sustainable use of biological diversity.pdf - India Environment Portal

Sustainable use of biological diversity in socio-ecological production landscapes
Land use and natural resource utilization and management
in Kampong Cham, Cambodia
Lalita Siriwattananon 1 , Machito Mihara 2 and Kaoru Ichikawa 3
1
Institute of Environment Rehabilitation and Conservation, Japan
2
Tokyo University of Agriculture, Japan
3
United Nations University Institute of Advanced Studies
1. introduction
Agriculture plays an important role for sustainable
land use and appropriate natural resource management
in Cambodia, as more than 70 per cent of
the total population is a farmer. Most Cambodian
households depend on agriculture and its related
sub-sectors, including livestock raising, fisheries and
aquaculture, for their livelihood. Cambodian agriculture
produces a wide variety of crops, however,
paddy rice is the major crop.
An examination of the history of Cambodian agriculture
shows the evolution of rice production, particularly
in the last decade. Rapid development of
agricultural technologies has significantly increased
the amount of agricultural products. However, the
majority of farmers have come to apply agricultural
chemicals, such as chemical fertilizers, herbicides or
pesticides to maintain high levels of crop yields. The
overuse of agricultural chemicals has damaged many
aspects of natural resources.
In Wat Chas village, Prey Chhor district, Kampong
Cham province, an interview and questionnaire survey
was conducted from 25 October to 3 November,
2009. The total 60 hectare area of Wat Chas village
includes 48 hectares of rice fields, 5 hectares of vegetable
orchards and 7 hectares of woodlands and settlements.
The total population is 484 inhabitants and
no school exists in the village. Most lowland farmers
cultivate rice during the rainy season and keep the
land bare after harvest. In upper lands, farmers are
cultivating vegetables of qing geng cai (Brassica rapa
var. chinensis), Chinese cabbage (Brassica campestris),
mustard spinach (Brassica rapa var. perviridis)
and Chinese celery (Apium graveolens). Farming
systems dependent on synthetic chemicals, deforestation,
mono-cropping and plant residue burning
have been pointed out as non-sustainable. Regarding
the practice of plant residue burning, it has been
carried out by farmers in Wat Chas village because it
is a very cheap and easy way to clear residues and to
prepare for the next cultivation. However, the heat
from burning kills various beneficial microorganisms
and soil organisms. The nutrient components
in plant residues are also lost through burning. Attention
has therefore been focused on achieving sustainable
land use and appropriate natural resource
management.
The forest land in Wat Chas village has decreased
due to the human activities in the last 40 years, since
the civil war. In particular, during the period of
Khmer rouge from 1975 to 1979, people were forced
to move from cities to rural or remote areas in order
to construct water reservoirs, irrigation systems and
clear the forest for agricultural purpose. Much of the
biodiversity and many ecosystems were destroyed in
large areas, including the area of Wat Chas village
or its surroundings. Presently, small areas of woodlands
were left around the dwellings. Most trees such
as neem, coconut, palm, mango, jack fruit, rubber
or bamboo in the small woodlands are available for
villagers and provide benefits. Additionally, some
species of trees or herbs were re-planted around the
dwellings.
2. utilization/management of land and natural
resources
Land use in Wat Chas village can be divided into
three types: residential land, paddy field and upland
field for vegetable cultivation (figure 1). The main
natural resources can be seen in the diversity of
plants.
The dwellings in residential land are surrounded
with small woodlands or home gardens, in which
there are many varieties of plants, including ones
that are edible or used in cooking. Also, small upland
fields for vegetable cultivation existing in small
figure 1. land use map in Wat chas village
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