Kampong Thom province

Etymology

Kampong Thom in Khmer means 'great port' or 'great harbor'. Kampong in Khmer translates as 'port' or 'harbor'. The word Kampong is also shared in other Asian languages, for example in the Malay language, meaning 'village'. Thom in the Khmer language means 'big', 'grand', or 'large'.

Administration

The province is divided into eight districts and one municipality, further divided into 81 communes.

History

The previous name of the province was Kampong Pous Thom ('Port', 'City of the Great Snakes'). According to local legend, at a lakeside dock near the Sen River, a pair of large snakes inhabited a nearby cave. On every Buddhist holiday, the snakes would make appearances to the people nearby who then began to refer to the area as Kampong Pous Thom. Eventually the snakes disappeared and the name was shortened to Kampong Thom. During the Colonial Cambodia period, the French divided Cambodian territory into provinces and named most of them according to the local popular names for the respective areas.

Kampong Thom was a powerful capital in Southeast Asia during the Funan period. Prasat Sambor Prei Kuk, dating from the Chenla era, is in Kampong Thom province.

Geography

The Prey Lang Wildlife Sanctuary landscape spans Kampong Thom and neighbouring provinces, and has included a registered REDD+ project under Japan’s Joint Crediting Mechanism for which Conservation International Cambodia has been described as a coordinator.

Two of the three core areas in Tonlé Sap Biosphere Reserve lie in Kampong Thom.

• Boeng Chhmar (14,560 hectares), and
• Stung Saen (6,355 hectares).

Religion

The state religion is Theravada Buddhism. More than 98.6% of the people in Kampong Thom are Buddhists. Chams have been practicing Islam for hundreds of years, besides that there are Cham Muslims from Tboung Khmum who came here recently to encroach on the forest land here. A small percentage follow Christianity.

Economy

Much of Kampong Thom is on the floodplain of the Tonlé Sap lake. In 2003–2004, it was a significant producer of wild fish (18,800 tons) and the fourth largest producer of fish through aquaculture in Cambodia (1,800 tons). Most of the fish-raising is done by home production, with a growing segment devoted to rice field aquaculture.

Kampong Thom is also one of the largest producers of cashew nuts in Cambodia, with 6,371 hectares under production in 2003–2004.

Notable people

• Chhoeung Lvai, Khmer boxer
• Eng Chhai Eang, politician
• Kang Kek Iew, former Khmer Rouge personnel
• Ke Pauk, former Khmer Rouge personnel
• Kouch Sokumpheak, footballer
• Nguon Nhel, politician
• Pol Pot, former Khmer Rouge dictator and Prime Minister

Attraction

File:Tonle Sap See.jpg|Tonle Sap See File:One of many temples in Sambor Prei Kuk.jpg|Sambor Prei Kuk File:Parts of the temple from phnom santuk by 2eight dsc3693.jpg|Phnom Santuk File:Prey Pras, ឃុំ ត្បែង, Cambodia - panoramio.jpg|Prey Pras

References

References

1. (26 January 2021). "General Population Census of the Kingdom of Cambodia 2019 – Final Results". [[Ministry of Planning (Cambodia).
2. "Tonle Sap Biosphere Reserve Environmental Information Database - Home".
3. (March 2012). "Geomorphology, Archaeo-stratigraphy, and 14C Ages of Sambor Prei Kuk Pre-Angkorean Site, Central Cambodia". BULLETIN of the Graduate School of Education of Waseda University.
4. "JCM Project Design Document Form for REDD-plus: Prey Lang Wildlife Sanctuary - Stung Treng REDD+ project". Joint Crediting Mechanism.
5. Chou, Phalla. (2023). "Lessons Learned from REDD+ Implementation in Cambodia". ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity.
6. Save Cambodia's Wildlife. ''The Atlas of Cambodia: National Poverty & Environment Maps'', SWC, Phnom Penh, Cambodia, 2006, p. 72.
7. (October 2020). "Final General Population Census 2019-English.pdf". National Institute of Statistics Ministry of planning.
8. (15 February 2019). "Tboung Khmum Imam says land grabbing is rampant". Khmer Times.
9. Save Cambodia's Wildlife. ''The Atlas of Cambodia: National Poverty & Environment Maps'', SWC, Phnom Penh, Cambodia, 2006, pp. 78–81.
10. Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry & Fisheries, ''The Fruit Crops: Agricultural Statistics, 2003–04'', Phnom Penh, 2004.