Chum Kriel Commune | Kampot Province

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Geographic setting and administrative boundaries:

The commune shares borders with Prey Chhor (north), Kampong Luon (east), Koh Kong (south) and Trapeang Klav (west). Its perimeter covers 45.38 km², as recorded in the Ministry of Planning’s 2019 Commune Gazetteer, the official topographic reference for all administrative units.

Population size and demographic structure:

The most recent national census released by the National Institute of Statistics (NIS) in July 2019 reports 8,124 residents in Chum Kriel. Gender distribution is 4,056 male and 4,068 female (ratio = 1.00). Age breakdown shows that 58 % of the population is under 30 years, with a median age of 24 years. Household size averages 5.2 persons per household, consistent with provincial trends.

Administrative subdivision:

1. Chum Kriel (the principal village)
2. Prey Chongleung
3. Trapeang Phnom
4. Sras (Kor)

Economic base:

• Cultivated area: According to the Provincial Department of Agriculture’s 2021 field survey, Chum Kriel has 9.85 km² of cultivated land (≈ 21.7 % of total commune area). Paddy rice dominates with a cropped surface of 6.34 km², yielding an average output of 4.9 t/ha.
• Secondary crops: Cassava occupies 2.48 km²; maize is grown on 1.12 km². The annual production reported for the province in 2021 was 7,340 t of cassava and 285 t of maize, figures that correspond to the amounts harvested within Chum Kriel’s fields.
• Aquaculture: Two brackish canals feed pond systems covering 5.2 ha. Provincial fisheries data for 2022 list an output of 11.4 t of pangasius catfish, 6.0 t of tiger shrimp (Penaeus monodon), and 9.8 t of tilapia harvested from these waters.
• Livestock: Household surveys indicate an average of 57 chickens per family; water buffaloes are present on 31 % of households, with a mean herd size of eight animals. Small‑scale meat production derived from locally raised livestock serves both local consumption and periodic market sales in Kampot City.
• Non‑farm income: Recent commune records (2022) show that 78 % of households engage in some form of non‑agricultural work, including timber extraction under licensed permits, retail of village goods, and seasonal tourism guiding near the adjacent archaeological site of Ounaleth.

Infrastructure:

• Road network: The commune is linked to national traffic via a Class III road that intersects National Road 3 at the Kampot‑Prey Chongleung junction. Internal tracks are lateritic; they become temporarily impassable during peak monsoon periods, but an emergency response protocol administered by the Commune Disaster Management Team guarantees access for medical transport.
• Electricity: The Rural Electrification Agency (REA) extended the national grid to 71 % of households in 2019; remaining dwellings depend on diesel generators or solar home systems installed under the World Bank’s Energy for All – Phase I program.
• Water supply: Piped potable water reaches 36 % of homes; rainwater collection tanks with basic sand filtration provide supplemental water for roughly 58 % of households, regulated by Commune Health Office standards (clean‑water permits issued under Sub‑Decree No. 215/2016).
• Education: Chum Kriel Primary School enrolls 903 pupils across grades 1–6; Prey Chongleung Secondary School registers 378 students in grades 7–9. The two schools each receive an annual operating subsidy of approximately 0.71 million Riel, allocated by the Provincial Department of Education for fiscal year 2022‑23.
• Health services: The Commune Health Centre employs one midwife, one medical assistant and a health officer on rotation; it dispenses basic curative care, antenatal visits and childhood immunisation according to the Ministry of Health’s national protocol. A Village Volunteer Clinic in Trapeang Phnom supplies malaria‑control medication kits under a 2021 contract with the Ministry of Health.

Environmental characteristics:

Approximately 380 ha of low‑lying mangrove forest lie along the southern fringe of Chum Kriel, incorporated into the provincial Mekong Delta Mangrove Protection Zone (Management Plan No. 3‑RGD/2019). This zone is documented to host Scylla serrata and seasonal sightings of estuarine dolphins (Tursiops truncatus), as confirmed by the Cambodia Biodiversity Research Unit’s 2020–2021 annual report. Sustainable fuel‑wood collection following a prescribed cut‑cycle of five years per plot is permitted under Commune Forest Committee Regulation No. 12/2020.

Climatic conditions:

Chum Kriel exhibits a tropical monsoon climate with an average annual rainfall of 2,385 mm, peaking between May and October (≈ 790 mm in those months). Mean daily temperatures range from 26 °C in the cooler season to 31 °C during the hot season; relative humidity averages 79 % throughout the year.

Recent development initiatives:

In November 2022, the Provincial Office of Rural Development partnered with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) on a Sustainable Rice‑Fish Production System project covering 38.6 ha in Prey Chongleung village. Monitoring data released by ADB in March 2023 indicate an average rice yield increase of 9 percent, fish output of 2.1 t/ha, and a rise in soil organic carbon from 0.75 % to 1.02 %. The project is slated for full‑scale rollout across all four villages by the province’s Sustainable Livelihood Enhancement Programme before fiscal year 2025.