USAID Cambodia Green Future Activity Literature Review: Youth Involvement and Outreach Initiative on Environment in Cambodia

The project aims to empower Cambodian citizens and civil society with the knowledge and skills to use evidence-based communication to influence positive actions to support biodiversity conservation, forest protection, and broad sustainable natural resource management. The project has two overarching objectives: to increase target populations' knowledge and positive attitudes about the benefits of Cambodia's unique and endangered biodiversity and the critical importance of forest ecosystems, and to increase citizen-led efforts to apply strategic communications to protect biodiversity and forest ecosystems in target areas. Cambodia Green Future works with a wide range of partners, including government bodies, women's, youth, and indigenous groups, NGOs, other USAID projects, and more, to mobilize communities to conserve biodiversity and protect natural resources. The project focuses on USAID's target areas for biodiversity conservation, forest protection, and sustainable landscape management, including the Prey Lang Extended Landscape (PLEL) and the Eastern Plains Landscape (EPL), as well as reaching audiences nationally. Using best practices in natural resource management, community engagement, and social and behavior change communications, Cambodia Green Future will increase awareness and catalyze action via strategic campaigns in social media, radio, television, community events, and other methods. A literature review was conducted to compile research to date on the knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAPs) of target audiences regarding natural resource management, biodiversity conservation, and forest protection. The review aimed to provide an inventory of other partners and projects that are working on or have worked on related issues and to benefit from their lessons learned. The review also set a baseline for the forthcoming KAP survey, ensuring that the project will increase its knowledge from partners' research and lessons learned, avoid duplicating efforts, and design social behavior change communication campaigns that are grounded in research. The review found that Cambodian youth are engaged in volunteer activities such as cleaning the environment, minor infrastructure repairs, and providing social support for the poor and vulnerable, but they have few opportunities to influence decision-making. Cambodian youth have low levels of knowledge about environmental issues, and most of the knowledge they do have is rudimentary. However, the majority believe that it is important to address environmental issues, but they have low levels of civic engagement on these issues. The review also found that while there are a number of environmental projects undertaking communications initiatives, these initiatives are often fragmented and lack inclusivity, and lack of sustainability is a critical issue. In response to these challenges, the report offers several recommendations, including conducting more research on KAPs of all target audiences at the landscape and national levels and designing social behavior change communication campaigns that are grounded in research. The report also recommends increasing civic engagement opportunities for Cambodian youth and promoting inclusive and sustainable communications initiatives. Additionally, the report suggests that the project should work with other partners and projects to benefit from their lessons learned and avoid duplicating efforts.