Empower Cambodian Communities to Protect Forests

Tourism can have a profound impact on local communities. Irresponsible tourism can lead to social displacement, cultural degradation, economic dependence and environmental devastation. However, with a little effort and preparation, travelers can actually lift local communities out of poverty while protecting the cultural and environmental heritage of an area.

Each destination faces unique challenges and threats, and doing some research in advance will help you make smarter choices. The first step is picking a destination that promotes local culture, sustainable development, and responsible stewardship of natural sites. Choosing ecofriendly lodging that is locally owned and operated is another important and easy way to create a positive impact. Other simple initiatives you can take to be a better traveler include choosing responsible tour operators, respecting local cultures, and remembering the impact of your presence.

In Cambodia, Wildlife Alliance’s Community-Based Ecotourism (CBET) project helped the community of Chi Phat develop nature-based ecotourism in the Cardamom Mountain Range, one of Asia’s last untouched rainforests. The project has helped provide alternative, climate smart livelihoods to former wildlife poachers and slash-and-burn farmers. Not only is our CBET project helping stop the destruction of the forest, but it is also ensuring that future development will be sustainable for the community and the environment. Today, 80% of CBET members that hunted and logged in Chi Phat no longer do so. In 2014, Chi Phat received more visitors than ever before, and the project also won two prestigious awards recognizing their outstanding achievements. This year, your support has also helped create over 57 km of trails and two new camp sites.

Thank you for your continued support, to plan a trip to one of our project sites, click on the Visit Us tab on our website.

We would like to extend a special thank you to all the amazing donors that helped fund our campaign to empower Cambodian women for the environment. Thanks to your generosity and kindness, we will be able to provide these dedicated women with the resources they need to help improve their lives and the natural environment around them. We raised close to $1,300, which will provide them with the supplies and tools they need to continue their bi-monthly meetings.

On March 8th, we also celebrated the 104th International Women’s Day. Wildlife Alliance promotes gender equality in all our efforts as it also aligns with our mission to promote sustainable development. We understand that women are powerful agents of change in communities. They play the primary role in food production, healthcare, household nutrition, and have specific knowledge about the natural resources they depend upon for providing for their families.

Our field programs work with women to help them increase their earning power, and give them a voice in the community. At our Community-Based Ecotourism Project in Chi Phat, the most successful guest houses in this community are run by women. In the rural Cambodian village of Sovanna Baitong, where Wildlife Alliance’s Community Agriculture Development Project is located, women hold the majority of the leadership positions in the community. Of the 10 senior positions on the Agriculture Association – the body of community members that manages life in the village – 7 are held by women. This is quite remarkable, as according to the Cambodian National Institute of Statistics, the national average for women in managerial positions is only 9%. Women in Sovanna Baitong run groups like the Marketing Group, which sets prices for village goods in local markets; the Credit Group, which manages the Community Fund and loans to villagers; and the Education Group, which oversees educational facilities and curricula in the community. The Tropical Reforestation Project, which aims to reconnect fragmented forest cover in the Southern Cardamom Mountains, employs primarily women workers to work in our nursery and care for the saplings year-round. Not only do these women pay it forward by empowering their daughters and family members, but the pool of people committed to resource conservation is enlarged, children are raised with a conservation ethic, and a sustainable green economy is also realized.

Join us in congratulating these remarkable women for the vital work they do for their families, their communities and the environment. And thank you again for your generous donation, and for helping us empower communities to protect forests and wildlife.