Minister of Environment Eang Sophalleth has unveiled his transformative vision for Cambodia’s rural communities, emphasising a shift from forest dependency to sustainable tourism, empowering locals as entrepreneurs while preserving the nation’s rich natural resources. Sophalleth is spearheading an innovative approach to uplift Cambodia’s rural communities. In a recent exclusive interview with Khmer Times at his office, Sophalleth shared his strategy to transition these communities from relying on forest products to becoming self-sustaining through tourism.
“Protected area communities are the poorest people who live depending on the forest, unknown forest products. To help them to be well off, the Ministry of Environment is set to change their way of living,” Sophalleth said. His approach is centered on transforming communities into service providers for tourists.
This not only involves inviting private sector investments but also developing tourist destinations managed by the communities themselves. For example, the Ministry has developed a meditation centre intended for public use, allowing communities to keep the revenue generated to expand further. “The Ministry of Environment does not take the money from what we develop.
Instead, we give it to the communities to run it, to make money from it, and to expand it,” Sophalleth added. “Most importantly, we teach them to become business people, making money from services rather than from the forest and unknown fo.
