During the first quarter of 2020, before the arrival of Covid-19, 16 local communities directly benefitted from the economic alternatives supported by the Southern Cardamom REDD+ Project.
The wave of deforestation that has rippled through Cambodia over the past 10 years has now spread north from the flatlands toward the more hilly, highly forested periphery. Now it has advanced right to the border of Keo Seima. With a nearby 150,000 hectare park completely deforested in recent years, the threat to the Keo Seima landscape is pressing. COVID-19 presents additional threats with the potential for a large influx of people returning to Cambodia.
Investing into the community’s youth, building capacity to address critical healthcare needs, and providing economic alternatives have been the main focus of the Mai Ndombe REDD+ project’s work in Q1 2020.
Diversification and expansion of green economic development continues to deliver durable conservation and community resilience in the Alto Mayo Protected Forest.
This past quarter has focused on the development and implementation of an upgraded Social Benefit Impact Assessment monitoring system and community- led consultations to identify priority needs and the application of a collaborative and transparent benefit sharing model to design a full suite of project activities to be undertaken with Gucci funds.
13 high-quality coffee containers produced by the cooperative and exported to specialty markets – North America, Europe, Asia and Australia.
Traditional practices to produce coffee is the main driver of deforestation, turning this to sustainable coffee required the linkage to specialty markets to halt deforestation.
Wildlife Alliance are the global leaders in Direct Protection of Forests and Wildlife in Tropical Asia, and Asia needs effective enforcement. Weak government, the pervasive impact of Chinese investment, and the rapid growth of the consumer class throughout Asia are massively increasing pressure on the region’s wild places. The biggest current driver of deforestation in the Cardamoms is investment driven land speculation.