Fear, frustration for community stuck in protected-zone confusion
Bunong community leader Miv Khem, 29, who like his neighbors in Memang commune relies on subsistence rice farming, dates the start of the dispute to 2017, when management of both the Keo Seima and Phnom Prich wildlife sanctuaries were transferred to the Environment Ministry. Protected areas are divided into four zones, with the least-restrictive “community” zones allowing farming and more-restrictive “sustainable use” zones allowing small-scale harvesting such as resin collection. In Chung Plas and Memang, the communes’ core villages fall mostly within Phnom Prich and are a mix of community and sustainable use zones, according to a map mounted in the Memang commune hall. …
Fiona Kelliher and Phin Rathana
https://vodenglish.news/fear-frustration-for-community-stuck-in-protected-zone-confusion/
