Youth turn learning into action

Young people in Cambodia and Lao PDR are putting their knowledge into action through community outreach activities supported by the ‘Youth as guardians of the forests’ project.

Learning through community action

In Lao PDR, youth volunteers have engaged communities through a series of awareness and learning activities. From 3 to 4 July 2026, youth volunteers helped review the Bokeo Village Forest Management Plan. They learned directly from village elders about sustainable forest management and contributed to community forestry and local decision-making.

This activity followed two earlier outreach campaigns organized in April in Luang Prabang and Oudomxay provinces. In those campaigns, youth groups engaged nearly 150 community members through creative communication approaches such as role-play and quizzes.

Taking conservation messages to communities

In Cambodia, 17  youth participants and five government youth volunteers, organized into four community campaign groups. Since May 2026, they have been implementing community outreach activities in Preah Vihear Province.

Through community discussions and awareness materials, the youth have shared knowledge on forest fire prevention, forest conservation and sustainable natural resource management efforts from across Cambodia. They have also installed signboards in villages and community forest areas to reinforce key conservation messages and extend outreach beyond the campaign events.

Two events organized in June and July 2026 reached a total of 92 community members, including 64 women and 44 Indigenous participants. The events created opportunities for dialogue between youth and local communities. Participants discussed local environmental challenges, exchanged experiences and explored practical solutions that could be applied in their own contexts.

Palisa Ounanongnouth, a student of community and rural development at the National University of Laos says, “These outreach activities have given me the opportunity to engage directly with communities…and better understand how young people can contribute to forest conservation in practice.”

Building momentum

To date, youth-led outreach activities across Cambodia and Lao PDR have directly engaged about 240 community members through face-to-face events. Two additional campaign groups in Cambodia are scheduled to complete their activities in August, further expanding the initiative's reach and impact.

Community members have welcomed the youth-led efforts and appreciated the energy and fresh perspectives that young people bring to conservation challenges. As Ning Teav, a member of the Samaki Trapeang Tortim community Cambodia says, “The young volunteers bring new ideas and enthusiasm. It is encouraging to see them taking an active role in protecting forests and sharing information that can benefit the wider community.”

As the outreach campaigns continue, the initiative demonstrates that young people, when given knowledge and support, can become effective advocates for forests, biodiversity and sustainable community development.

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Dy Vutheara is communication officer at RECOFTC Cambodia and Chinda Milayvong is deputy country director of RECOFTC Lao PDR.

The ‘Youth as guardians of the forest’ project aims to create a new generation of forest guardians in Cambodia and Lao PDR. It focuses on enhancing youth awareness about forest conservation, wildlife and forest crimes and sustainable forest management practices. It is supported by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) through funding provided by the Government of Canada.