Fight for the environment in Cambodia: “These are difficult times for us”

taz: 10 colleagues from her environmental organization Mother Nature were sentenced to prison terms of 6 to 8 years in July 2024 for allegedly conspiring against the government and insulting the king. Since then, 5 have been in prison and 5 others fled abroad. Apparently the authoritarian government aimed to end Mother Nature's successful work. How are your incarcerated colleagues doing today?

Lisa Mean: Some of them are in prison for the second time and know that it's not a vacation. Now they were separated and distributed across prisons in five different provinces. This makes it very difficult to visit them and provide them with food and clean water. But overall the 5 try not to be discouraged. They are also active in prison and are highly respected among prisoners. One teaches English, another learns Chinese, another devours books despite having health problems. They make small craft products that we sell and use for public relations.

taz: The convicted people have filed an appeal. What is the status?

The 24-year-old is a spokeswoman for the internationally recognized Cambodian environmental organization Mother Nature. This was founded in 2012 and consists mainly of young activists. They document environmental problems with high-profile videos and social media postings, work primarily in the coastal province of Koh Kong and, in 2017, achieved a ban on environmentally destructive sand mining in rivers and coastal waters. The mobilizing actions of Mother Nature are a thorn in the side of the authoritarian government.

Lisa Mean: The appeals have not yet been decided, although several hearing dates have already passed.

taz: How can Mother Nature continue to work if the small organization has to do without 10 employees?

Lisa Mean: These are difficult times for us. We had to shrink, and work on site in the villages has also become more difficult. The population there is more intimidated by the police and authorities. We had to adapt our strategy without knowing what else we could do. Nevertheless, our environmental movement is still active. We still reach a lot of people with our videos and posts on social media. We had great success with our campaign against the environmentally destructive extraction of sand from Cambodia's waters and its massive export to Singapore. In 2017, the government had to ban sand mining after we proved that Cambodia's official export volume of sand was much lower than Singapore's equivalent import volume.

We have now used satellite data and images from ships to prove that the ban is not being complied with, even though it continues to apply. We were able to film the illegal mining. We are now trying to use our opposition contacts in Singapore to raise awareness of the destruction caused by sand mining in Cambodia's waters. But civil society is also being restricted in Singapore. I'm now Mother Nature's only face outside while everyone else stays covered.

taz: In 2023, Mother Nature received the Right Livelihood Award, the alternative Nobel Prize, as the first and only organization from Cambodia to date. How does this affect your work?

Lisa Mean: The award brought us great international attention and solidarity and showed that our work is not only important for Cambodia, but is part of the global environmental movement to protect humanity's livelihoods. Many people internationally are now calling for the five to be released. Since February, the working group against arbitrary arrests at the UN level has been calling for the release of my five colleagues. That is a very clear statement. In July, 70 international NGOs called on Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet to immediately release those wrongfully convicted. The NGOs have also turned to the organizers of the summit of Francophone countries planned for November in Siem Reap for support.