Contemporary Indigenous Resources Management and Behavior Change : A Case Study of Yak Poey Community Forest in Ratanakiri, Cambodia

Abstract

Ratanakiri is a province in the northeast of Cambodia. It has a total land area of 12,500 square kilometers, in which forestland is estimated to be 70-80%, making it an area of great economic potential on account of its natural resources. This region, where the majority of populations are indigenous, traditional swidden agriculture and Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) collection is practiced widely. However, without survey data associated with environmental and social monitoring, much of the level practice may be unsustainable either from the view of a traditional conservation based perspective or modern technique of sustainable practice, since much of the social, economic and political climate is changing. As a result, updating and understanding the contemporary traditional resource management and the trends in both human behavior and practice is crucial, because that understanding is among the important aspects that might be central to the success of traditional community forest management. This study revealed that indigenous populations are practicing resource management instinctively. Moreover, the research showed that recent changes in the social, physical and economic environment affected indigenous people's ability and their behavior from the way they perceive their current livelihood situation to the way they use their natural surroundings. From the fieldwork data, we finally identified strengths, weaknesses, threats and opportunities in the current local knowledge and behavioral change in Yak Poey.