SBR- Content.pmd - INBO

State of the Basin Report - 2003In Cambodia, rehabilitation of theagriculture sector and full utilisation ofland available for cultivation is hamperedby the continued presence of unexplodedlandmines and other ordinance. In 1995minefields were estimated to cover over40 percent of arable land. 18 Whileconsiderable effort has been made to clearmines, the process has been slow and manyminefields remain. This situation has ledto the clearing of forest by returningfarmers who are unable to safely use theirown lands. Furthermore, evidencesuggests that land availability in Cambodiawould be insufficient to support thepopulation even if all the remainingordinance were cleared. 19The threat of mines prevents farmers from cultivatinglarge areas of productive landEstimates of arable land in Lao PDR vary, but there are indications that such land is not currentlyfully utilised, leaving room for extended cultivation in the future. The MRC Land-Use data give anagricultural land area of 2.9 million ha, but government statistics record only approximately 800,000ha under active cultivation. 20 Over 400,000 ha is cultivated on slopes greater than 20 percent,which is not conducive to the growing of annual crops under current cultivation systems and makeserosion and other forms of environmental degradation more likely. 21 Conceptually, Lao PDR can bedivided into two distinct categories of land area which support dual agricultural economies. 22 Thefirst is the relatively flat and fertile land of the Mekong Corridor. This area is predominantly usedfor rice production and has recently undergone rapid market-driven economic transition, wherebyfarmers increasingly buy agricultural inputs through commercial channels and market a proportionof their produce. The second area consists of sloping lands that are less suitable for rice cultivation.These remote areas are characterised by subsistence agriculture and a lack of access to markets andtechnologies. Population pressure and inherent ecological vulnerabilities are leading to environmentaldegradation. As in Cambodia, these remote areas, especially those in the northeast, face problemswith unexploded ordinance. Socio-economic indicators for the sloping lands and flat lands divergedsharply in the mid 1990s, with per capita annual income as low as $56 per annum in the slopingareas, as opposed to an annual average of $350-360 per annum in the Mekong corridor. 23In Viet Nam, there are major land-usedifferences between the Mekong Delta andthe Central Highlands Region. The deltaconsists almost entirely (84 percent) ofagricultural land, with the majority of thisbeing devoted to rice growing. However,the area cultivated with perennial crops andfruit gardens covers 12 percent. 24 There isno significant forest area in the delta. Theland area of the Central Highlands is 68percent covered by forest, woodlands, andgrasslands, with agricultural land covering0.6 million ha, and crop mosaic accountingfor 0.3 million ha. Upland and tree crops,along with shifting agriculture, predominateCoffee is an important cash crop in upland areas inLao PDR and Viet Nam150