The Initial Cluster Convention was held on September 13, 2022, at the FHI 360 Office in Phnom Penh, with 29 participants (10 females), including 06 indigenous peoples. The convention brought together media organizations, civil society organizations (CSOs), and community-based organizations (CBOs) working on indigenous peoples, natural resources, forestry, land, and the environment.
Open Development Cambodia (ODC) organized the convention, which was funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) through Family Health International (FHI 360) as part of the Civil Society Support (CSS) Project: Cluster Anchor Grants. ODC is the anchor and collaborates with three cluster members: CamboJA, the Conserve Indigenous Peoples Language Organization (CIPL), and Young Eco Ambassadors (YEA). The project aims to make natural resource management (NRM) more sustainable, inclusive, and participatory by incorporating Indigenous Peoples’ needs and concerns. The projects contain 26 major activities. One of the important parts is the convention, which clusters members and the host of their network to share lessons learned, information, and prioritized issues on natural resource management, environment, forestry, land, indigenous peoples, Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA), and Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA).
The cluster members will be integrated through physical meetings as a project initiative. ODC hosted the initial cluster convention, which brought together all cluster members and networks to build networks, learn from one another, map the effective strategy, and pave the way for future NRM advocacy activity in Cambodia. As a result, the initial cluster convention has four core objectives, including:
- Explaining the nature of cluster formation and the roles of each cluster
- Create a friendly learning and sharing environment for cluster members and their networks
- Keep current priority environmental issues, as well as environmental laws and regulations, up to date
- Encourage cluster members and stakeholders to work together.
Natural resource management issues are arising in the country, particularly land grab and encroachment, economic land concession, communal land titling, forestry, and environment and social fund, among others. On the other hand, the prioritized issue could be related to forestry. Many CSOs fail to focus on the Investment Law, which is at the heart of the development project, causing many problems for local communities. The law should be thoroughly reviewed, particularly regarding indigenous peoples and natural resource management. If the law is not carefully studied, residents may face difficulties if there are any development projects or investments in their areas. The communities lack precise information on the development project and strategy that address the issues. Natural resources are indigenous peoples’ last hope; therefore, they must be protected. As a result, indigenous peoples should broaden their alliances in each campaign and workshop.
Other Stories
Cybersecurity Training
On 04th July 2023, Open Development Cambodia (ODC) conducted training on cybersecurity for the CSS-cluster members and their networks. The training course aims to raise awareness of the cluster member on cyber security as well as digital security including password management, safe internet browsing, email security, and mobile security. We also provided participants with the essential skill to cope with issues related to cyberattacks and safeguard personal data and accounts. There are 32 participants (12 females) joining the training from ADHOC, NEP, YEA, Epic Arts, CHRAC, SVC, Bophana Center, CENTRAL, LoveIsDiversity, and other networks. To assess capacity, all trainees are required to complete the pre-test. Mr. NGET Moses, Digital Security Consultant, asked each trainee to introduce themselves, their position, organization, and their expectations of the training at the start of the training in order to understand their background and needs. He started the lesson on “password management” by providing an overview of passwords, creating strong passwords, and password managers. The questions were discussed around the topic with actual examples. He continued to the next lesson “safe internet browsing” which highlighted the threats and how to do safe browsing and virtual private network. Email security and mobile security are also very important for trainees. In this session, the trainer demonstrated how to secure mobile devices and emails. The session concludes with a summary of the lessons and a post-test to assess the trainees’ understanding. The evaluation was also requested in order to improve training. One of our trainees, SENG Sokcheat, a member of LoveIsDiversity express, “I think this training is very important as it helps us protect our privacy from online scammers. Also, everyone who is using social media, internet, or other online services should join this training.” The training was conducted under the Learning Platform (LP) project which was funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) through Family Health International (FHI 360) as part of the Civil Society Support (CSS) Project.
The 42nd Annual Conference of the International Association for Impact Assessment
From 08 – 11 May 2023, Open Development Cambodia (ODC) attended the 42nd Annual Conference of the International Association for Impact Assessment under the theme of “Resilience through impact assessment and leadership” at Kuching, Malaysia. As part of the partnership on technical assistance for developing SEA guidelines in Cambodia, ODC also supported two government officials from the Department of Environmental Impact Assessment, Ministry of Environment, in attending the conference. The conference aimed to establish a path to resilience through impact assessment and leadership by organizing presentations on contextual applications and conceptual advances of impact assessment. There are 70 sessions focusing on two main streams: thematic sessions on “resilience through impact assessment and leadership” and general impact assessment sessions. On 08 May 2023, the program officially started with an opening plenary, seven concurrent sessions, a poster session, and a welcome reception. Similarly, there were nineteen concurrent sessions, six sessions on the theme forum, and other networking/meeting activities on the conference’s second day. The next day, three sessions focused on the theme forums, and nineteen sessions were concurrent. ODC also hosted a panel discussion on “Strategic environmental assessments (SEA) in Mekong country” to explore the considerations in policy, program, and plan on SEA in Mekong country. Twenty-one experts (08 females), including representatives from the EIA department of the Ministry of Environment in Cambodia and SEA and environmental law experts, joined the discussion to share their experiences and insights on SEA progress, development, and best practices in the region. The last day of the conference mainly consisted of three sessions for the theme forum, thirteen concurrent sessions, committee meetings, a closing plenary, and exhibit and poster dismantle. During the conference, the ODC team and the two government officials from the EIA Department participated in more than thirty sessions to learn, discuss, and share experiences on impact assessment and leadership across the region. This participation also allowed us to meet more than 600 global experts to explore their perceptions of nations’ interests, sustainable development, indigenous rights, and preservation of biodiversity. It can benefit the consideration to apply in Cambodia to establish a path to resilience through impact assessment and leadership. Below are some speeches by ODC team after attending IAIA23: Mr. Thy Try, Executive Director/Editor-in-Chief of ODC: Attending IAIA23 in Kuching was an incredible experience, reconnecting with experts in impact assessment and leadership. It was my second time attending an IAIA conference in person, with my first experience being in Florence back in 2015. The event in Kuching once again showcased the resilience needed in our SEA and EIA field, and I am truly looking forward to the next IAIA conference in Dublin in 2024, where new insights and opportunities await. Ms. Kuoch Layheng, Economics Editor – Researcher of ODC: IAIA23 was an amazing first-time experience for me. Meeting, discussing, learning, and sharing experiences with many experts across the globe was an excellent opportunity for the team and me since we could consider using it to apply in Cambodia’s context. Mrs. Koem Chhuonvuoch, Natural Resource and Land Editor – Researcher / Project Coordinator of ODC: IAIA23 on resilience through impact assessment and leadership provided me with a wide range of knowledge and experiences with experts in various fields. We got to see what’s going on and how they handle impact assessment around the world.
Sixth Science Talk on the drought situation in Cambodia
CamboJA, in collaboration with the Open Development Cambodia Organization (ODC), organized the 6th Science Talk on the Drought Situation in Cambodia on 30 January 2024. The event was attended by 35 participants (19 women), including representatives of civil society organizations, university students, and journalists. Thank Mr. Hour Ix, Reginal Drought Management Expert of the Mekong River Commission (MRC), for sharing his experience, knowledge, and expertise on this topic. This activity is funded by USAID through FHI360, under the Civil Society Support (CSS) project, and co-implemented by CamboJA and the Open Development Cambodia Organization (ODC).