Overlapping zones of exclusion : carbon markets, corporate hydropower enclaves and timber extraction in Cambodia

This contribution looks at the interplay of different logics of governing the environment, resources and people in Cambodia that materialise in overlapping zones of exclusion, thereby co-producing new relations of resource control in a complex frontier constellation: a frontier for water, forest and carbon commodities and also for state control. Focusing on three Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) hydropower dams, the paper analyses a partly unintentional, but significantly consequential coalescence of distinct spaces of governing located in the Cardamom Mountains: a forest conservation zone, the CDM technological zone, an enclaved corporate hydropower zone and a semi-official timber logging zone. While the CDM element has exposed the projects internationally, it has obscured several problematic aspects and dynamics of resource politics connected to the dams that are revealed in this paper. These include the vulnerabilisation of local fisher communities, incarceral labour practices on the dams’ construction sites and accelerated logging in the conservation zone. The paper also shows how the interaction of the studied zones takes place through their distinct mechanisms of exclusion with the effects of more centralised resource control and the bracketing of the associated dispossessions.Peer reviewe

Climate Mitigation in the Least Carbon Emitting Countries : Dilemmas of Co-benefits in Cambodia and Laos

Development has entered a time where it cannot be thought of without reference to climate change. While historically development in the industrialized countries has to a great extent been driven by a fossil fuel based economy, this option is no longer seen as viable for developing countries, which are expected to pursue different pathways of development. At the same time, the impacts of a changing climate affect the poorest countries and populations disproportionately, and multilateral policy declarations signed by most countries underline that there must be an effort to prevent and mitigate this. The effects of climate change onto development policies and practice is also reflected in donor countries’ change in perception. Donor countries have begun increasingly integrating climate change objectives into development cooperation programmes and official development assistance (ODA). While significant in terms of discontinuing support to fossil fuels and attempting to increase resilience, this trend also brings into the fore new dilemmas. The main dilemma which emerges – and is explored further in this book – is when development cooperation finance is used in the least developed countries for projects and policies which are principally oriented towards climate change mitigation.This e-book has been carried out under the COOL-project (Adequacy of Climate Change Mitigation Initiatives in Laos and Cambodia: Comparing Options and Analysing Obstacles in Local Context), a commissioned research funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland

Climate Mitigation in the Least Carbon Emitting Countries – Dilemmas of Co-benefits in Cambodian and Laos

Development has entered a time where it cannot be thought of without reference to climate change. While historically development in the industrialized countries has to a great extent been driven by a fossil fuel based economy, this option is no longer seen as viable for developing countries, which are expected to pursue different pathways of development. At the same time, the impacts of a changing climate affect the poorest countries and populations disproportionately, and multilateral policy declarations signed by most countries underline that there must be an effort to prevent and mitigate this. The effects of climate change onto development policies and practice is also reflected in donor countries&rsquo; change in perception. Donor countries have begun increasingly integrating climate change objectives into development cooperation programmes and official development assistance (ODA). While significant in terms of discontinuing support to fossil fuels and attempting to increase resilience, this trend also brings into the fore new dilemmas. The main dilemma which emerges &ndash; and is explored further in this book &ndash; is when development cooperation finance is used in the least developed countries for projects and policies which are principally oriented towards climate change mitigation.</span

What is a Green Economy? Review of National-Level Green Economy Policies in Cambodia and Lao PDR

A green economy that simultaneously promotes environmental sustainability, social inclusiveness, and economic growth is expected to benefit the heavily resource-dependent least developed countries. Yet, internationally, there is very little empirically based research on how the “green development” agenda translates into natural resource management policies in the least developed countries. This paper examines the implementation of green economy policies at the national level in the energy and forestry sectors in the Lao PDR and Cambodia. Both countries have adopted green growth targets; however, in terms of natural resources management, two contradictory processes have taken place during the past decade. While there have been some initiatives to decentralize natural resource management by enhancing the role of local communities role, such as community-based forest or fishery management, the far greater trend has been the opening up of the economies of the Lao PDR and Cambodia to large-scale investments by multinational enterprises. Large-scale hydropower projects and increasing deforestation pose challenges to more sustainable natural resource management efforts. This article is based on an analysis of the national green economy strategies and expert interviews with the government, academia, private sector and international and national development organizations. Focusing on the energy and forestry sectors, but also analysing the national green economy strategies as a whole, our analysis sheds light on the choices made in the national development versus green economy strategies. While green economy thinking rests on strong state regulation, the policies are often formulated within a complex dynamic of donor and investor interests. The achievement of a green economy depends on the state; thus, it should steer investments to ecologically less harmful industries and ensure social inclusiveness in land-use decisions. Our results show, however, that implementing a green economy is far more complex. Despite the quest for synergies, at the sectoral level there are still many unaddressed trade-offs between, for example, energy sources and forms of land use

What is a Green Economy? Review of National-Level Green Economy Policies in Cambodia and Lao PDR

A green economy that simultaneously promotes environmental sustainability, social inclusiveness, and economic growth is expected to benefit the heavily resource-dependent least developed countries. Yet, internationally, there is very little empirically based research on how the “green development” agenda translates into natural resource management policies in the least developed countries. This paper examines the implementation of green economy policies at the national level in the energy and forestry sectors in the Lao PDR and Cambodia. Both countries have adopted green growth targets; however, in terms of natural resources management, two contradictory processes have taken place during the past decade. While there have been some initiatives to decentralize natural resource management by enhancing the role of local communities role, such as community-based forest or fishery management, the far greater trend has been the opening up of the economies of the Lao PDR and Cambodia to large-scale investments by multinational enterprises. Large-scale hydropower projects and increasing deforestation pose challenges to more sustainable natural resource management efforts. This article is based on an analysis of the national green economy strategies and expert interviews with the government, academia, private sector and international and national development organizations. Focusing on the energy and forestry sectors, but also analysing the national green economy strategies as a whole, our analysis sheds light on the choices made in the national development versus green economy strategies. While green economy thinking rests on strong state regulation, the policies are often formulated within a complex dynamic of donor and investor interests. The achievement of a green economy depends on the state; thus, it should steer investments to ecologically less harmful industries and ensure social inclusiveness in land-use decisions. Our results show, however, that implementing a green economy is far more complex. Despite the quest for synergies, at the sectoral level there are still many unaddressed trade-offs between, for example, energy sources and forms of land use

What is a Green Economy? : Review of National-Level Green Economy Policies in Cambodia and Lao PDR

A green economy that simultaneously promotes environmental sustainability, social inclusiveness, and economic growth is expected to benefit the heavily resource-dependent least developed countries. Yet, internationally, there is very little empirically based research on how the “green development” agenda translates into natural resource management policies in the least developed countries. This paper examines the implementation of green economy policies at the national level in the energy and forestry sectors in the Lao PDR and Cambodia. Both countries have adopted green growth targets; however, in terms of natural resources management, two contradictory processes have taken place during the past decade. While there have been some initiatives to decentralize natural resource management by enhancing the role of local communities role, such as community-based forest or fishery management, the far greater trend has been the opening up of the economies of the Lao PDR and Cambodia to large-scale investments by multinational enterprises. Large-scale hydropower projects and increasing deforestation pose challenges to more sustainable natural resource management eorts. This article is based on an analysis of the national green economy strategies and expert interviews with the government, academia, private sector and international and national development organizations. Focusing on the energy and forestry sectors, but also analysing the national green economy strategies as a whole, our analysis sheds light on the choices made in the national development versus green economy strategies. While green economy thinking rests on strong state regulation, the policies are often formulated within a complex dynamic of donor and investor interests. The achievement of a green economy depends on the state; thus, it should steer investments to ecologically less harmful industries and ensure social inclusiveness in land-use decisions. Our results show, however, that implementing a green economy is far more complex. Despite the quest for synergies, at the sectoral level there are still many unaddressed trade-os between, for example, energy sources and forms of land use.Peer reviewe

Exclusions in the Cambodian irrigation sector: perspectives from Battambang province

This article offers a case study in Battambang province that examines agrarian and land dynamics in an irrigated command area. Building on the “powers of exclusion” framework developed by Hall, Hirsch and Li, we show how irrigation reshapes socio-spatial configurations locally and reinforces the dynamics of social differentiation between smallholder farmers. We argue that the uneven geography of water and the transformation of land ownership structures to which the irrigation project in question contributes run in the opposite direction of a pathway that would support the development of inclusive pro-smallholder irrigation

Irrigated land tenure in Cambodia. What are the perspectives for smallholder farmers?

This report presents a study conducted between March 2000 and May 2022 that examines land tenure issues revolving around irrigation systems in Cambodia. It is part of the knowledge production efforts of COSTEA. It includes: i) a description of the irrigation systems characterized according to their biophysical environment and agricultural production outcomes, ii) an overview of land tenure regimes in irrigation contexts, iii) the institutional framework governing irrigated land tenure and the way it is implemented, iv) five cases studies that illustrate how irrigation intersects locally with agrarian change, and v) a discussion on key themes in irrigated land tenure

Investing in water management to improve productivity of rice-based farming systems in Cambodia

This study reviewed trends, issues and constraints affecting investments in agricultural water management in Cambodia. Informed by a review of current programs and the literature, workshops were convened in March 2013 to explore four keys areas: investments in irrigation, local institutions for managing irrigation, use of groundwater for irrigation and impacts of intensification on rice-field fisheries. We present some conclusions and unresolved questions here to promote a more broadly based debate around irrigation policy and investment in Cambodia. Drawing on the results of these workshops, policy briefs were compiled and published in English and Khmer