News on Youth Volunteer Network for Positive Change in Community
1
Promoting the Role of Youth in Development andCommunity’s Resources Conservation
Cambodian Volunteers for Society (CVS) together with Youth ResourcesDevelopment Program (YRDP), American Friends Service Committee (ISLP/AFSC),Fishery Action Coalition Team (FACT), and Fisheries Administration of Prash Sihanoukprovince, NGO Forum on Cambodia (NGOF) and Banteay Brey communityorganized a training program and a educational field trip on the
“Role of Youth inDevelopment and Community’s Resources Conservation
”.
Starting on
June 12-16,2010, the trip took active youth from different provinces, universities and thecommunity in CVS’s Phnom Penh office, to Banteay Brey fishery community in theAndoung Tmor Commune, Prey Nup District, as well as Prash Sihanouk province. Theprogram was made possible with cooperation from working together, theseorganizations provided opportunities for youths to learn and gain real experience insocial work within a local community that would strengthen their social knowledgeskills, critical thinking ability, and provide chances for the youth to analyze their ownpersonalities in efforts to become better leaders for their communities.Notable personnel attending the Mangrove transplanting event on themorning of June 15 were Mr. Doung Sam Ath, Chief of Administrative Fishery Officialof Sihanouk province, Mr. Pen Somony, Executive Director of CVS, Deputy Prey NupDistrict Governor, Commune Chief, Representatives of Civil Society in Sihanoukprovince, monks, key members of the Prey Nup district, and youth volunteers from allaround Cambodia, bringing the total number of participants to around 135 persons.As Spoken by:
Mr. Doung Sam Ath
, Chief Official of the Fishery Administrationof Sihanouk province:“The youth participants in this event were actively aware of theirresponsibilities to strengthen and empower the local and costal communities, and forbetter management in the fishing industries to provide more sustainability for thefuture generations that depend on these resources. Mangrove transplanting, today, isone of the main mechanisms that the youth volunteer networks utilize in order tocontribute their personal resources and energy for improving the livelihood of thecommunity, environmental protection, and understanding the community’s naturalresources management. More importantly, mangroves are very important foraddressing tourism as well as environmental protection of marine resources that thepeople and animals need for support daily life. Hereby, the community youth and
Mangrove transplanting celebration, awareness and handing mangroves to youth volunteers
News on Youth Volunteer Network for Positive Change in Community
2
other local stakeholders are educated and instructed in ways of managing communityresources along with resource sustainability.”Moreover,
Mr. Vann No
, Chief of Andoung Tmor Commune, mentions thatyouth capacity building via educational field trips focuses on the understanding aboutthe benefits of planting mangroves, working skills, and experience exchange gainedthrough voluntary action while contributing to the improvement of the localcommunity’s livelihood. Improvement and awareness about the preservation of natural resources and mangrove transplanting has been raised by the Fishery FloodedForest Protection Community. They claim that extensive damage has been done to theflooded (mangrove) forest in the area and that there is now a need to involve crisismanagement plans in dealing with the mangrove supply. This is result of illegal fishingin the area, as well as extensive actions in the past by people and companies cuttingthe mangroves in order to produce charcoal and firewood. The ForestryAdministration and communities are currently trying to deal with this big problem, asa reduced number of mangroves also mean reduced amounts of fish in the water.Transplanting and awareness of these resource issues are keys in the mangrove’sconservation. CVS and the other acting NGO’s in this event aim to help to reduce theeffects of this problem by utilizing and educating the youth in efforts to establish agroup of people interested in preserving the mangroves, as well as seeing theproblems of the communities eased.In addition,
Mr. Pen Somony
, Executive Director of CVS, confirmed that theactivities are very important for the youth in how it helps them learn about the localcommunity’s methods for resource protection and use. Within many of thesecommunities, the mangroves are an important and invaluable resource for them,especially for their future wellbeing. The participating youths are showing theircommitment and contribution and time via their volunteer work with mangrovetransplanting. Also, these actions show the youth’s understanding and desire toparticipate in resource conservation on behalf of the community. This shows theirability to accept high amounts of responsibility which have reflecting about in actionssuch as environmental protection, community development, and concern for marinehabitat natural resources. Moreover, this activity will be a new model for localcommunity youth activist in the area to follow. Hopefully, the youth can take up themessage that we are trying to demonstrate here in that
“
volunteers for mangroves, asmangroves are for all of us”
.
Youth volunteers transplanting mangroves in community’s protected area
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