Leng Ouch is a

Cambodia Cambodia, officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. It is bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the north, and Vietnam to the east, and has a coastline ...

climate activist The climate movement is a global social movement focused on pressuring governments and industry to take action (also called ''climate action'') addressing the causes and impacts of climate change. Citizens and environmental non-profit organizat ...

. He spent his early childhood in the forests in Cambodia and became an activist against

illegal logging Illegal logging is the harvest, transportation, purchase, or sale of timber in violation of laws. The harvesting procedure itself may be illegal, including using corrupt means to gain access to forests; extraction without permission, or from a p ...

in Cambodia's forests. He is best known for going undercover to record

activities in his home country.

Early life

Leng Ouch was born in Takéo Province to a family of poor farmers, and he spent most of his childhood during the

Khmer Rouge The Khmer Rouge is the name that was popularly given to members of the Communist Party of Kampuchea (CPK), and by extension to Democratic Kampuchea, which ruled Cambodia between 1975 and 1979. The name was coined in the 1960s by Norodom Sihano ...

regime as his family migrated between forests and survived by

foraging Foraging is searching for wild food resources. It affects an animal's fitness because it plays an important role in an animal's ability to survive and reproduce. Foraging theory is a branch of behavioral ecology that studies the foraging behavi ...

. He spent the early part of his life hiding in the jungles of Cambodia, only beginning his

education Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education als ...

after his family moved to

Phnom Penh Phnom Penh is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Cambodia, most populous city of Cambodia. It has been the national capital since 1865 and has grown to become the nation's primate city and its political, economic, industr ...

in 1980. He worked for his education and earned a

scholarship A scholarship is a form of Student financial aid, financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, Multiculturalism, diversity and inclusion, athleti ...

to attend

law school A law school (also known as a law centre/center, college of law, or faculty of law) is an institution, professional school, or department of a college or university specializing in legal education, usually involved as part of a process for b ...

; this allowed him to join many

human rights organizations :''The list is incomplete; please add known articles or create missing ones'' The following is a list of articles on the human rights organizations of the world. It does not include political parties, or academic institutions. The list includes ...

and start his career as an activist.

Career

Leng Ouch founded the Cambodia Human Rights Task Forces (CHRTF), an organization for combating deforestation in Cambodia. During the 2000s and 2010s, Leng has gone undercover in often dangerous situations taking photos and recording evidence of illegal logging, which has led to 23 land concessions being cancelled and a major logging company being exposed. Often adopting disguises in his work, Leng has helped uncover thousands of crimes and confiscate

timber Lumber is wood that has been processed into uniform and useful sizes (dimensional lumber), including beams and planks or boards. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, window frames). ...

and logging equipment. Leng has faced danger in his line of work, with him being arrested with other activists multiple times.

Awards

-Leng was awarded the Asian Game Changer Awards in 2017 https://asiasociety.org/video/leng-ouch-accepts-asia-society-asia-game-changer-award?page=429 -Leng was awarded the

Goldman Environmental Prize The Goldman Environmental Prize is a prize awarded annually to grassroots environmental activists. History Awardees are named from each of the world's six geographic regions: Africa, Asia, Europe, Islands and Island Nations, North America, an ...

in 2016 for his work exposing corruption and illegal logging in Cambodia.

References

Cambodian activists 1975 births Living people Cambodian environmentalists Goldman Environmental Prize awardees Climate activists People from Takéo province Cambodian genocide survivors {{cambodia-activist-stub