The local context
«Phnom Kulen» means «Litchi Mountain» in Khmer, and this plateau is the only natural stand of Litchi trees (Litchi chinensis) known in Cambodia. During the lychee fruit harvest (February-March), many people from outside the local villages and therefore from the CPAs come to collect the fruit, which sells very well outside the national park. On this occasion, some people break off major branches or even cut down entire trees to collect more fruit, which is a real problem for the forest and a loss of income for the local people. But this is not the only problem, and community patrols are emerging as a potential solution for monitoring the area around 1200 ha of the two CPAs in the villages of Popel and Anlong Thom.
Project objectives
Training CPA members in patrol and surveillance techniques.
Organise mixed patrols: CPA members and rangers from the Ministry of the Environment.
Reduce illegal activities in CPAs: logging, poaching, land clearing, illegal collections, etc.
Issues
Maintaining a presence in the area, raising awareness and protecting the forest. The CPA forests represent a source of income for the villages through the collection of Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs). These are fruits, leaves, resins and other products. As well as conserving biodiversity, these forest blocks help to maintain a form of local microclimate and protect water sources and river banks. As a result, they are helping to combat climate change and, more specifically, the droughts that are becoming longer and more severe in the Siem Reap region.
Already completed
Training of CPA members in patrol techniques with BeTreed (an NGO specialising in patrols in Cambodia).
351 joint patrols (CPA + national park rangers) carried out between 2022 and 2025.
