Liger Leadership Academy is teaching me how to be a change agent. Liger grows the new generation to become a new model of Cambodia. We develop our country, we make our country foremost. Change is to make a difference. We are walking on a path which leads, to be a change agent. While walking, we see a different view, we define the meaning of the view. We face many problems, we solve problems. We get a new experience, we took our experience for our future. Everyone walk on a different path. The different path which leads to one goal.
This is my third year at Liger Leadership Academy. Only three years, I have learned plenty of new experiences. I have learned how to be creative from little things. I have learned to be an entrepreneur. To explore Cambodia, to have management, learn from little pieces, to solve problems, technology, to protect what we have and to survive. In this year, I have been joined Ecotourism exploration. This exploration is one of the factors that can change and save Cambodia. I’ll take this experience for my future.
This exploration is trying to create an Ecotourism site, which protects wildlife animals and tree. There are piles of the benefit of this exploration. The natural resource is really important for life. No tree is no life. Tree is one of the important sources for humans. Tree can change the climate, the tree can change a life. Tree provide what we need. We need to protect the tree. In Cambodia, people live in a rural area mostly are lack of education. They take trees as their own benefit. They do know the advantages of natural resource, but money can change the meaning of the advantages of natural resources. Money is telling people that “You cut down trees, you get money”. Lack of education can control people to do anything without thinking. We need to take action to solve this problem.
The benefit of Ecotourism for forests. If we are successful in creating this Ecotourism site, We will protect our trees and our wildlife. Why should we protect the forest? Forest is really important for life. We want to keep this natural resource for the next generation to know what does the world have provided. Imagine, in the next ten years. No action of protecting the forest. There will be no more tree. The climate will change. Who will face this problem? Not only affect the one who cut down the tree but to every single one of you. We live on the same earth. We need to protect what we have together. A world with no tree, a world with sickness.
Why do we need to protect the tree? So how can we make money? Ecotourism can help with this problem. We keep forest for Ecotourism site. Once we have a natural resource and wildlife animals. We can make money from the tourists. If they want to see our natural resources, they need to give us money. Yes, we sell our natural resource, but not by destroying them. Selling their view. Getting to know more about what is Ecotourism. Ecotourism is not only letting the tourists see what we have but we also let them see what we are doing. Cambodian people are talented. We show them what we can do, even showing our daily life. We can make money.
Even though, selling tree get more money but after you spend all that money. You have no more money and trees. How can you make money? If you save trees, you will have money forever. Most of the people taking care of Economy much more than the environment. Just to get money, they kill the environment. Money provides what people need and what people want. People might not think, Environment is also important. The environment provides places and breathes for human without any payment. People think, “I already have air to breathe, But I don’t have money to buy a car or any valuable thing. I just need money because the environment can’t buy my car.” I’m not going to change people’s mindset to agree with what I’m thinking. I’ll be a person who is standing in the middle that will protect both, economic and environment.
It also helps our economy grow. Economic growth is also related to tourism. Tourism has become an important sector that has an impact on the development of the country economy. The main benefits of tourism are income creation and generation of jobs. We create this Ecotourism site is also to increase the population of poverty. About 90% of Cambodia of the poor that live in the countryside. Even though we can’t help them much, but we did do what we can do to help. “Cambodia is technically a third world country and is one of the poorest nations in the world.” Read this sentence and ask me. How do I feel? How do people living in that situation feel? As I am a Cambodian next generation. Should I just read this sentence and ignore it? Even some people didn’t care about the meaning of this sentence, but I do care. I born in this country, I want to see my country developed. I want to change this sentence to “Cambodia is technically a third world country and is one of the richest nations in the world.”