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Examining Trajectories of Change for Prosperous Forest Landscapes in Cambodia

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Abstract

Tropical forest landscapes are undergoing rapid transition. Rural development aspirations are rising, and land use change is contributing to deforestation, degradation, and biodiversity loss, which threaten the future of tropical forests. Conservation initiatives must deal with complex social, political, and ecological decisions involving trade-offs between the extent of protected areas and quality of conservation. In Cambodia, smallholders and industrial economic land concessions drive deforestation and forest degradation. Rural economic benefits have not kept pace with development aspirations and smallholders are gradually expanding agriculture into protected forests. We examine the drivers and effects of rural forest landscape transitions in Cambodia to identify trade-offs between conservation and development. Using historical trends analysis and information gathered through key informant interviews, we describe how local communities perceive social and ecological changes, and examine the implications of local development aspirations for conservation. We explore three scenarios for the future of conservation in Cambodia, each with different conservation and community development outcomes. We contend that conservation efforts should focus on strengthening governance to meet social and environmental requirements for sustainable forest landscapes. We suggest potential entry points for governance improvements, including working with local decision-makers and fostering collaboration between stakeholders. There is a need for realistic priority setting in contested tropical forest landscapes. Prosperous rural economies are a necessary but not sufficient condition for conservation.

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Notes

  1. Formerly Seima Protection Forest, management transferred from MAFF to MOE in 2016

  2. Formerly Preah Vihear Protection Forest, management transferred from MAFF to MOE in 2016

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to the families that hosted us in Cambodia and the people who shared their perspectives and stories. We thank the many organizations that guided and enabled this research, with special thanks to the Wildlife Conservation Society and the Ministry of Environment. This study is part of PhD research on ‘Social-ecological Impacts of Landscape Transitions in Southeast Asia’.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Tropical Environmental and Sustainability Science, James Cook University, Cairns, QLD, 4870, Australia

    Rebecca Anne Riggs, James Douglas Langston & Chris Margules

  2. Tanah Air Beta, Batu Karu, Tabanan, Bali, 82152, Indonesia

    Rebecca Anne Riggs & James Douglas Langston

  3. Faculty of Forestry, Forest Sciences Centre, University of British Columbia, 2424 Main Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4, Canada

    James Douglas Langston

  4. International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), London, WC1X *NH, United Kingdom

    Emilie Beauchamp

  5. Interdisciplinary Centre for Conservation Science, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3SZ, UK

    Henry Travers

  6. Wildlife Conservation Society Cambodia Program, #21, Street 21, Sangkat Tonle Bassac, PO Box 1620, Phnom Penh, Cambodia

    Sereyrotha Ken

  7. Institute for Sustainable Earth and Resources, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, University of Indonesia, Kota Depok, Java Barat, 16424, Indonesia

    Chris Margules

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  1. Rebecca Anne Riggs
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  2. James Douglas Langston
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  3. Emilie Beauchamp
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  4. Henry Travers
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  5. Sereyrotha Ken
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  6. Chris Margules
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Correspondence to Rebecca Anne Riggs.

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Riggs, R.A., Langston, J.D., Beauchamp, E. et al. Examining Trajectories of Change for Prosperous Forest Landscapes in Cambodia. Environmental Management 66, 72–90 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-020-01290-9

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