Shifting cultivation policies: balancing environmental and social sustainability, 2015
Historically isolated, northeast Cambodia’s previously abundant forest and rich
volcanic soils ... more Historically isolated, northeast Cambodia’s previously abundant forest and rich
volcanic soils have long been home to a culturally diverse mix of upland swidden
farmers. A long period of insecurity and conflict, lasting from the 1960s to the late
1990s,added to the region’s isolation and meant that traditional swidden systems still
function in the more remote villages. Over the past decade or more, broad socioeconomic changes have dramatically impacted the natural ecology and traditional
agriculture systems of this region. This chapter examines the processes of rapid
land-use change impacting on swidden systems in Ratanakiri province. Building on
this, it will also outline the possibilities and some of the changes needed for swidden
agriculture to survive as a viable land use in this region.
to the authors of the full report on which this summary is based, and do not necessarily represen... more to the authors of the full report on which this summary is based, and do not necessarily represent those of the Biodiversity and Protected Areas Management Project, or the Ministry of Environment. 1 Table of Contents Introduction Virachey National Park (VNP) is one of the priority areas for conservation in Southeast Asia. The park is located in Ratanakiri and Stung Treng Provinces in northeastern Cambodia (Fig. 1), covering an area of 3,325 km² and protecting flora and fauna of international conservation importance. The elevation of the ...
This paper has been prepared for presentation at the CAPRi Workshop on Collective Action, Propert... more This paper has been prepared for presentation at the CAPRi Workshop on Collective Action, Property Rights, and Conflict in Natural Resources Management. The present version has not undergone review. This paper seeks to understand the changing dynamics of the ownership and governance of land and natural resources, in the context of rapid change in a remote province (Ratanakiri) in north east Cambodia. Due to historical inaccessibility and 30 years of civil war, this area has had limited exposure to outside influences. As well as having to rebuild their communities after conflict and displacement, local indigenous groups which make up the majority of the province's population have to adapt to market driven economic development in less than a generation. Land ownership has been rapidly changing from communal to private. This is resulting in landlessness and dispossession and widespread forest clearing by large scale land concession companies and cash cropping farmers. Action resea...
There is much discussion and significant resources being allocated to reducing the poverty of mar... more There is much discussion and significant resources being allocated to reducing the poverty of marginal and vulnerable groups throughout the world. Despite this, experience has shown that even in countries which have successfully reduced poverty, indigenous minorities often represent deep pockets of the most vulnerable,
ii Over the past 10-15 years Ratanakiri Province, in the far northeast of Cambodia, has been unde... more ii Over the past 10-15 years Ratanakiri Province, in the far northeast of Cambodia, has been undergoing rapid land use change. This thesis explores this change process and, in particular, two countervailing aspects of this. The first is the privatization of the pre-existing communally owned landscapes of forest fallows and swidden agriculture fields for cash cropping (cashews, soybeans, cassava and more recently rubber) by outside farmers and companies. The second aspect is the much slower attempts to secure the lands of Ratanakiri’s indigenous communities through communal land titling. The aim of this investigation is to better understand the links between property rights and land use. I argue that there is a disconnect between the theoretical models which are used to explain the benefits of land privatization for agricultural development, and the impact of these models on the very farmers they are supposed to benefit. The social and environmental impact of these privatization proc...
The Cambodian Land Law (2001) provides indigenous ethnic minority groups with a right to register... more The Cambodian Land Law (2001) provides indigenous ethnic minority groups with a right to register their traditional residential and agricultural lands under communal title. To date, however, this right has remained unrealized. While the government has been working on a pilot registration process in three villages and drafting implementing regulations under the land law, Cambodia's once remote highlands have become increasingly exposed to the forces of state and market. The result: indigenous communities are being transformed; livelihoods change; and land is subject to deforestation, sales and grants of government concessions for mining and agribusiness. The Royal Government has included in its policy documents a commitment to the 'interim protection' of indigenous lands prior to registration; however, to progress on this front has been limited. The review of the literature contained in this note is adapted from a study examining the potential of community mapping to serv...
1 This paper seeks to understand the changing dynamics of the ownership and governance of land an... more 1 This paper seeks to understand the changing dynamics of the ownership and governance of land and natural resources, in the context of rapid change in a remote province (Ratanakiri) in north east Cambodia. Due to historical inaccessibility and 30 years of civil war, this area has had limited exposure to outside influences. As well as having to rebuild their communities after conflict and displacement, local indigenous groups which make up the majority of the province's population have to adapt to market driven economic development in less than a generation. Land ownership has been rapidly changing from communal to private. This is resulting in landlessness and dispossession and widespread forest clearing by large scale land concession companies and cash cropping farmers. Action research into traditional conflict resolution and management systems in Ratanakiri carried out in 2006 and 2009 is complemented by investigations into land use and social changes in different villages, a...
Introduction
The following is a report on the work done to date, with funds from International W... more Introduction The following is a report on the work done to date, with funds from International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs (IWGIA), to establish community management of traditional user areas in the O (river) Jaloi Catchment area. This has involved both community mapping establishing community control and management over the important tourist sites of the O Sing Lear and O Jaloi Seven Steps waterfalls. This update accompanies the accounts for the period to the end of 31/12/2001.
Shifting cultivation policies: balancing environmental and social sustainability, 2015
Historically isolated, northeast Cambodia’s previously abundant forest and rich
volcanic soils ... more Historically isolated, northeast Cambodia’s previously abundant forest and rich
volcanic soils have long been home to a culturally diverse mix of upland swidden
farmers. A long period of insecurity and conflict, lasting from the 1960s to the late
1990s,added to the region’s isolation and meant that traditional swidden systems still
function in the more remote villages. Over the past decade or more, broad socioeconomic changes have dramatically impacted the natural ecology and traditional
agriculture systems of this region. This chapter examines the processes of rapid
land-use change impacting on swidden systems in Ratanakiri province. Building on
this, it will also outline the possibilities and some of the changes needed for swidden
agriculture to survive as a viable land use in this region.
to the authors of the full report on which this summary is based, and do not necessarily represen... more to the authors of the full report on which this summary is based, and do not necessarily represent those of the Biodiversity and Protected Areas Management Project, or the Ministry of Environment. 1 Table of Contents Introduction Virachey National Park (VNP) is one of the priority areas for conservation in Southeast Asia. The park is located in Ratanakiri and Stung Treng Provinces in northeastern Cambodia (Fig. 1), covering an area of 3,325 km² and protecting flora and fauna of international conservation importance. The elevation of the ...
This paper has been prepared for presentation at the CAPRi Workshop on Collective Action, Propert... more This paper has been prepared for presentation at the CAPRi Workshop on Collective Action, Property Rights, and Conflict in Natural Resources Management. The present version has not undergone review. This paper seeks to understand the changing dynamics of the ownership and governance of land and natural resources, in the context of rapid change in a remote province (Ratanakiri) in north east Cambodia. Due to historical inaccessibility and 30 years of civil war, this area has had limited exposure to outside influences. As well as having to rebuild their communities after conflict and displacement, local indigenous groups which make up the majority of the province's population have to adapt to market driven economic development in less than a generation. Land ownership has been rapidly changing from communal to private. This is resulting in landlessness and dispossession and widespread forest clearing by large scale land concession companies and cash cropping farmers. Action resea...
There is much discussion and significant resources being allocated to reducing the poverty of mar... more There is much discussion and significant resources being allocated to reducing the poverty of marginal and vulnerable groups throughout the world. Despite this, experience has shown that even in countries which have successfully reduced poverty, indigenous minorities often represent deep pockets of the most vulnerable,
ii Over the past 10-15 years Ratanakiri Province, in the far northeast of Cambodia, has been unde... more ii Over the past 10-15 years Ratanakiri Province, in the far northeast of Cambodia, has been undergoing rapid land use change. This thesis explores this change process and, in particular, two countervailing aspects of this. The first is the privatization of the pre-existing communally owned landscapes of forest fallows and swidden agriculture fields for cash cropping (cashews, soybeans, cassava and more recently rubber) by outside farmers and companies. The second aspect is the much slower attempts to secure the lands of Ratanakiri’s indigenous communities through communal land titling. The aim of this investigation is to better understand the links between property rights and land use. I argue that there is a disconnect between the theoretical models which are used to explain the benefits of land privatization for agricultural development, and the impact of these models on the very farmers they are supposed to benefit. The social and environmental impact of these privatization proc...
The Cambodian Land Law (2001) provides indigenous ethnic minority groups with a right to register... more The Cambodian Land Law (2001) provides indigenous ethnic minority groups with a right to register their traditional residential and agricultural lands under communal title. To date, however, this right has remained unrealized. While the government has been working on a pilot registration process in three villages and drafting implementing regulations under the land law, Cambodia's once remote highlands have become increasingly exposed to the forces of state and market. The result: indigenous communities are being transformed; livelihoods change; and land is subject to deforestation, sales and grants of government concessions for mining and agribusiness. The Royal Government has included in its policy documents a commitment to the 'interim protection' of indigenous lands prior to registration; however, to progress on this front has been limited. The review of the literature contained in this note is adapted from a study examining the potential of community mapping to serv...
1 This paper seeks to understand the changing dynamics of the ownership and governance of land an... more 1 This paper seeks to understand the changing dynamics of the ownership and governance of land and natural resources, in the context of rapid change in a remote province (Ratanakiri) in north east Cambodia. Due to historical inaccessibility and 30 years of civil war, this area has had limited exposure to outside influences. As well as having to rebuild their communities after conflict and displacement, local indigenous groups which make up the majority of the province's population have to adapt to market driven economic development in less than a generation. Land ownership has been rapidly changing from communal to private. This is resulting in landlessness and dispossession and widespread forest clearing by large scale land concession companies and cash cropping farmers. Action research into traditional conflict resolution and management systems in Ratanakiri carried out in 2006 and 2009 is complemented by investigations into land use and social changes in different villages, a...
Introduction
The following is a report on the work done to date, with funds from International W... more Introduction The following is a report on the work done to date, with funds from International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs (IWGIA), to establish community management of traditional user areas in the O (river) Jaloi Catchment area. This has involved both community mapping establishing community control and management over the important tourist sites of the O Sing Lear and O Jaloi Seven Steps waterfalls. This update accompanies the accounts for the period to the end of 31/12/2001.
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volcanic soils have long been home to a culturally diverse mix of upland swidden
farmers. A long period of insecurity and conflict, lasting from the 1960s to the late
1990s,added to the region’s isolation and meant that traditional swidden systems still
function in the more remote villages. Over the past decade or more, broad socioeconomic changes have dramatically impacted the natural ecology and traditional
agriculture systems of this region. This chapter examines the processes of rapid
land-use change impacting on swidden systems in Ratanakiri province. Building on
this, it will also outline the possibilities and some of the changes needed for swidden
agriculture to survive as a viable land use in this region.
The following is a report on the work done to date, with funds from International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs (IWGIA), to establish community management of traditional user areas in the O (river) Jaloi Catchment area. This has involved both community mapping establishing community control and management over the important tourist sites of the O Sing Lear and O Jaloi Seven Steps waterfalls. This update accompanies the accounts for the period to the end of 31/12/2001.
volcanic soils have long been home to a culturally diverse mix of upland swidden
farmers. A long period of insecurity and conflict, lasting from the 1960s to the late
1990s,added to the region’s isolation and meant that traditional swidden systems still
function in the more remote villages. Over the past decade or more, broad socioeconomic changes have dramatically impacted the natural ecology and traditional
agriculture systems of this region. This chapter examines the processes of rapid
land-use change impacting on swidden systems in Ratanakiri province. Building on
this, it will also outline the possibilities and some of the changes needed for swidden
agriculture to survive as a viable land use in this region.
The following is a report on the work done to date, with funds from International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs (IWGIA), to establish community management of traditional user areas in the O (river) Jaloi Catchment area. This has involved both community mapping establishing community control and management over the important tourist sites of the O Sing Lear and O Jaloi Seven Steps waterfalls. This update accompanies the accounts for the period to the end of 31/12/2001.