HOW TO LEARN ABOUT NATURAL RESOURCE IN A VILLAGE

Natural resource is anything that people can use or rely on which comes from the nature and people do not make natural resources, but gather them from the earth, for example; air, water and wood are natural resources.

What does natural resource mean to developer or investment?

Base the image that we have seen so far in the current world, the investment are trying to get benefit from natural resource. Land concession is away needs big space of land for plantation. Hydropower dam is also need big space for reservoir to keep water to run the turbine to generate electricity. They need to cut off lots of trees or we can say destroying natural resources. So for investment would think "Natural Resource" is main source for their incomes. This is just one example and how many real example you know? 

What does natural resource mean to community?

The living of indigenous community in the 3S area are mostly depends on natural resources around them,they use for food, belief and incomes to support their lives. Their lives also have very strong connection to the rich of natural resources around their village. They use them for fishing, hunting and collecting NTFPs.

They can sell fish that got from fishing, and wild animal from hunting by trapping and dogging or NTFPs to the market for incomes to exchange with other material or equipment and health care. Out of relying on natural resources, they also have farm land where they can grow rice, soil been, cassava, vegetables and other crops to support their family and sell to the market.

Indigenous community believes in spirit living with natural resources like river, mountain, trees and animals. Every activity has connection to spirit. For example; in rainy season most are staying at farm land where far from village for plantation. Before they leave their village to their farm land, they always pray or offer food to spirit, kind of to inform about their leaving and asking for protection. And when dry season come, they need to the same before they came back to village. Another example; before go to forest for hunting or fishing, they also pray to spirit for protection and ask for fish or animals. So for indigenous community, the natural resource is really meaningful, it's their belief, food and incomes sources.

How to learn about natural resource in a village?

There are many tools and many ways to learn about natural resources in a village but here I would like to introduce one tool that would be effective to learn about natural resources in a village is “Village Resources Map”.

Village resources map can help community to know and learn about their natural resources in their village. Villagers will realize on the important of their resources since they start to draw their map, like what kind of resources they have and where they are or what kind of benefit that they can get from each resource.

They use “Village Resources Map” to show to their community members, visitor and especially their young generation.

Here’s a 9 minutes video of a youth from Kbal Romes village describing about “Mapping to learn our village”. Kbal Romeas village is one of the seven villages that will be affected by Hydropower Lower Sesan 2 dam. And and this video is publish by 3SPN and Mekong Watch, and you will be be able to find on Mekong Watch or 3SPN’s website, please enjoy your watching,