Land Issues Continue

The Phnom Penh reports that the many of the ELCs granted in 2012 were from the country's last remaining protected areas, which appears to be a tactic to reduce conflict with communities over ELCs on actively cultivated land. Furthermore, similar land awards intended to help the poor are allegedly subject to high levels of corruption and nepotism.

Cambodia: Resource Cursed (again?)

CEDAC farmer showing us his future plans for his farm. The authors of 'Poor Economics' claim that a cash-transfer program to the poor may allow them to concentrate on longer term planning since their daily needs are satisfied.

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"Every nation wants to strike oil, and after it happens, nearly every nation is worse off for it. It may seem paradoxical, but finding a hole in the ground that spouts money can be one of the worst things that can happen to a country." 

Sobering first words from Tina Rosenberg in an oped in the NYTimes on the oil resource curse and how oil-to-cash transfer programs can help combat it. Some great ideas here that Cambodia could implement after it starts earning revenues from its recent offshore oil deal with Chevron (an 80-20 split favoring the government). In 'Poor Economics' by Abhijit V. Banerjee and Esther Duflo, which I recently finished and hope to discuss in more depth later, the authors make the case that cash transfer programs, even when they are unconditional (i.e. not dependent on sending your children to school), have a positive impact on the livelihoods and long-term prospects of the poorest families. Cambodian officials would be wise to implement a program along these lines, not just for oil revenues, but for all resource extraction revenues ('legal' timber from ECLs, minerals...even gambling), which are routine causes of conflict. Even assuming that some of the money will be siphoned off by corruption, having a system in place will allow for future improvement and at least some gains toward reducing wealth disparity.

Sadly, I doubt this will be the case. I predict that Cambodia will follow Ghana's lead in pledging the money from oil to big infrastructure projects, the kind that are "likely to be felled by mismanagement and graft" according to Ms. Rosenburg. For example, on a recent work trip to Prey Vang province, the community we were working had a large and modern looking canal nearby. I thought this was a good sign, despite the fact that there were no secondary channels to reach more remote farmers. My co-worker, however, pointed out that it hasn't functioned correctly since several wall portions were washed away during the floods of 2011, and there is "no money" to fix them. He predicted the other new canals and water gates in the province would face a similar fate in the next several years.

Saigon-Hue #8 (out of order)

Incense censer on the Heaven Terrace. Nam Giao Esplande. Hué, Vietnam.

North wall. Nam Giao Esplanade. Hué, Vietnam.

The Nam Giao Esplanade is the only surviving site that was used for sacrificial ceremonies by the Emperor based on the dogma of heaven fate of Confucianism. The structure of the terraces are derived from ideas about the Universe composed of a circular heavens and square earth.

Ratanakiri #3

Sunset from the sacred Yak Lom crater lake

Ratanakiri #2

--> Mr. Sal Hueng, of the  --> Kachok ethnic minority group, weaving a traditional carrying basket  Ratanakiri and Mondulkiri, Cambodia's remote northeast provinces, are home to a 'mosaic' of indigenous peoples, as the guide books put it. I'm always confused as to how ethnicity is defined in Cambodia. I know Cambodians that claim to be 100% Chinese but whose parents and grandparents were all born here, who claim that 'Khmer' only means dark skinned people from the countryside... only to have others tell me that the dark skinned people in the countryside in Siem Reap are minority groups. However, there are clearly different traditions, languages and religions in the northeast, areas which have only recently been opened up to the rest of the country.

Mr. Hueng's home garden

These groups clearly face serious development challenges, and suffer from greater poverty than the rest of the country. The new roads into these provinces are a good step in the right direction in ending their isolation. However, with roads brings migrants attracted to the cheap land, and entices locals to leave their homeland in search of work in other provinces. It's also apparent that the new roads have also facilitated significant deforestation, which I discussed earlier. People who lack technical knowledge of agriculture even when compared to their poor peers in the lowlands must now learn to farm more intensively, as foraging in the forest is no longer an option for many.

Mr. Hueng reviewing his crops and smoking a hand rolled cigarette

These populations have historically suffered from discrimination (as in, recorded by Chinese emissaries who visited the ancient Khmer empire nearly a millennium ago). I wouldn't be surprised if that discrimination is continuing, especially considering their strong accents in Khmer and the widespread preference for white skin and soft features. CEDAC, among other local and international NGOs, is working with the indigenous people in both provinces to improve their livelihoods and to gain a more prominent voice in public affairs.

The Global Farmland Rush

A recent NYtimes oped discussed the global implications of what I described in my previous post on Ratanakiri. While in Cambodia, many accuse the ruling party of abusing its position, the demand side of the equation is something I hadn't considered in depth as contributing to the issue in Cambodia but is obviously a huge factor. If local governments aren't considering the affects on their people carefully enough, could it be possible to discourage international companies from using products from disputed land through tracing the source and threatening boycotts?  

Ratanakiri #1

Sunrise in Banlung, Ratanakriri province, Cambodia

For the last two weeks of January, I traveled with my CEDAC colleagues to Siem Reap and Ratanakiri provinces to visit projects and attend meetings. While I was happy to have another free day to visit the temples again in Siem Reap, I was mostly looking forward to finally seeing Ratanakiri, the exotic-sounding northeast province famed for its weather, natural beauty and diverse numbers of ethnic minorities. After I had been blown away in Mondulkiri over the Water Festival holiday--I hadn't realized that Cambodia had such a varied landscape with that much forest remaining--and I had high expectations. And while it was certainly an eye-opening and illuminating experience, unfortunately I wouldn't call it a particularly pleasant one.

All my life I've had a certain sensitivity to environmental issues, especially deforestation. I'm not sure why, but there are few things more depressing to me than the prospect of almost all global forests being wiped out in the next 30 years. Its gotten to the point where I can't even watch Planet Earth:  the inevitable 'but their fate is threatened....' at the end makes me too sad. Anyone with any knowledge of the issue would point out that I didn't do myself any favors by coming to Cambodia, a country notorious for its high deforestation rates. Somehow, during my first visit, while I knew that Cambodia has been largely deforested, I had stars in my eyes. I told myself that the forests had been cleared long ago, and now what remained was protected. Sadly, that is not the case.

Recently clear-cut land. Ratanakiri province, Cambodia.

We took a new road to Ratanakiri from Siem Reap, through Preah Vihear and Steung Treng provinces. Nearly the entire route, small islands of forest were surrounded by a sea of burnt stumps, symmetrical clear-cut tracks and rubber tree seedlings in perfect rows. Trucks loaded with massive logs routinely passed us. The dirt-floor roadside stall we ate lunch in served us on two-feet thick hardwood tables and regal-looking solid wood chairs. Every two kilometers, there was another ad for a Chinese earthworks machine company. It was the real-life inspiration for the deforestation illustrations in every middle school biology text book--the only thing missing was the stampede of scared animals in the other direction. I kept waiting and waiting for this nightmarish landscape to end (a coworker put on Michael Jackson's 'Earth Song' unprompted), and for the pristine Ratanakiri forests advertised to tourists to begin. But it never happened, and before I knew it, we were in Banlung, the provincial capital.

Rosewood chairs at a typical Khmer guesthouse.

There are many factors pushing the (further) deforestation of Cambodia, as there are in any tropical country. The demand for timber is high at all levels of society: most Cambodians still cook their daily meals with wood or charcoal; any family with means has a set of those fancy wooden chairs, at a minimum. Additionally, illegal logging by both Cambodians and foreigners is a constant threat, as the global demand for timber and especially rosewood makes even a single tree extremely valuable. However, it is clear that in the northeast, the largest contributing factor is the awarding of large economic land concessions (known in Cambodia as ECLs) to rubber companies and other agribusinesses. These concessions are highly controversial and are being accused of infringing on local people's land rights as well. While they were formally halted last May, deals still in the process before the decry are still moving forward, and there is no public list of how many that includes.

The Phnom Penh Post, Cambodia Daily and others have reported extensively on these issues, and I'm certainly no expert. Cambodia needs development, especially in its agriculture sector, but this doesn't seem like the most sustainable way to be about doing so. While it may not offer much in the way of immediate pay-off, sustainably managing the few forests that remain seems like a better long term investment, from tourism, non-timber forest products, regulated logging, and sustained livelihoods for the people who depend directly on the forest. But I wonder if the livelihood of the people who depend on the forests are taken into account, or if then have a voice at the bargaining table. There has been some encouraging news in recent weeks, but in many areas, the issue is far from settled.