KOH KONG, Cambodia — “[Officially], the Southern Cardamom REDD+ project was suspended for more than a year and then restarted/reinstated recently. But what I actually see here on the ground is that, throughout that period, Wildlife Alliance have continued to restrict us and violate our rights,” said Pon Chhang, a young representative for the Indigenous Chorng community in Koh Kong province’s Thma Bang district. Sitting in the shade on the banks of a small stream in Chumnoab commune, Chhang, along with several other ethnic Chorng community members, alleged continued abuse at the hands of the Southern Cardamom REDD+ project’s proponents: Cambodia’s Ministry of Environment and New York-headquartered NGO Wildlife Alliance. Due to wide-ranging allegations of abuse, carbon credit certifying agency Verra on June 19, 2023, suspended the sale of carbon credits from the 465,000-hectare (1.15-million-acre) Southern Cardamom REDD+ project. Human Rights Watch published a 118-page report detailing allegations of physical abuse, threats, violence and a failure to meet best practice standards by Wildlife Alliance and the Ministry of Environment in February 2024. After 14 months of investigation, Verra reinstated the project on Sept. 10, 2024, and allowed it to once more sell carbon credits on the provision that Wildlife Alliance address the alleged abuses. However, Verra’s review process has come under increased scrutiny. When Mongabay visited in late October 2024, communities who said they lost land to the REDD+ project maintained that their movements and liberties remain heavily restricted by Wildlife Alliance. The conservation NGO has denied depriving people of access…This article was originally published on Mongabay
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