The Resilience of the Natural Resource Dependency of Indigenous People in a Wilderness Area: The Case of Virachey National Park, Cambodia

Abstract

Virachey National Park has tremendous natural resources and is also home to populations of Indigenous and hill tribe people, with 85% of the park’s population being Indigenous (Kavet and Brau). This chapter had two objectives: (1) examines whether the existing resource management practices of indigenous people represent resilience and (2) seeks to identify the most effective types of resource management approaches that should be promoted to ensure the resilience of Indigenous peoples’ livelihoods. This study conducted surveys in six villages that began in 2015 using a structured questionnaire with 161 households to assess the natural resource dependency of Indigenous people. Additional surveys were conducted in 2019 and 2020 to collect further information through key informants, focus group discussions, a literature review and on-site observations to facilitate a deeper understanding of the current status of biodiversity and ecosystem services in Virachey National Park and identify the existing driving forces and pressures. In the study areas, 75% of the respondent households did fishing activities and 84% engaged in Non-Timber Forest Product (NTFP) collection, 48% in wildlife hunting and 15% in ecotourism, with average economic values of 1,095,834 (269.4 USD), 346,237 (85.1 USD), 371,057 (91.2 USD) and 568,125 riels (139.7 USD) per household per year, respectively. The social and economic benefits of ecosystem services in Virachey National Park are critically threatened by many driving forces, such as high timber demand, economic land concessions, climate change effects, decreased economic activities and pressures that include illegal logging, poaching, unsustainable NTFP extraction and farmland expansion. To counter these threats and increasing pressures, the Cambodian government, community protected areas and non-government organizations (NGOs) have organized strong efforts in response; yet it is not enough to address all the challenges noted. This research offers useful details and recommendations for researchers, policymakers, professionals and NGOs seeking insights into the state of Virachey National Park, its people, economic drivers and environmental threats.