Fifteen indigenous people in Ratanakiri province are worried about losing their rotational farm land after being charged with land encroachment at Virak Chey National Park, which is a protected area. They have been placed under court supervision.
Environmental officials filed a complaint against the indigenous people from mid-June to July for allegedly violating the protected area.
Yoeut Mao, Ta Veng Leu commune chief, told CamboJA News that 20 indigenous people were accused of land grabbing inside the protected area by the provincial Environment Department since the middle of June 2024.
“We were all worried when they [environmental rangers] patrolled the forest but didn’t tell us that they recorded the names [of the people in there] without informing them in advance,” he said.
He added that he was concerned about the people who were accused because there were no summons in the past, although “some people knew” and “some did not know” about the protected area.
In 2023, at least 15 protected areas were expanded to integrate adjacent biodiversity corridors which the government reclassified as protected areas, including Virak Chey National Park. The size of the national park increased from 332,500 to 405,766 hectares.
Ta Bok village chief, Kra Chhoen Cham told CamboJA News that 15 people in his village were accused of encroaching on the protected areas, which has made the “whole village worried about their land” traditionally used for rotational farming.
Among the 15 people, some have been cultivating for a long time and a few are newly-married people who do not have land for cultivation now, he said.
Noting that the Virak Chey protected area covered people’s plantations, both old and new, he asked if there was a way that the environmental officials could cut out the old plantations and return it to the people. That way, people will not encroach into the protected area, he opined.
Local authorities, as well as village and commune chiefs are looking for a solution for people who have land adjacent to the national park area, Chhoen Cham said, adding that the commune chief was still discussing the land history with the people.
About 120 families were affected when the authorities collected data in the first stage in July, followed by a submission of a report to the Department of Environment.
The village chief called on the department to withdraw the complaint against the villagers, clearly state the protected area’s boundaries and set aside land for people to cultivate.
Prao ethnic minority Tin Poch from Ta Bok village in Ta Veng Leu commune, Ta Veng district, was charged with encroaching on the protected area. After being questioned by an investigating judge on June 26, he was allowed to return home.
The 53-year-old said he has been cultivating two hectares of land since 1993 which the officials claimed were inside the protected area. Since the complaint by the authorities, he cannot grow rice or plant potatoes for a living.
“They didn’t allow [us] to continue, they told [us] to wait for the court [case] to complete. If the court decides that we can continue, we will continue, if not, we have to leave it to them [the department],” Poch said.
He said the court has not made any decision to drop the charges or allow the villagers to continue cultivating the land as the case was still being processed.
“I would like to request for the charges to be dropped,” Poch said. “I want people to understand that I do not want more [land], I used to work in the fields, but I don’t know where the protected areas are,” he said.
CamboJA News viewed a warrant issued on July 19, stating that Aing Virak was charged with “encroaching on forest land, clearing and burning forest land for ownership” at Virak Chey Protected Area at Ta Bok, Ta Veng Leu commune, Ta Veng district. He was questioned on August 6, 2024, and allowed to return home.
“[I] am facing difficulties,” Virak told CamboJA News when asked if he was worried about the court case.
The 23-year-old said he cultivated the land between 2017 and 2018, which was their ancestral land reserved for plantations.
He said the court first summoned him for questioning on June 26, 2024, and another summons for questioning was issued on August 6, 2024. He has not received any information if he has been charged or not.
Virak’s wife Thuon Ben said she has been “very worried” since the allegations as they do not have land to farm this year which has caused her family to not have enough food.
“This year, they banned us from farming, we were just working on old plantation areas. I suggest dropping the accusations against them. We have spent a lot of money on fuel [to travel to court],” she told CamboJA News.
“We are always asked to go to court when we are working in the fields. Some of them have large land, but [the court] never called [them]. I only have one hectare, but I am always called [to court],” Ben said.
Before the case took place, the disputed one hectare land had already been handed over to the Department of Environment, yet her husband continued to be summoned by the court for investigation.
When contacted, deputy prosecutor Keo Pheakdey said he could not provide further details.
Meanwhile, Keo Pisoth, spokesperson of Ratanakiri provincial court, confirmed that Aing Virak was summoned on July 6, 2024 for “encroaching on forest land, clearing and burning forest land for ownership”. He could not share additional information as Virak was still being questioned.
Morn Piseth, head of Virachey Park Office in Taveng Leu district, agreed that there was no clear demarcation in the protected area.
“People already knew that it was an area that would become a protected area,” he said.
Deputy director of Ratanakiri provincial Department of Environment, Thong Sokhon, replied that the case has already been sent to court, so he could not provide further information.
He said, however, what was important was that the Department of Environment was looking for a solution for the people who are “facing the law”.
“My work is [complete] as I have already submitted to the court, and a prosecutor is working on it,” he said.
Rights-based Din Khorny, coordinator for the Adhoc in Ratanakiri province, said the department and stakeholders should cooperate with the villages, communes, and districts to solve the issue for the people rather than file a complaint and ban the people from cultivating the land.
He said the lives of indigenous people should be evaluated to see if they have adequate resources to survive.
“Because indigenous people, newly married people, have the right to ask their village chief who asks their commune chief to farm to earn a living,” he said.
“Indigenous peoples generally depend on farming to sustain. They do not know what business is or how to do business. [T]hey depend on farming,” he added.
Cambodia Indigenous Peoples’ Alliance coordinator Sompoy Chansophea believed that the government should not carry out such work under the land law while the indigenous people are waiting for their land to be recognized or registered. This is land which is designated for their traditional cultivation.
Instead, the Ministry of Environment integrated the land into protected areas without consulting the communities.
“Some communities do not know because there are no clear boundaries separating community plantations. This is a big problem for our indigenous communities in Cambodia, which is now seen as a human rights abuse against them,” he said.
