This International Women’s Day, we celebrate the leadership of Kae Vert, a young Indigenous Bunong woman who has defied expectations to lead her community in protecting their ancestral lands. As the chief of the Sre Preah Community Protected Area in the Keo Seima Wildlife Sanctuary, Vert is working to preserve both the environment and the cultural traditions of her people.
“Through this ecotourism initiative, we are able to conserve the forest, protect our ancestral land, and preserve our tradition. And at the same time, wildlife’s habitat and their sources of food will be safeguarded.”
Impact Spotlight Overview Community Managed Eco-Tourism Situated between two significant ecoregions within the Indo-Burma Biodiversity Hotspot, the Keo Seima Wildlife Sanctuary (KSWS) REDD+ project is home to over 1,028 wild species, including 103 species of global conservation significance. It also serves as the ancestral home of the Indigenous Bunong people. Since its inception in 2010, […]
Empowering Bunong heritage, the Krama Weaving Group, part of the Keo Seima Wildlife Sanctuary REDD+ project, modernizes traditional weaving, enhancing efficiency and cultural preservation. With a focus on community collaboration, it introduces innovative techniques to scale production, currently engaging 34 women from Pu Rang and Pu Tang villages.
The Keo Seima Wildlife Sanctuary (KSWS) REDD+ Project partners with local communities through initiatives like Cash for Communities (C4C), providing direct financial support for projects like cow-raising, chicken rearing, and aquaculture. This approach fosters economic growth and natural resource conservation, contributing to deforestation mitigation.
Spotlight Summary Free, Prior and Informed Consent The Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) process has been pivotal to the Keo Seima Wildlife Sanctuary REDD+ (KSWS) Project, laying the groundwork for community consent, participation and ownership at the project’s onset. As the initiative evolved, FPIC’s principles—transparency, respect, and mutual understanding—became integral to the project’s operations, […]
Hear from community members about the positive impact REDD+ has had on their forests and livelihoods, and what life would have been like without it.
The Keo Seima REDD+ project’s theory of change is built on the understanding that to achieve the project’s goals, it must deliver positive benefits to local communities and Indigenous peoples. A vital component of this approach is the deep connection between the Indigenous Bunong people and the forest, which has thrived for generations under their stewardship. The Bunong people possess a unique and intimate bond with the forest, deeply rooted in their cultural and spiritual beliefs.
