BACKGROUND
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The awareness of the significance and the love of mangrove ecosystem are still limited among Cambodian youth, in particular the local youth along the coastal areas of Cambodia-Koh Kong, Kep, Kampot, and Preah Sihanouk Province, while their home community are under the threat.

According UNDP program analyst (2009), shall there be one-meter rise of sea level due to climate change, 56% of the City of Koh Kong, or 0.4% of the Province will be submerged, and mangrove system could be a resolution to mitigate this rigorous effect. Therefore, instilling the love and care of mangrove ecosystem and develop the sense of place for local youth are tremendously vital to protect and conserve the coastal areas of the country.

 

ACTIVITIES & OBJECTIVE

 

 

Stage 1: Mangrove Educational Campaign & Youth Council Formation

​Objective: To empower participants the knowledge of environment and the importance of mangrove trees in their communities, and help them to reach out to the grassroots level by forming them into a Youth Council.

 

● Information Sessions

● Youth Council Recruitment


Stage 2: Capacity Building and Eco­community Study Visit
Objective: To transform youths to be leaders in initiating and leading action to protect environment and mangrove trees in their communities through:

● Capacity building  
● Designed Thinking 
● Eco-Community Study Visit

 

Stage 3: Setup of Mangrove Conservation Center
Objective: the center will be a information tank aim to inspire tourists and local people to love mangrove forests. Local people will benefit from this center as they involve in serving services provided by it.

● 15 selected members of Mangrove Conservation Youth Council will take main responsibility in setting up the cent

 

Stage 4: Inauguration of Mangrove Conservation Center and Celebration of “Mangrove Family Day”
​Objective: to gather all participating youth and State alumni to build a vast network of young leaders (Building a network of leaders of tomorrow).​

 

● Inauguration Ceremony of the Mangrove Conservation will be promoted to local tourist and all FUSAAC Alumni are invited to participate in the event.
● Mangrove planting by all participants in the event.


WHY INNOVATIVE?
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This project can be an example of a community ​outreach program in Cambodia since no conservation or management activities were undertaken in the country during Khmer Rouge Regime (1975­​1979).

 

 

Although conservation has become important since then, there are still no proposals for the full protection or active management for mangrove areas, in particular the involvement of youth. Few organizations or associations besides the Ministry of Environment initiates any project related to the mangrove conservation. Though they do it, they rarely engage youth in the project. The methodologies we apply in our entire program are inspiring in nature but also maintain its practicality in the community.

 



In other words, participating youth who lives in provinces with the largest mangrove areas, are first nurtured to be proactive young leaders. Then the immediate applications of skills they learn in the program are put into practice within their respective community. As a result, not only are participants motivated but also given the opportunity to demonstrate their capacity in helping the community.

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In short, what is innovative about the whole project is that Sense of Place​­ ‘Mangrove Conservation’ seeks not to be the one who directly solves all problems; instead, we innovatively build leaders of tomorrow. The impact is beyond those participating youth but the community and country as a whole.