On a recent day in the Cardamom Mountains of southwest Cambodia, a local resident steered a boat along a calm waterway, pointing out plants grown by community members: durian, banana, jackfruit, avocado.
This area has seen increased patrolling by the Cambodian military, environmental officials and staff of the New York-based nonprofit Wildlife Alliance, according to the man, who asked to remain anonymous out of fear of retribution.
“All of this farmland belongs to people. Starting from the border of the forest, that’s where people have enjoyed farming every year for a long time,” he said. “We’ve done farming here for many years already before they came to do conservation.”
