Khmer Youth Association

Despite a growing manufacturing sector, roughly 92 percent of poor Cambodians still live in rural areas and depend on rapidly depleting natural resources like land, fish, forests and clean rivers for their livelihoods, according to a report. Access to these reserves has become difficult and many Cambodians do not have the proper knowledge or resources to affect the change that is necessary to improve these circumstances. Khmer Youth Association’s (KYA) Cambodian Youth Action in Natural Resource Management project seeks to build the capacity and understanding of youth in five provinces, Takeo, Prey Veng, Kampong Cham, Siem Reap & Battambang, to change this situation.

Supported by Forum Syd, the project is designed to provide key resources and tools for Community-Based Youth Networks (CYNs) to become change agents in their communities. The project will span the length of three years (2014 - 2016) and will prioritize work with youth at the grassroots level in provincial communities and at the national policy level to empower these young people by building their understanding and capacity to act and advocate for positive change in regards to natural resource management. Specifically it will focus on fishery and forestry resources.

Research done by national and international development agencies found that young people’s participation in inclusive social development is very limited, and the youth organizations or youth groups were suggested as important potential actors.

As a result of this project, KYA expects that young men and women will be better equipped with knowledge of the importance of natural resource for sustainable livelihood in their communities and communities will be more climate change resilient. This knowledge will enable these youth act as advocates within their communities to promote collective efforts to advocate and influence the policy that betters environmental protection and natural resources governance in Cambodia.

According to recent reports, land disputes are currently the foremost concern of all Cambodian people due to the threats of economic land concessions, mineral concessions, and hydroelectric power projects. Farmers and fishermen are already feeling the effects of climate change due to widespread deforestation and water resources disruption. The need for young people’s participation in sustainable environmental development and natural resource management in Cambodia is therefore crucial for the future of Cambodia’s development.

By the end of this project, youth in the target areas will be able to initiate their own activities to protect fishery and forestry resources in their communities, and effectively influence policy implementation and law enforcement at sub-national, national, regional and international levels.

This project is critical for increasing young people’s participation in sustainable environmental protection and Natural Resource Management in Cambodia. To get involved with or learn more about this project, please contact Puthea Chea at puthea.chea@kya-cambodia.org.

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