Indigenous land rights and forest protection: “It's our forest, too”

The Prey Lang Community Network (PLCN) is a network of mainly Indigenous communities living in and around the Prey Lang forest, which spans 500,000 hectares across four provinces in Cambodia. Since 2000, PLCN has advocated against illegal logging and large-scale, government-sanctioned land-grabbing on their ancestral lands. With an emphasis on peaceful, non-violent action, PLCN has engaged civil society, Indigenous associations, commune and district authorities, NGOs and research institutions in a joint movement for environmental justice and sustainable development. The core of PLCN\'s work is to patrol the forest, document forest crimes and advocate for long-term protection of the Prey Lang forest landscape.

Until recently, documenting illegal deforestation was difficult and expensive due to the vast area and little infrastructure. Then, in 2014, PLCN formed a partnership with the Community Peacebuilding Network, the Peace Bridges Organisation, the University of Copenhagen, Danish development organization Danmission, and Web Essentials (an IT company). The partners developed the “Prey Lang Data Collection app”, making it easy for local patrols to geo-reference, document, and upload information about natural resources and