Areng’s Chongs Need Communal Land Title to Protect Their Identity

One of the Chong’s houses in Pralay that would be affected by Areng dam construction

    The Chongs are indigenous peoples who live in Pralay, Chomnorb and Thmor Donpov communes, Thmor Bang District, Koh Kong Province around the Cardamom mountains of southwest Cambodia. The 437 Chongs’ households with an estimated 1,500 residents are insisting communal land title after erupting the issue of the Stung Cheay Areng dam development project at the Areng river in Thmor Donpov Commune.

Besides the destruction of natural resources, environment, livelihoods, local residence, and culture caused by dam construction which would flood approximately 20,000 hectares of land in the area, Chong peoples are now worrying about land grabbing and resettlement because they don’t hold communal land title.

A Chong woman said, “These days, we are insisting communal land title to protect our area and trying to register Chong indigenous identity since now Chongs don’t own land registration in ministry and even in province.”

The residents and their ancestors have lived on the land since immemorial time. They have only letters issued by their local Commune Chief recognizing their possession of the land, but unfortunately none of them have land titles.

Another villager said, “I am Chong, and I have lived here since I was born. My ancestors are Chongs either. I own a house but I have only letter of land possession from Commune Chief, but I don’t have land title.” 

In 2006, China Southern Power Grid began conveying possibility studies in support of the construction of a 108-megawatt hydroelectric dam in the area, but in 2010 the company cancelled their investment plans since they realized that the project could not bring about benefits due to heavy social and environmental impacts. Later, the China Guodian Corporation then reportedly adopted the project and conducted further surveys in November 2012, but pulled out in December 2013 claiming the dam was not economically viable.

 However, in January 2014, Sinohydro United Ltd. took over the project, and the local people started to recognize the issue.

A Chong man in Pralay said, “ The first company came with machines to study the area, but backed out and then another company took over to measure land, including village land, paddy land, house land in all three communes. After a long pause, in early 2013 another company also came to measure house land, interviewed each family and demanded them to fingerprint on document to recognize their private land ownership and to oppose dam construction. In contrast, later on there was a hearsay that people in Areng supported dam construction and agreed to relocate. It was opposite from what we did. Hence, people no longer trust all those companies because they cheated us.”

Another Chong woman said, “They came to meet us and demanded us to fingerprint. They said that if we don’t follow them, we won’t have any evidence to prove that the land is ours. But after we did, they said we agreed to allow dam construction. It made me furious. I don’t believe they develop this area. I have paddy land everywhere. I live in a comfortable life with enough water, but if I am relocated, how can I find water?”           

“If we have communal land title, we can protect our land and keep on practicing our tradition without any threat.” She added.

 Legally, according to the 2001 Land Law, the Chong peoples have rights to collective ownership.  The Land Law similarly protects their rights to manage lands according to their traditional customs. The community’s collective ownership also includes all the rights and protections of ownership that are enjoyed by private individual owners.

 Furthermore, no authority or a person outside the community can acquire any rights to immovable properties belonging to an indigenous community, and nothing should be done without their consent. Thus, even before the consideration of the Areng dam, it must be clear that no other person has any right to that land and the land must be officially registered as a State private land.

A young man from Mother Nature which is a Cambodian movement of environmental activists, fighting for the protection of the Areng Valley and the Cardamom mountains said, “Chongs are the special indigenous people as they are original indigenous people, and when government wants to do something affecting them, the government must do it with their consent."