Livelihood Strategies Amongst Indigenous Peoples in the Central Cardamom Protected Forest, Cambodia

At present, the indigenous people in the Central Cardamoms Protected Forest (CCPF) are facing a problem in trying to improve their livelihoods. Thmor Doun Pov and Tatei Leu are amongst the small communities scattered in the CCPF, where the past has been difficult and the future is uncertain for them. The indigenous people in Thmor Doun Pov and Tatei Leu, Communes of Thmor Bang District of Koh Kong Province, like so many other small indigenous communities in Cambodia, have been having difficulty in adjusting to a series of significant changes, particularly concerning their livelihoods. Their natural resource-based livelihoods are being challenged by the various impacts of governmental policy, as well as social, cultural and ideological issues that have arisen in recent years. This study asks what these challenges are and how they impact upon these indigenous peoples’ livelihoods. The main objective of this study is to understand the various interventions by the government with regard to natural resource management policies, and how NGOs and other actors such as migrants and investors are affecting the livelihoods of the indigenous people. Therefore, this paper discusses the different interventions and different agenda these players have, and how these interventions fit in with local perspectives and agenda, particularly in the case of the CCPF. It also examines the livelihood diversification strategies that indigenous people use to cope with the challenges of such interventions