"Carbon Credit Project Still Threatens Indigenous Livelihoods After Compromised Review", 3 March 2025

Sitting beside her recently jailed husband and their seven-year-old son in their stilt house near Koh Kong’s protected forests, Chey Nov fought back tears. Since her husband’s arrest last summer for allegedly encroaching on land his family had rotationally farmed for decades, money had dried up, and their children’s health had worsened…

While they weeded, forest rangers arrived. Nov, who, along with her family, is part of the indigenous Chorng community, said they were from the Environment Ministry and Wildlife Alliance (WA), a U.S.-headquartered nonprofit that runs the Southern Cardamom REDD+ Project (SCRP) – the same carbon credit scheme whose license had been revoked, supposedly under investigation and in talks with affected Indigenous communities, before being reinstated ...

… After Verra suspended the project in June 2023 for an “impartial” review of the grievances raised, it turned to several Validation/Verification Bodies (VVBs) – including SCS Global Services, Aster Global, and Aenor — whom had previously provided verification services for SCRP. They were tasked with reviewing the project’s earlier work in light of the allegations.

Notably, every party Verra engaged to review HRW’s allegations stood to face financial or reputational fallout if the allegations were confirmed.

… Beyond disputes over their farming methods – which they also say follow a cyclical system with fallow periods – Nov and Nget provided … with an “Order 01BB” document, issued under a 2013 national decree that surveyed land and was meant to title it for rural residents, with local commune chiefs determining authorization.

… These ongoing shortcomings come as other REDD+ projects make headway in Cambodia, including the neighboring Samkos REDD+ project. Open questions remain about whether validators and implementers can balance forest conservation with the protection of livelihoods for indigenous communities in Cambodia and across other carbon credit schemes in the global south…