Supporting Conservation And Livelihood Empowerment in Cambodia’s Mekong Flooded Forest, SCALE-UP 2

By 2026, men and women in MFF landscape are empowered to actively take part in a legal access, protection, and management/governance of their territory and resources, and improve their wellbeing through land security and sustainable livelihood actions. The proposed Specific Objective (SO) aims to empower men and women to successfully voice and defend their rights to sustainably manage territories and the natural resources upon which they rely for their livelihoods and well-being. We focus on indigenous peoples and local communities (IPLC) in the Mekong Flooded Forest Landscape (MFF). We will promote sustainable and resilient livelihoods to secure their ecosystems and associated services for future generations. Through multiple strategies, aiming at inclusion, equity, multistakeholder engagement, and participatory processes, we aim for IPLC partners to: i. increase awareness on importance of natural ecosystems, ii. be empowered to voice and defend their rights to access and manage territories, and iii. strengthen governance, in which women and men participate equally in decision-making. A focus on sustainable livelihoods is geared to stem the negative impacts of the recent pandemic. Addressing food security and seeking diversified, sustainable income sources to increase economic security. The proposed programme is capitalising on lessons learned from the first phase, to leverage impact at scale in terms of numbers of community-based organisations (CBOs; CBOs are synonymous with IPLC) and geography.