This week, Ratanakiri provincial court heard testimony from a local village chief and one defendant in a case involving indigenous people accused of encroaching on land within the protected Virak Chey National Park.
Since June, 15 defendants have been under court supervision after being accused of occupying state land to cultivate in Taveng district’s Taveng Loeu commune.
Ta Bok village chief, Kra Chhoen Cham, stated that the investigating judge questioned him as a witness in the case against Dor Romdoul, a resident in Ta Bok village, who was placed under court supervision after being indicted for encroaching on, clearing, and burning a protected forest. The indictments, filed by the Ratanakiri provincial court, followed a formal complaint from the plaintiff, the Ratanakiri Department of Environment.
Chhoen Cham was allowed to return home after a half-hour of questioning.
The village chief said that the court questioned whether Dor Romdoul encroached on protected land and whether he is a resident of Ta Bok village.
“I answered that I don’t know if he ventured onto state land because I didn’t join the patrol with them,” Chhoen Cham said, referring to the land surveys the villagers often conduct.
“I’ve also answered that Romdoul is a resident who has been cultivating on that land for years,” he said.
After his testimony, Chhoen Cham urged the court to drop all charges against indigenous Prao people who traditionally rely on land cultivation for their sustenance and livelihood — even if some areas in the commune are designated as protected.
“For me, it is unfair because we are local residents who have protected [natural resources] and have cultivated those lands as our traditional way of indigenous people,” he said. “Secondly, there is no clear declaration of the boundaries of protected areas for people to be aware of.”
The village leader said he wants environmental officials to set clear boundaries for protected areas. If such boundaries are fully understood and agreed upon, indigenous communities will respect the land claims, he asserted.
Ping Poch, a Ta Bok villager currently under court supervision, testified on September 18 that his family has cultivated the contested land for generations and that it is not designated as a protected area.
After his testimony, Poch told CamboJA News that the investigating judge indicated he would instruct the Taveng Loeu commune chief to re-evaluate the boundary lines of the contested areas.
According to Chhoen Cham, about 120 families in Ta Bok village and Taveng Loeu commune are considered at risk of encroaching on state-protected lands. This data, cited during his August conversation with CamboJA News, was collected by local authorities and submitted to the Department of Environment.
In 2023, the government expanded at least 15 protected areas to integrate adjacent biodiversity corridors, reclassifying them as protected areas. This expansion included concessions for Virak Chey National Park, which increased from 332,500 to 405,766 hectares.
According to Chhoen Cham, approximately 4,000 hectares of the Ta Bok village are now believed to be a part of Virak Chey National park.
Cambodia Indigenous Peoples’ Alliance coordinator, Sompoy Chansophea, expressed concern that the government’s reclassifications could hamper the traditional farming practices of the indigenous people of the area.
“When they [the authorities] have announced boundaries [for protected areas] without consulting [the villagers], communities do not know the boundaries,” he said. “So when communities carry out their traditional rotational farming, they are restricted and face being arrested.”
“Secondly, the government has not yet provided collective land titles — which is a major concern,” Chansophea said, noting that the government’s minimal effort to recognize indigenous land claims has sidelined their rights in favor of environmental protection and state land interests.
On International Day of World’s Indigenous Peoples in August, NGO rights group, Cambodia Center for Human Rights (CCHR), criticized the government for being “far below” its objective to issue 10 collective land titles to indigenous communities each year.
According to CCHR, only 43 out of 458 indigenous communities received collective land titles from 2011 to July 2024.
Provincial coordinator at rights group organization ADHOC, Din Khorny, called on the court to drop the charges against the Ta Bok villagers and other generational communities in land disputes, noting that indigenous people generally depend on non-timber products and rotational farming which do not pose threats to the protected lands.
“It is important to clearly demarcate between community land and environmental land,” he said, adding that there should be extensive community involvement to ensure a clear understanding of the land as a protected area.
Khorny said that it is beneficial for sub-national levels, such as environmental officials, forestry administrations, and local authorities, to provide an opportunity for peaceful resolution.
Thong Sokhon, the deputy director of the Ratanakiri Department of Environment, declined to comment.
The remaining Ta Bok residents who are currently charged and under court supervision are expected to testify at the Ratanakiri provincial court in the coming weeks.
