keep-growing.aspx Sales of bamboo ornaments and utensils crafted by the Bamboo Producer Group in Sre Preah Community Protected Area (CPA) increased almost four times from $212 in 2019 to $806 in 2020.The reasons for this increase in income were that the Bamboo Producer Group diversified the bamboo products being made and improved their quality as a result of training delivered under the USAID KSCP, as well as behavior change in consumers who stopped using plastic items and switched to bamboo.Sre Preah Bamboo Producer Group - a community-based enterprise - was established in September 2018 with support from USAID, REDD+ and CAMPAS (GEF 6) projects, with an aim to (i) improve livelihoods of the group members; (ii) demonstrate sustainable use of bamboo resources in Sre Preah CPA; and (iii) incentivize reforestation of degraded areas with bamboo in Sre Preah CPA. The main business activities of the group include propagating and transplanting bamboo on degraded land, and creating bamboo handicrafts for sale.The group is comprised of 27 members, including 15 women from three villages - Pu Char, Pu Kong and O Chra - in Sre Preah commune, Keo Seima District of Mondulkiri Province. Items crafted by the group include kettle, mug, cup, candle holder, tissue box, clothes hanger, mobile phone speaker, pen holder, kitchen storage container, flower pot, and more.The Sre Preah Bamboo Producer Group was established and is supported by the USAID Keo Seima Conservation Project (USAID KSCP), being implemented by Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) Cambodia. The group manages 69 hectares of bamboo in Sre Preah CPA, containing four species of bamboo known locally as russey thngor, russey prey, russey khley, and russey roleak. Group members have received training on sustainable bamboo harvesting techniques, business plan development, inventory skills, benefit sharing, and financial management.The revenue from sales of bamboo products is used by group members for household expenses, and a portion is invested in forest conservation in the CPA. The group hope to continue selling processed bamboo, expand the area under bamboo cultivation by using bamboo to reforest degraded land throughout the CPA, and are assessing market demand and production feasibility for other bamboo products.  Read this article in Khmer      rleak@wcs.org Thu, 18 Mar 2021 03:06:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:15921 https://cambodia.wcs.org/about-us/latest-features/id/15926/ibis-rice.aspx#Comments 0 https://cambodia.wcs.org/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=8535&ModuleID=46005&ArticleID=15926 https://cambodia.wcs.org:443/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=15926&PortalID=133&TabID=8535 https://cambodia.wcs.org/about-us/latest-features/id/15926/ibis-rice.aspx Wildlife Friendly Ibis Rice is planted at the beginning of the rainy season, part of the daily life of farming families living in remote villages in or near protected areas.Once harvested, the village marketing network committee members buy rice from farmers who have followed the rules.Paddy rice is transported to a mill in Siem Reap where the milling, packaging and marketing is overseen by Sansom Mlup Prey.This video is a brief overview of the different participants in the program, from farmers to ministry officials and a few supporting businesses. Fri, 26 Nov 2010 03:38:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:15926 https://cambodia.wcs.org/about-us/latest-features/id/15929/supporting-civil-society-in-preah-vihear-and-mondulkiri.aspx#Comments 0 https://cambodia.wcs.org/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=8535&ModuleID=46005&ArticleID=15929 https://cambodia.wcs.org:443/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=15929&PortalID=133&TabID=8535 https://cambodia.wcs.org/about-us/latest-features/id/15929/supporting-civil-society-in-preah-vihear-and-mondulkiri.aspx The Civil Society and Pro-Poor Markets (CSPPM) program is a three-year project that has been operating in 13 provinces since 2007. As one component of the Multi-donor Livelihood Facility's natural resource management and livelihoods program it is designed to help support rural communities to improve the management of their natural resources. The program has three main aspects: to improve the quality of community-based natural resource management; to increase the 'voice' of communities to help them engage with local authorities and Commune Councils; and to improve the business skills of community groups. This has been achieved through the formation and support of Community-based Organisations (CBOs), groups of people organised around a common enterprise or goal.The Wildlife Conservation Society Cambodia Program (WCS) has been leading the implementation of this ambitious program in Preah Vihear and Mondulkiri. In addition to their own activities WCS supports five NGOs in Mondulkiri and five in Preah Vihear. In turn the program assists 79 CBOs across both provinces. The CBOs are carrying out a wide range of activities including:Farmer groups on the Sen Monorom plateau who are working together to learn new agricultural techniques from the NGO ATSA, and pool production to garner higher prices;Indigenous tenure groups in Mondulkiri aiming for recognition by the Ministry of Interior and registrations of their communal land;Honey collection groups in Mondulkiri, supported by WWF, who are increasing the quality and productivity of their wild honey harvests, and earning higher incomes selling honey to outside markets;Ecotourism committees in the Seima Protection Forest, Kulen Promtep Wildlife Sanctuary and Preah Vihear Protected Forest who are working with the Sam Vaesna Center to attract birdwatching tourists to their remote villages;Community forestry groups in Mondulkiri and Preah Vihear;Community Protected Area committees who are engaging with the Ministry of Environment to secure community management of sections of Wildlife Sanctuaries, and;Resin collecting groups in Preah Vihear and Mondulkiri who are pooling production to demand higher prices from traders.As the program draws to an end in late 2010 it is becoming clear that in many situations the groups have been greatly strengthened. Incomes have been increased in many cases, and the communities feel more able to demand action from their representative Commune Councils. More work will be needed with most of the groups to ensure their long-term sustainability and independence, but through the CSPPM program WCS has been able to support natural resource management in target landscapes, and the wider region. Mon, 19 Jul 2010 03:48:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:15929 https://cambodia.wcs.org/about-us/latest-features/id/15931/resin-tapping-in-the-northern-plains.aspx#Comments 0 https://cambodia.wcs.org/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=8535&ModuleID=46005&ArticleID=15931 https://cambodia.wcs.org:443/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=15931&PortalID=133&TabID=8535 https://cambodia.wcs.org/about-us/latest-features/id/15931/resin-tapping-in-the-northern-plains.aspx Resin tappers collect resin throughout the forests of the Northern Plains of Preah Vihear. This activity is a very important source of income for community members as resin tappers can earn US$100-600 per month. Resin tappers often disturb wildlife by camping at waterholes, they start forest fires and engage in hunting both opportunistically and commercially. Addressing the illegal activity associated with resin-tapping is necessary to improve the conservation status of the landscape. As resin-tapping is so lucrative for community members, it is not socially or financially feasible to stop resin collection. Additionally, resin tappers know the forest intimately and can avoid law enforcement patrols and guide hunters easily. Finding a mechanism to improve cooperation of resin tappers is therefore required for effective management and to reduce management costs.WCS, working with the Forestry Administration, has developed two activities to improve cooperation of resin tappers in the forest. The first was to provide chits which village chiefs were asked to give to tappers when they enter the forest for which chiefs were paid $10 a month. This helped patrol teams stop people from non-traditional user villages claiming ownership of new trees. This system was implemented in four villages in 2009 and on average 47 people per village per month have been taking chits. It has since been expanded to a total of nine villages. Tappers from villages close to the forest tend to visit in smaller groups and for shorter periods compared to those villages further away. This has implications for management as groups staying longer in the forest will tend to subsist more on forest resources such as wildlife. Importantly, the chit system seems to be an effective and cheap method of monitoring access to the forest by tappers.The other main activity was to mark and locate each resin tree owned by community members in part of the landscape. This helped tappers understand the value of demonstrating their ownership over tapping rights in the areas that they have traditionally used. The results also show that it is possible to identify specific camping sites for tapping areas. Introduction of camping regulations and monitoring by patrol teams will reduce threats to wildlife. An important potential benefit for development of sustainable management is that resin tappers are site specific: each tapper can be made responsible for monitoring and even preventing illegal activities in their tapping area. If tapper are questioned every time illegal activities occur in their individual tapping areas it will encourage tappers to try and reduce such illegal activities. Tue, 13 Jul 2010 03:54:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:15931 https://cambodia.wcs.org/about-us/latest-features/id/15940/engaging-local-communities-in-conservation.aspx#Comments 0 https://cambodia.wcs.org/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=8535&ModuleID=46005&ArticleID=15940 https://cambodia.wcs.org:443/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=15940&PortalID=133&TabID=8535 https://cambodia.wcs.org/about-us/latest-features/id/15940/engaging-local-communities-in-conservation.aspx Many local communities in Cambodia have little control over the management of their land and other natural resources, and consequently little incentive to actively engage in the conservation of these areas. WCS and government partners have pioneered efforts to help local communities obtain land tenure rights, and engage in economic activities such as ecotourism and the cultivation of wildlife-friendly produce, that are compatible with conservation. In this way, local communities have an economic incentive to engage in conservation.Rural communities rarely possess legal tenure for their land, even when they have inhabited an area for many years. The country's legal system was devastated by more than three decades of civil conflict, while low levels of education and literacy in the countryside mean that rural communities are often unaware of their land rights. As a result, they are vulnerable to illegal 'land grabbing' by a rich and powerful elite who hope to benefit from high land prices and weak law enforcement to seize rural land for subsequent re-sale at a substantial profit. This means that rural communities have little incentive to manage their land sustainably.There is also little economic incentive to manage land efficiently. Most villagers are small-scale farmers who cultivate rain-fed paddy rice during the wet season, for sale to traders and middle men. These farmers use low input and low output agricultural systems suited to their subsistence existence. The communities are often geographically isolated, with very few traders visiting the village; as a result, those that do make the journey are able to set very low prices for the rice they purchase. Since farmers also have no access to credit, they often resort to borrowing money from these traders to purchase the following season's rice crop, further enhancing their dependence on them.With growing human populations, the pressure on land resources is increasing, leading to widespread forest clearance in key conservation sites and protected areas, and conflicts between communities and government agencies responsible for conservation. Community members have little incentive to abide by national laws, particularly those that protect the forest estate.Successful wildlife and habitat conservation therefore depends on engaging them through tools that directly link local economic and social development to environmental conservation, particularly limiting deforestation. Mon, 04 Jan 2010 06:18:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:15940