METHODOLOGY
Three consultants and two field researchers from
Cambodia were hired to implement the project. One
consultant was based in Ratanakiri Province in
northeastern Cambodia; the second was based in Phnom
Penh at the office of the Inter-Ministerial Committee for
Highland Peoples Development in the Ministry of Rural
Development; and the third provided support for drafting
the country report and organizing the national workshop.
The project consisted of two phases. Phase I, of 2
months, comprised consultation with local authorities,
indigenous communities, and international organizations
(IOs)/NGOs that work closely with indigenous
communities, and primary research in 13 villages in 4
northeastern provinces—Mondulkiri, Ratanakiri, Stung
Treng, and Kratie—where indigenous peoples are
concentrated (Table 1).
Target villages in Ratanakiri Province were chosen
in consultation with NGOs based there. They proposed 4
communes in which villagers stated that the problems of
land and forest were very serious. In Soeung commune (2
villages) and Kak commune (5 villages), villagers are
vulnerable to land encroachment and land grabbing. In
Ekapheap commune (1 village) and Se San commune (1
village), the consultation focused on health, education, and
social effects of the Yali Falls dam. In Kamphun commune
(1 village), Stung Treng Province, which was proposed for
inclusion by the director of the provincial rural department,
the problems were based on a general assessment of
livelihoods. The consultant based in Phnom Penh
investigated 3 villages: 1 in the Romanea commune, Sen
Monorom district, Mondulkiri Province; and 2 in Kan Tout
commune, Kratie district, Kratie Province