Defending land and building climate resilience in Cambodia.
Chan Kimcheng lives in Trapaeng Pris, a fishing community in the Koh Kong province, Cambodia. The area was once home to 50 ponds that provided fresh drinking water, food and a livelihood to the community. Now, there is only one pond left after the rest were filled and sold as land for private property.
“They used to go fishing, and they used to set fish traps to earn a living, but now they can’t go to those places anymore. Everything had become private land. The swamp forests and ponds are gone; they’ve all been filled with land” says Chan.
Chan is a farmer and Woman Champion with ActionAid Cambodia. She works with her community committee to protect what’s left of their land, which they are trying to obtain an official certificate for. Chan works hard to educate people about the importance of protecting their resources and helps conduct regular patrols of the area to preserve its borders and keep an eye out for illegal fishing, logging or man-made forest fires. She was also instrumental in getting back some land and securing road access into the community after months of negotiating with a nearby landowner. The funds raised from this helped the community build an office where they could meet and discuss any challenges they face.
The village is surrounded by powerful and rich landowners and Chan’s main concern is they will try and buy up the community’s land little by little. On top of that, climate change has led to increased forest fires that also destroy natural resources and impact the community’s ability to fish and earn an income. That’s why Chan is dedicated to helping her community understand the importance of defending their land, especially women who, she says, are disproportionately impacted by these things.
“We must protect this place, not just for our generation but for all future generations.”
Since 2022, ActionAid Cambodia, in collaboration with local NGOs, including Cooperation for Alleviation of Poverty Organization (COFAP), Mlup Promviheathor Center Organization (MPC), Children and Women Development Center in Cambodia (CWDCC), Rural Friend Community for Development (RFCD), have been implementing the Women-Led Alternatives to Climate Change project in Cambodia (WLACC) in four targeted areas: Kampot, Koh Kong, Pursat and Kampong Thom.
Cambodia is among the countries most highly affected by climate change, and women and girls feel its impact the most as they are disproportionately affected by extreme weather conditions like flooding, drought and wildfires. These things can also occur following extreme damage to the land.
A key aspect of the WLACC is the Women Champion Network. Women from sub-national levels and women who volunteer are recruited and trained to become leaders in their community, to advocate for their rights and support resilience to the climate crisis. Women Champions also aim to ensure the community, particularly women and children, have increased capacity to understand the impact of climate change and ways they can take action to prepare and prevent issues like drought, flooding or forest fires. On top of that, the Women Champions support women-led advocacy to demand climate justice and gender equality at local, national and international levels of government. So far, we have trained and recruited over 100 women champions across Cambodia.
Chan explains “The WLACC project’s activities, along with the efforts of women champions in our community, have created a significant impact. They not only encourage environmental protection but also tackle multiple social issues”. She continues to explain how “after a long-term support from ActionAid, I learned how to communicate with relevant stakeholders. They provide advice, encouragement, guidance and respect and build our courage on how to cope and take action".
