Community representative presentation - Investment Mediation Panel for the Second Regional Land Forum, 2018

1. Presentation
by
Ms. Khloek Keosingieb
Pucha Community Representative,
Party to Land Conflict
30 May 2018

2. Backgrounds
• Bunong is a name of indigenous community
located in Mondulkiri province, part of
Cambodia.
• Bunongs are subsistence farmers living in small
village communities in the forests of Mondulkiri.
• Traditionally, everything the Bunong need to
survive comes from the forest and their modest
farms located in small areas within the forest.

3. Indigenous Bunong community

4. Backgrounds
• The Bunong belief system is in itself a locally
adapted code of behavior, an efficient form of
responsible resource management refined by
hundreds of years of first hand experience
• It is a system based on respect, the Bunong
realize that a healthy forest is essential to
their cultural survival. It is part of their
identity and part of Cambodia’s spiritual and
natural heritage.

5. Bunong

6. Community
• Most Bunong families practice shifting cultivation
as their main form of agriculture.
• Forest is cleared and burned to establish
agricultural land which is cultivated with hill rice,
intercropped with a wide variety of vegetables.
• In the past, new forest was cleared and
previously farmed fields were left fallow until the
forest cover re-grew, the soil regained its fertility
and the plots could be used again.

7. Bunong clearing land by burning

8. Bunong growing rice

9. Growing rice

11. Community
• The Bunong believes that nature is populated by
spirits, both good and bad, and that these must
be obeyed and appeased. No spirits are more
powerful than those of the Spirit Forests.
• Spirit Forests are usually stretches of very dense
ever- green forest. A waterfall, a small hillock or a
giant tree often signifies the location of such an
area.
• Bunong community has different types of land
such sacred land, spiritual land, burial land,
farming land and reserved land.

12. Bunong belief: spirits of forest, water fall, and
mountains

13. Bunong’s Ritual Ceremony

14. Ritual ceremony

15. What Happened?
• Socfin, rubber plantation company, received land
concession from the Cambodian Government for 50
years since 2008.
• The land concession granted by Gov. has affected land
of Community in Busra.
• The conflict between SOFIN and community occurred
for many years.
• SOFIC alleged that it received lawfully land concession
from the Gov. On the hand, the community alleged
that all the land belong to them and they have
preserved, processed and cultivated for many years

16. What happened?
• Each party tried to solve conflict by
themselves. Only some of issues were
reached but still remains problems until now.
• Until 2016, Sofin and community had agreed
to solve this conflict through independent
mediation process.
• Both parties have requested Independent
mediation organization (IMG) to be a
mediator.

17. Expected outcomes
• At most, Communal land conflict will be
solved and returned to community .
• Mediation between Socfin and Community
will reach a good results with peaceful
friendly way .

18. Acknowledgment
• We are happy to have IMG to be a mediator of
our land conflict.
• We also are happy to have community
advisors from Legal Aid of Cambodia to
provide advices, training, coaching and legal
assistance to the community at pre-mediation
process, during mediation process and post
mediation process.

19. Thank you for your attention!!!