Community monitoring of forest resources in Cambodia
The research project is about botanical exploration and conservation of some of Cambodia’s distinctive forest habitats by engaging residential communities in participatory surveys of species compositions and vegetation structure. Communities are also engaged in monitoring of forest resources and forest crimes such as illegal logging. The project investigates the role of local and indigenous peoples’ knowledge and institutions in the protection of ecosystems and whether information and communication technology such as remote sensing, smartphones and apps can facilitate timely enforcement of environmental protection.
Project period: 2007-2022
News:
New Trails, Satellite Images Point to More Logging Inside Prey Lang
See the article at https://vodenglish.news/new-trails-satellite-images-point-to-more-logging-inside-prey-lang/
Statement:
Professor Ida Theilade and the project team at University of Copenhagen denounce arrest of environmental defenders. We see this ongoing detention as a threat to environmental defenders who are peacefully monitoring and reporting on deforestation activities in Prey Lang and other forested areas. The activists were exercising their rights enshrined in the Constitution of Cambodia and the Law on Environmental Protection and Natural Resources Management, both of which encourage the public to actively participate in the protection of the country’s environment and natural resources.
Professor Theilade and her team considers the detention of the four environmental activists as an abuse of power as the act goes contrary to Cambodia’s code of criminal procedure. Hence, Professor Theilade and her team call for an investigation regarding the irregularities behind their detention.
Download the 'Statement on the detention of Mr. Ouch Leng and other activists' as pdf
The flora of Cambodia rank as the least known yet most intact among the unique and diverse floras of tropical Asia. The country harbor valuable and endemic plant communities that has never been collected and described in a systematic manner. In recent years, the growing demand for land has attracted large-scale concessionaires to these habitats for agro-businesses. Foreign companies are presently deforesting natural landscapes in Cambodia at an alarming pace often to the detriment of local communities depending on nearby forests resources and ecological services.
The project undertakes the first systematic botanical explorations of some of Cambodia’s distinctive forest habitats by engaging residential communities in participatory surveys of species compositions and vegetation structure.
The resulting data will be used to
- compare the floristic constitution of forest fragments,
- assess biogeographic relationships between distant sites,
- and evaluate local knowledge and livelihood importance of plant resources.
The baseline data was used to identify and assess those sites with the highest conservation and livelihood values.
Finally, the forest inventories will increase understanding of the global distribution of forest biomass. Such studies are critical for the political processes on mitigation of climate change.
The project is a continuation of ecological and livelihood surveys undertaken in Cambodia for the past 13 years in collaboration with The Forestry Administration Cambodia, The Ministry of Environment Cambodia, the Forest and Peoples Organization and the Herbarium at Chiang Mai University (CMU). In 2014, collaboration with Danmission and The Prey Lang Community Network (PLCN) began www.preylang.net All project partners have an abiding interest in floristic exploration and the conservation of Cambodia’s plant resources for the benefit of local and indigenous people.
The status of Prey Lang
Argyriou, Dimitrios; Bori, Péter József; Theilade, Ida
Publication date: 2019
Kampen om Cambodjas regnskov
Cambodia: Forests, Water, Life
REDD in Prey Long - short edition
REDD in Prey Long - long edition
Articles about the project:
Scientific study from KU in Phnom Penh Post 5th July 2015 (The Phnom Penh Post, July 2015)
Lokale folk moniterer illegal logging. (In danish, Danmission magazine, July 2015)
De forsvarer deres tropeskov med hjælp fra danske forskere og studerende (In danish, ku.dk, December 2015)
Virkeligheden er absurd i Cambodja (In danish, ku.dk, December 2015)
Dansk-cambodiansk skovprojekt vinder førstepris i USA (In Danish, ku.dk, February 2017)
‘Positive impact’: Prey Lang forest app wins award (The Phnom Penh Post, October 2018)
Ida Theilade receives the UCPH Innovation Prize 2018 (ifro.ku.dk, November 2018)
Prey Lang activists laud researcher’s accolade (The Phnom Penh Post, November 2018)
Loggers detained in wildlife sanctuary (The Phnom Penh Post, December 2018)
Ida Theilade
Professor
idat@ifro.ku.dk
Phone: +45 35 33 17 42
Mobile: +45 60 22 34 10
Funding
The project is funded by EU, Carlsberg Foundation, Open Society and Danmission.
Project: Community monitoring of forest resources in Cambodia
Start: 2007
End: 2027
IFRO Participants
| Name | Title | Phone | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ida Theilade | Professor | +4535331742 |