Mondulkiri: In Cambodia's northeast province, indigenous communities are facing uncertainty over collective land ownership. As they struggle to secure long-awaited communal land titles (CLTs) inside protected forests, the government plans to build a military base which risks overlapping their ancestral reservation land.
The Antres Bunong indigenous community in Or Buonloeu commune, Koh Nhek district has sought legal recognition of roughly 2,000 hectares of CLT in 2021. The proposal by 25 families includes agricultural and rotational farmland, burial grounds, sacred forests, and forest reserve areas.
According to a document obtained by CamboJA News, the working group from the national and sub-national Land Management measured the land in 2021, and public data was displayed in April 2023, but there was no final approval.
The community's struggle reflects a wider challenge facing many of Cambodia's indigenous groups, despite years of effort to secure communal land titles to protect ancestral land. At the same time, the government plans to establish military bases -- possibly overlapping indigenous land claims, which have left the communities in limbo, with regard to tradition, customs and livelihood.
Without legal protection, there is a likelihood of indigenous groups being exposed to land grabs and illegal logging, resulting in the loss of ancestral land held through generations.
Antres indigenous community chief Nhas Pvoeung cultivates four hectares of rice paddies and rotational farmland. The absence of a CLT has left the land vulnerable to occupation by individuals, and no legal grounds to protect them against logging.
"Our biggest challenge is not having a communal land certificate yet, which is allowing outsiders to encroach our land," Pvoeung said.
A proposal for 1,900 hectares of reserved forest land for the community is located in the protected area of Srepok Wildlife Sanctuary -- the same area the government has reportedly planned a new military base. For generations, the community has relied on forest products and resources, including mushrooms, resin trees, bamboo shoots, cattle grazing, and other income from the forest.
The community only learned about the military base in July 2025, when one member attended a meeting with local authorities. Alarmed, the residents staged a protest and submitted a petition demanding the relocation of the project in August.
Around 80 villagers endorsed the letter with their thumbprint. Authorities verbally promised to move the base to the other side of the community's reserved land, north of National Road 76-within the protected area of Srepok Wildlife Sanctuary. However, no official document was issued, which raised more questions.
"We are not happy. They [government] said they would move to the other side. We hope the construction actually happens there. Sometimes they make verbal promises but follow the original plan. This is our concern," Pvoeung said.
"If they build a military base there, women and children will not dare enter the forest to collect forest products because some soldiers behave badly. We are not opposed [to the development], but we need it to be further away from our reserve land," he continued.
The Antres community minority has a population of 239 people, including 150 women and children. Unless they secure the CLT, they fear state projects and encroachment by individuals would destroy their ancestral rights, he said.
Commune and village officials confirmed that the planned military base would overlap the community land, but top leaders "decided to move it to the other side"; opposite the community forest land reservation.
"Originally, they planned to build a military base, but we convinced them to move it away from the community land to a place within environmental land in the north. This wouldn't affect the community land," said Han Sokhorn, chief of Or Buonloeu commune, and a committee member of the military base plan.
Sokhorn confirmed that the CLT application stalled because the community land lies within the protected zone, which is controlled by the Environment Ministry.
"It [CLT] might not be possible since the land overlaps the community's protected area," he explained.
According to him, after the Land Management Department measured the land, the provincial Environment Department "rejected" the application on the grounds that the land was located inside a protected area.
Cannot survive without land
Kong Sothea, village chief of Antres, said the plan to build the military base on 37 hectares was reviewed by the Mondulkiri provincial sub-military command in recent visits, but he does not know when construction will begin.
On August 12, the community asked district authorities to change the planned location of the military base, arguing that the forest land in question has already been measured for CLT registration. They expressed concerns that explosions during military exercises could frighten residents and harm cattle.
However, provincial deputy governor Cheak Mengheang drily said, "Community land belongs to the state. When the state needs it, the process will continue."
Another resident, Kong Kea, opposed the development of a military base as it would overlap the community's forest reserve land.
"Our community protested against the base and called for a change to the site of the planned military base because it is too close to the villagers. We'll be scared of taking our cattle to graze there because not all soldiers are well-behaved; some behave badly," she said.
"We want to protect community forest reservation land for our next generation of Bunong indigenous people," Kea said.
She said the village chief informed them on September 12 that authorities had agreed to move the military base after they submitted a petition. But, she was not sure if it will happen as there is still no official letter confirming the location of a new site.
Kea cultivates three hectares of rice paddy and one hectare of rotational farmland. In addition to rice, she also grows cassava, raises cattle, and collects forest products, a traditional income source of indigenous people.
"Land is very important for indigenous people. Without land, where do we live or how can we farm to support our livelihood?" Kea said. "We urge the government to issue our CLT quickly so that no one can grab our land," she said.
Resident Phjouk Kvoeut, 27, echoed Kea's opposition to the planned military base. "We don't want them to build a military base as it will affect our community land, and we will lose access to forest products," she said.
Kvoeut explained that indigenous people rely on the land to cultivate rice and cassava, and on reserved forest areas to collect products such as bamboo shoots and mushrooms, which support their livelihoods.
"Without land, we can't survive because it is our life," she said.
"They want to take this land to set up a military base, but we disagree because our community needs the land to sustain the next generation. We are also afraid that the base and its munitions could harm our cattle," Kvoeut said.
She added that the sacred forest represents the cultural identity of indigenous people, and if it is lost, their customs and traditions would also disappear.
Another resident, Srey Slea, 30, said the reserve forest land is not only used by the Antres community but also by other villagers who collect forest products.
"I don't want them to build a military base there because that area is used for cattle grazing and is also a sacred forest for indigenous people," she said.
"They only made a verbal announcement, but we believe the [original] plan exists because the authorities never officially informed residents about the military base," Slea added, urging the relevant authorities to relocate the project "far away" from the community's reserve land.
CLT includes conservation area
Mondulkiri Land Management director Lim Chansophy told CamboJA News that the Environment Ministry rejected the community's proposal for a CLT as it falls within a conservation zone where "communal ownership cannot be granted".
"The ministry does not allow legal titles to be issued inside conservation and core zones," he said, adding that although some titles might be permitted for sustainable use in protected areas, they will still be classified as state land.
"There will be restrictions on how the land can be used, and communal titles cannot be issued there. Even if a title is granted, it still remains state property," Chansophy explained.
After reviewing the documents to determine whether parts of the proposed land outside conservation zones could qualify for communal titles, he confirmed that the planned military base overlaps with the community's proposed land, but declined to provide details. "The military base involves matters that cannot be disclosed because it's confidential," he said.
Conversely, Mondulkiri Environment Department director Din Bunthoeun said the community's CLT proposal is "being processed" by the provincial land management authorities, so it is "not completed yet".
"The final decision rests with the Environment Ministry," he said, noting that the proposed land lies within the Srepok Wildlife Sanctuary. "We don't know yet because the request is still under review. If the land falls under the ministry's control, it will make the final decision," Bunthoeun said.
When a reporter asked whether the military base plan will be revised, Bunthoeun replied: "Yes, I know the request has been submitted, but no decision has been made on whether it has been approved," he said.
Provincial sub-military commander San Kim Oeun could not be reached for comment, while his deputy commander Thy Chhaivin, referred questions to senior leaders at the national level. "I cannot provide any information to you. Please contact the top leaders related to this [military base]."
In July 2023, the government announced plans to integrate adjacent biodiversity corridors in at least 15 protected areas. More than 750,000 hectares across 13 provinces have been converted to protected areas.
Satellite images and testimony from residents in reclassified areas told CamboJA News that "biodiversity corridors" already contain farmlands and communities, as well as existing economic and social land concessions.
The status of CLTs in Cambodia
As of August 2025, 43 indigenous communities or 8.8% out of 488 in Cambodia obtained CLTs, however, it reflects a gap in the government's goal of issuing 10 CLTs a year and the reality on the ground, said Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR) executive director Seng Sovathana.
The government targeted the issuance of 130 CLTs from 2011 to 2024, but the actual number falls way short of that. "This is a concern due to the small number of CLTs granted [in those years], and between August 2023 and August 2024, no CLTs were issued," Sovathana said.
He said Cambodia faces significant challenges in fully implementing the obligations - primarily due a lack of political will and overriding economic interest. Indigenous peoples in Cambodia continue to be evicted from land, not have legal recognition and protection over their lands, and are excluded from decisions regarding their ancestral territories.
"Only a small number of indigenous communities received CLT, leaving many vulnerable to evictions, and being excluded from decisions," he said. Protected area zoning and economic land concessions overlap indigenous territories without proper consultation, which trigger disputes and violation of rights.
Sovathana said CLTs formally recognize indigenous peoples' collective ownership and management of ancestral lands, reflecting their cultural, spiritual, and communal ties more accurately than individual land titles.
CLTs provide legal protection against land grabbing, illegal logging, and unwanted development, while safeguarding traditions, livelihoods, and social structures.
They also offer stable tenure systems aligned with indigenous aspirations, reduce financial risks, and prevent loss of land through individual sales. Despite challenges in the process, simplifying and expediting CLTs is essential for upholding indigenous rights and protecting their land.
Regarding the military base overlap of the tentative CLT area, Sovathana said it reflected the priorities of the government which "seemed to favor strategic or military interests" over indigenous land rights. The planned military base on the community's proposal for legal recognition signals that national security and military control take precedence over indigenous peoples' interests.
National Defense Ministry Secretary of State Chhum Socheat and spokesperson Maly Socheata did not respond for comment.
Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction spokesperson Seng Louth and Environment Ministry spokesperson Kvay Atithya could not be reached for comment.