My role is to help amplify the voices of local and Indigenous people. For the world to hear their truth.
My name is Chanrachna Teck, from Cambodia. I am an outdoor person who likes to observe nature and wildlife in remote forests. I spend my spare time hiking and trekking in new challenging environments. I have just been selected to join the Keo Seima Wildlife Sanctuary (KSWS) REDD+ Project team this past July. My role at the project as a Communication Officer is to produce media materials, implement the social media strategy and to plan for our public engagement, raising awareness about the challenges that communities are facing.
I am really interested in the community’s traditions and their livelihoods. I like to talk to villagers about their wellbeing and the problems that they are facing. In my opinion, local and indigenous people are the most important factor that contributes to preserving the ecosystem in this area. To know if that ecosystem is healthy or not, we have to look to the people who live here. They hold invaluable knowledge about the nature surrounding them and its ecology, and how to preserve it for generations to come.
I chose to work on this project because I think it is significant for the world to know about the important ecology system and biodiversity in this area, and how vital its protection is to our wellbeing around the world. We are only able to breathe healthy air if our planet is healthy. In order to have a healthy planet, we need to make sure the people who are living close to nature and biodiversity are able to live sustainably and protect what is theirs.
Local and indigenous people are living far from the technological world which makes it hard to access the latest information about what is going on outside of their communities, and vice versa – for the rest of the world to hear their truth. Therefore, I think my role is significant to help raise their voices and to amplify the work they are doing to protect their culture, traditions and the ownership of the land their ancestors have preserved for them. They are warriors fighting against negative activities within their surrounding environment and I am honoured to share their stories.
