Beng Per Wildlife Sanctuary
Beng Per Wildlife Sanctuary in Cambodia is not classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
There are no significant reports of carbon offsetting projects in Ben Per Wildlife Sanctuary specifically. However, multiple wildlife sanctuaries and protected areas across Cambodia are being used for carbon offsetting projects (especially under the Southern Cardamon REDD+ Project) so it is important to keep track of any future developments impacting Beng Per.
Cambodia Indigenous Peoples Alliance (CIPA).
Phone: +855599712423
Email: yun.lorang25@gmail.com
Website: cipocambodia.org/cipo/
Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact.
Email: aippmail@aippnet.org /// aipp.rcdp@gmail.com
Most of the organizing against violations from the Wildlife Sanctuary have been placed directly from Indigenous communities on the ground, particularly members of the Kouy Indigenous community in Ngoan village in Kampong Thom’s Sandan district. A write-up of their recent work is available here: https://news.mongabay.com/2022/12/no-justice-for-indigenous-community-taking-on-a-cambodian-rubber-baron/
Wildlife Alliance— Helps implement the Southern Cardamoms REDD+[1]. The Alliance’s CEO has written that the organization provides “legal support” to environmental law enforcement in Cambodia.[2]
Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) – collaborates with the Cambodia Ministry of Environment on protected zoning and management of protected areas[3]
The Ministry of Environment in Cambodia oversees the management of protected areas throughout the company. No public directory is available for the protected area, however, the Ministry phone number is +855 23 213 908 and their website is www.moe.gov.kh/
The Cambodian Ministry of Environment.
Try Pheap – In 2011, the Try Pheap Group donated $100,000 (U.S.) to establish a ranger station within the sanctuary.[1]
USAID financed the Greening Peng Lang Project (GPL) which had a geographic focus on the Prey Lang Extended Landscape, which is a mosaic of land cover and land use types, that includes Beng Per Wildlife Sanctuary. USAID GPL is led by Tetra Tech with support from two major partners, the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and Conservation International (CI). The Activity aims to promote resilient, low-emission development and inclusive, sustainable management of the Prey Lang Extended Landscape. However, in 2021, USAID pulled the $21 million project and directed the funds towards local groups and NGOs working to protect the forest due to Cambodia’s worsening deforestation.
Beng Per Wildlife Sanctuary was established in 1993. It is estimated that around 1,500 Indigenous Koi families have been displaced from the area since 2010.[1]Indigenous lands have notably been sold off by the Government without the consent of the communities. As noted by Kuy leader, Heng Saphen “We’ve lived on the land for generations. Traditionally our ancestors made a living collecting resin. This tradition was passed down, we lived off our own labor, we could get everything we needed from the forest. There were no challenges, we lived comfortably in solidarity, we shared resources among our community. There was no need for people to buy or sell things — until 2011, when a company bought a chunk of our land.”
Starting in 1996, Cambodia initiated economic land concessions (ELCs) permitting land clearance for agriculture and logging, even in protected regions. Although the policy ceased in 2012, widespread corruption has led officials to turn a blind eye to the illegal harvesting and smuggling of timber, primarily to China and Vietnam.[1]
The Cambodia Human Rights Task Force (CHRTF) alleges that Try Pheap controls the permissible land area for Economic Land Concessions (ELCs) at nearly seven times the amount allowed under Cambodian law. Since 2010, Try Pheap has displaced approximately 1,500 families from their homes, with some relocated to sites that villagers find inadequate.[2]
On June 14, 2022, Heng Saphen, the second deputy of the local Kuy community in Sandan district, was arrested and charged with violating the Land Law by allegedly using force against a property owner accused of encroaching on company land, according to a spokesperson for the provincial court.[3]
Outside the Kampong Thom Provincial Court on July 26, 2022, tension mounted as 12 Kuy individuals awaited the judge’s decision. They had spent around $200 on a 75-kilometer journey to support Chan Lay Phiek, daughter of the community’s second deputy chief, Heng Saphen, in a longstanding land dispute with Sambath Platinum. An hour past the scheduled hearing time, officials announced its cancellation without setting a new date, refusing to address the community's concerns. Saphen expressed frustration, labeling it a deliberate tactic by the court to waste their time and resources.[4]
Illegal logging is an ongoing issue within the Wildlife Sanctuary fueled largely by high demand for rubber and rosewood, mostly from China. Between 2010 and 2011, the Cambodian government issued 14 economic land concessions across Beng Per Wildlife Sanctuary, covering a total of 68,994 hectares.[1]
Kampong Thom Provincial Court decision – On July 26, 2022, this court canceled a hearing on a dispute between Heng Saphen, a deputy of the local Kuy community in Sandan district, and Sambath Platinum.[1] Saphen was arrested in June 2022. She was charged under the Land Law for alleged violence against a property owner accused of encroaching on company land.[2]
The Land Law of Cambodia regulates land ownership, use, and management, establishing rights for individuals and communities while promoting sustainable practices.
The Forestry Law of Cambodia governs the management and conservation of forest resources, aiming to ensure sustainability and prevent illegal logging.
A series of sub-decrees issued from late July to early August 2023 indicate that the Cambodian government has sanctioned the inclusion of over a million hectares, equivalent to 2.5 million acres, into the nation's protected areas.[1]
LICADHO's composite satellite imagery reveals a potential new ELC within Beng Per Wildlife Sanctuary in 2023. The borders of this area align with adjacent ELCs, and the clearing of forests around an existing rubber plantation indicates the establishment of a new plantation.[2]
https://news.mongabay.com/2022/12/no-justice-for-indigenous-community-taking-on-a-cambodian-rubber-baron/
www.moe.gov.kh/
https://earthjournalism.net/stories/meet-the-vigilante-grandfathers-protecting-indigenous-forest-life-in-cambodia
https://www.hrw.org/report/2024/02/28/carbon-offsettings-casualties/violations-chong-indigenous-peoples-rights
https://ejatlas.org/conflict/try-pheap-co-logging-operation-in-cambodia
https://theaseanpost.com/article/cambodias-sanctuaries-under-threat
https://news.mongabay.com/2023/08/skepticism-as-cambodia-expands-protected-areas-by-more-than-a-million-hectares/
https://www.fao.org/faolex/results/details/en/c/LEX-FAOC027478/
https://vodenglish.news/indigenous-community-representative-arrested-over-land-dispute/
https://www.eco-business.com/news/cambodian-indigenous-community-suffer-years-of-harassment-by-rubber-barons/
https://www.fao.org/faolex/results/details/en/c/LEX-FAOC050411/
https://news.mongabay.com/2024/02/in-cambodia-an-officials-cashew-factory-churns-out-timber-from-a-protected-forest/
https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/indias-tribes-will-suffer-most-from-bid-to-double-global-protected-areas-says-indigenous-rights-expert/article67987152.ece
https://www.wildlifealliance.org/
https://www.wcs.org/