IJERD – International Journal of Environmental and Rural Development (2013) 4-1

Research article
erd

Understanding Socio-Ecological Production Landscapes in
the Context of Cambodia
KAORU ICHIKAWA*
United Nations University Institute of Advanced Studies, Yokohama, Japan
Email: ichikawa@ias.unu.edu
Received 15 December 2012

Accepted 30 January 2013(*Corresponding Author)

Abstract In Cambodia, a large portion of the population engages in primary sector
production such as agriculture, forestry and fishery, and the people’s   livelihoods   are  directly dependent upon the availability of natural resources. The natural environment,
however, has been undergoing severe deterioration for several decades. Similar challenges
are being faced in many different countries and it is therefore of global importance toexplore  ways  to  conserve  the  environment  while  allowing  people’s  livelihoods  to  develop.
In this context, the term socio-ecological production landscapes and seascapes (SEPLS)
was coined to refer to areas shaped by production activities characterised by harmonious
human-nature interactions. The aim of this study is to deepen the understanding of
Cambodian production landscapes using three different perspectives drawing on the
SEPLS concept: structure, benefits and changes. Based on a literature review, key
characteristics of SEPLS were identified including their mosaic structure and the diverse
benefits they provide. Further study is needed to understand the significance of SEPLS in
Cambodia in terms of the biodiversity and environmental benefits they provide.
Keywords socio-ecological production landscapes and seascapes, mosaic structure,
ecosystem services, land use

INTRODUCTION
In   Cambodia,   people’s   livelihoods   are   highly   dependent   upon   access   to   natural   resources   from  agricultural lands, forests, rivers and lakes. One of the most important industries is agriculture, inwhich 66% of the total population was engaged in 2010 (FAO, 2010a). The natural environment,
however,  was  severely  damaged  during  the  country’s  civil  war  and the following years of politicalinstability, while today the environment is strained by the impacts of modernization andglobalization. In many parts of the world, recognition of the extent of damage humans have caused
to the environment, and the fact that  this  degradation  is  now  threatening  people’s  lives, has createdan understanding that it is essential to explore ways to conserve the environment while allowing
people’s  livelihoods  to  develop. The underlying conceptualization of this is to consider humans as
a part of nature, and that they have adapted to local ecosystems by carefully modifying theirfeatures, and derive their livelihoods from these close interactions with their surroundings. Suchinteractions have often maintained biodiversity while providing humans with a continuous supply
of goods and services. Such conceptualizations have begun to be applied in the research, policies
and practices dealing with environmental conservation and livelihood development, while leading
to the launching of new efforts such as the Satoyama Initiative, a global initiative aiming toconserve and revitalize landscapes and seascapes created through long-term human-natureinteractions around production activities such as agriculture, forestry and fishery (UNU-IAS, n.d.).
This paper aims to understand Cambodian production landscapes by using the concept ofsocio-ecological production landscapes and seascapes (SEPLS), a term coined to refer to the target
areas of the Satoyama Initiative. After introducing the Japanese satoyama landscape, from which
the Initiative and the term SEPLS originated, the characteristics of the Cambodian landscapes are
identified based on several points included in the description of SEPLS.

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SEPLS IN JAPAN: SATOYAMA LANDSCAPES
Historically, a large portion of Japanese landscapes has been under the influence of humanactivities, such as agriculture, forestry, and fishery. Adaptation to the surrounding environment
through such activities has created unique areas called satoyama landscapes, which arecharacterized by mosaics of paddy fields, upland fields, woodlands, grasslands, ponds and canals,
and settlements. Careful management of land uses based on knowledge accumulated acrossgenerations, has made it possible for satoyama landscapes to continuously provide humans withfood, fuel and building materials, while nurturing unique cultures. Management of woodland areas
includes collecting fallen leaves and grasses, which are used to maintain soil fertility in
combination with manure. A continuous supply of firewood was secured by coppicing of trees
where farmers left stumps to sprout again after cutting. After several years of management,
including removal of unnecessary branches and weeds, farmers could cut trees again for use as
firewood (Takeuchi et al., 2003).
Regular management practices in satoyama landscapes, including cutting of trees and mowing,
maintain favourable habitats for some plant and animal species, which have adapted to the natural
conditions created by such practices. Furthermore, the mosaic landscape has contributed to highlevels of biodiversity by including different land uses, each with its own associated vegetation,
constituting habitats for a wide variety of animals. This structure is also important for species suchas dragonflies and frogs, which need different habitat types during their life stages and for
obtaining different resources (Katoh et al., 2009).
Recognition of the importance of satoyama landscapes and recent negative trends such asdegradation due to urbanization, agricultural modernization and an aging population led to theJapan Satoyama Satoumi Assessment (JSSA), which is a thorough study of ecosystem services andtheir contribution to human well-being in Japan that included the involvement of more than 200
stakeholders. The assessment recognized  the  benefits  of  the  landscapes’  multifaceted  nature, which
produces a bundle of ecosystem services for human well-being (JSSA, 2010). It also recognized theglobal importance of the concept underlying satoyama landscapes, which assumes a mutually
beneficial relationship between humans and nature, if properly maintained. Based on the JSSA
results,  the  term  “socio-ecological  production  landscapes  and  seascapes  (SEPLS)”  has  been  applied  by the Satoyama Initiative to refer to its target areas around the world. Drawing on the similar
JSSA definition of satoyama landscapes, the Initiative describes SEPLS as “dynamic   mosaics   of  habitats and land uses that have been shaped by the interactions between people and nature in waysthat maintain biodiversity and provide humans with goods and services needed for their well-beingin  a  sustainable  way”.  Attempts  have  been  made  to  understand  various  production  landscapes  and  seascapes using the SEPLS concept (Gu and Subramanian, 2012; Ichikawa, 2012). Further study,
however, is needed to understand the characteristics and significance of SEPLS across various partsof the world. Drawing on the above description of SEPLS, the following sections describe
Cambodian production landscapes along three points: structure, benefits and changes.
SEPLS IN THE CONTEXT OF CAMBODIA
Structure:  “dynamic  mosaics  of  habitats  and  land  uses”  Situated in the tropics, Cambodia experiences a monsoonal climate with distinct wet and dry
seasons. A dry period starts in late November and lasts until April. Cambodia’s   topography   is  characterized by extensive areas of extremely flat floodplains containing the Tonle Sap Lake andriver  complex  at  the  country’s  centre, and hills in the south-western and north-eastern regions. The
Mekong River flows from Laos in the north and at Phnom Penh it converges with the Tonle Sap
River,   which   flows   from   the   Tonle   Sap   Lake.   The   Mekong   River’s   water   level   fluctuates   by  approximately 9 metres each year. During the wet season, some water flows back up the Tonle Sap
River into the Tonle Sap Lake, which can experience a tenfold increase in area to approximately
25,000 km2 between May and November (Nesbitt, 1997).
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A large portion of Cambodians live in lowland areas where their livelihoods have depended on
paddy rice cultivation for at least the last 2,000 years (McKenney and Tola, 2002). Other elementsof  Cambodia’s  lowland landscape include forests, settlements, rivers, ponds and lakes. One distinct
land use is called chamkar, a term which encompasses all agricultural land uses except paddy ricecultivation, basically areas where farmers grow cereals, vegetables, etc. (Chann et al., 2011). The
distribution of different land uses is directly affected by topography and associated water regimes.
For example, in one village in Kampong Cham Province, large areas are dominated by rice fields,
which are located in the lower part of the land, while vegetable fields are located in elevated landsurrounded by the paddy field (Siriwattananon et al., 2010).
There are several different types of paddy rice field, which vary according to different growing
conditions determined by micro-topography and water regime. Accordingly, each type of field
utilizes the appropriate variety of rice, which differs in terms of physiological properties such as
photo-sensitivity and elongation ability (Javier, 1997). Deep water (floating) rice is primarily
grown in areas that are submerged at a depth of 50-300cm for at least one month during the rice
growing period. In areas where the water is less than 50cm deep, field levels are further subdivided
into three different water levels, in which farmers grow rice varieties that mature at different times.
This allows farmers to reduce the risk of a total crop failure due to droughts and floods, optimize
labour resources, and increase food security (McKenney and Tola, 2002).
Forest vegetation also occurs in a mosaic pattern consisting of plants of different height andspecies, affected by seasonal water-level changes and different recovery stages from humandisturbance. For example, in the area near the Tonle Sap Lake in Siem Reap Province, forests
which are along the shoreline during the dry season and flooded during the wet season, experience
fewer disturbances by humans and have a relatively closed canopy of tall trees. Vegetation in
inland areas, however, is constantly disturbed due to the collection of firewood, and ischaracterized by low, sparse cover (Araki, 2007).
Studies on land use and livelihoods in hilly areas in Cambodia shows that landscapes consistof evergreen forests, semi-evergreen forests, deciduous forests, shrubs and grasslands, chamkar
areas, homegarden, cash crop fields, and settlements (e.g., Fox and Vogler, 2005). Wetland rice isless common in hilly areas (Evans et al., 2003), where chamkar has been practiced for centuries ina form of shifting cultivation by ethnic minorities such as the Phnong in Ratanakiri and Mondulkiri
Provinces. Shifting cultivation refers to the intermixing of upland rice and other crops (e.g.,soybean, sesame, banana, maize, sugarcane, and potato), and plots are usually cultivated for about
three years, after which they are left fallow. Old fallow is cleared by burning the trees and grasses(McKenney et al., 2004). Soil can rest and regenerate during the fallow period, and the ashes fromthe burning provide nutrients to the soil (Andersen et al., 2007). Through this sort of mechanism,shifting cultivation creates unique landscapes composed of a dynamic patchwork of crop fields,
fallows of various ages, secondary forest and remnants of the original vegetation.
Benefits:  “maintain  biodiversity  and  provide  humans  with  goods  and  services  for  well-being”
A set of different land uses provides a diverse range of goods, which are important for subsistence
and generating cash income. Historically, rice has been a staple food for Cambodians, and thecountry depends on rice as a strategic commodity for income growth, poverty reduction, andnational and household food security (Yu and Diao, 2011). Paddy fields can also provide a variety
of aquatic animals such as fish, crabs, shrimps, edible insects, and frogs, which are sources ofanimal protein for people, although their importance has not fully recognized in policies andresearch in Cambodia (Gregory and Guttman, 1997). More than one million Cambodians depend
on inland fisheries to support their livelihoods. The Great Lake and Tonle Sap River area producesroughly 50-60%  of  Cambodia’s  inland  commercial  fish  catch  (McKenney  and  Tola,  2002).
Forests provide villagers with a variety of goods known as non-timber forest products(NTFPs), such as firewood, food, and medicinal plants. An assessment conducted in four provinces
found that medium-income households obtain 30% (345 USD/year) of their total livelihood value
from NTFPs, while low-income households obtain 42% (280 USD/Year) (Hansen and Top, 2006).
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sealing/waterproofing boats and is exported for these uses as well as for manufacturing paint andvarnish. It is tapped mainly from evergreen tree species such as Dipterocarpus alatus without
substantially damaging the trees, which allows for continuous yields across decades (Tola and
McKenney, 2003). Income generated from resin collection is estimated at 338 USD/year per familyin Ratanakiri Province, helping to cover the cost of buying rice, which runs short several months
after harvest (Evans et al., 2003). Firewood continues to be an important cooking fuel and is usedby 94% of the population in rural areas (NIS, 2009). Medicinal plants are also important, especiallyin remote and poor areas, because they help to significantly reduce healthcare costs (Laval et al.,2011). Kimhy et al. (1998) insist on the significance  of  different  “forests”,  including  trees  around  the households and paddy fields. The woodlands that are left around the dwellings can provide
villagers with a variety of food and materials, and contain various species such as neem, coconut,
palm, mango and bamboo (Siriwattananon et al., 2010). Trees that are scattered along dikes of rice
fields and uncultivated land are not only used for grazing, but also for improving soil fertility andproviding shade to people and animals (Kimhy et al., 1998).
Although the environmental benefits of the ecosystems in production landscapes have been
discussed in general, aside from the case of carbon sequestration, these issues have not been
extensively studied within the Cambodian context. For example, the function of forests inmaintaining water quality and flood mitigation is generally known, but the clear and quantifiablelink has not been made between deforestation and the change in water quality or flow (Hansen andTop, 2006). Regarding carbon sequestration, the Cambodian Government has made a strong
commitment to managing the forests under the anticipated new international climate change
agreement on the REDD+ mechanism. Estimation of potential carbon credits generated from
improved forest management is underway for existing forest (e.g., Ty et al., 2011).
Changes:  “shaped  by  the  interactions  between  people  and  nature”
It is believed that population densities were generally low in pre-colonial Cambodia and there wasabundant food coming from rice fields, forests and lakes. The farmers, however, also demonstrated
innovation by adopting rice production technologies to the poor soils, erratic rainfall, and complexhydrology of Cambodia (Helmers, 2007). This included, for example, subdividing the fields intolevels for growing different crops and varieties as mentioned above. The history of water
management in Cambodia goes back to before the Angkor period. Modern irrigation systems thatwere first developed from 1950-1953 by the French include the Colmatage canal system, whichuses dykes and sluices to provide controlled annual inundation, allowing a fertile layer of silt tosettle on the fields (FAO, 2010b).
The land and people of Cambodia were seriously impacted by the agricultural policy of the
Khmer Rouge regime (1975-1979), which aimed to increase rice production by expanding the area
under rice cultivation into cleared forest lands and developing irrigation systems, many of whichhave been assessed today as useless or unusable. The rural labour force was reorganized to conduct
collective agriculture, supplemented by people from urban areas, who were forcibly relocated(Helmers, 2007). During the 1980s, in accordance with socialist development policy, agriculturalland was collectivized and became state property. Solidarity groups known as krom samakki,
consisting of 20-25 families, were organized and constituted the basic unit of production, although
in practice collectivization was not vigorously pursued. In 1989, the State of Cambodia instituted a
new policy favouring a transition to a market economy. Private land tenure was established andmost communal lands were broken up and allocated to families (Helmers, 2007).
Fox and Vogler (2005) report that shifting cultivation has maintained a relatively stable
percentage  of  forest  cover  in  Southeast  Asia’s  montane  mainland  during  the  latter  half  of  the  20 th
century. However, there have recently been major shifts in land use in hilly areas. In the 1990s,
governmental forest management in Cambodia only focused on timber production from high value
forests managed by private companies under large-scale forest concessions (Hansen and Top,
2006). Concession forestry has, however, experienced implementation challenges, resulting in highlevels of illegal logging and corresponding degradation of forest resources. It has also caused
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from the concession forests (McKenney et al., 2004). In 1969, forests represented more than 74%
of the land area, which had changed marginally to 73% by 1990, but decreased drastically to 65%
in 2000 and is currently at 57% (Broadhead and Izquierdo, 2010). The advent of cash crop farming
by indigenous communities, which has largely emerged since 1993 when the government opened
up for international investment, has increased the rate of conversion from shifting agriculture to
cash crops. Other factors impacting land use change include the development of road networks,
population increase, inadequate enforcement of land laws, together with the dissolution of thecommunal system, which has led farmers to sell land to outsiders. In Ratanakiri Province, plantingof cashew by indigenous communities has increased in part to claim the land, and in part toincrease cash income (Ironside, 2010).
In lowland areas, forests in floodplains are decreasing due to exploitation for firewood andconversion to agricultural land (McKenney and Tola, 2002). In areas under rice cultivation, farmers
have begun to plant faster-maturing varieties in many areas previously cultivated for late-maturing
varieties, because the shorter the time that crops spend in the field, the lower the risk of crop failure(McKenney and Tola, 2002).
CONCLUSION
It was found that the SEPLS concept was applicable in the Cambodian context. Mosaic landscapes
were clearly identified in both the lowland and hilly regions. Although lowland areas arecharacterized by extensive flat areas dominated by paddy field, micro-topography and different
water regimes have created heterogeneity, which determines land use distribution, and has createddiverse rice growing conditions where appropriate rice varieties are grown. In hilly areas,
temporality has also created mosaic patterns of land uses due to shifting cultivation. Recent land
use changes seem to be creating more uniform landscapes, a common trend across many othercountries. A range of different land uses provides a variety of goods that are crucially important tolocal people as they directly contribute to their subsistence and cash income. Forests, in particular,
produce a variety of resources that supplement diets, provide traditional medicines and can be used
to construct shelter. Rice paddies not only produce rice, but also fish and other protein-rich aquatic
animals. Regarding the environmental benefits, the author could not find enough evidence thatthese issues have been studied in-depth within the Cambodian context. While local farmers havehistorically adapted and developed practices that are applicable to their unique local conditions, thepast several decades have seen frequent and dramatic changes in political and economic regimes,
which have affected production activities and land uses.
Although Cambodia has recently been experiencing a decline in natural resources, a relatively
large area of forests remains compared with the other Southeast Asian countries, and many people
depend directly on natural resources for their livelihood. Many studies exist on the various material
benefits that SEPLS provide, but in order to explore the paths towards sustainability, it is also
important to understand the landscapes holistically, including environmental functions as well as
the social and cultural benefits they provide.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The author is grateful to the Institute of Environment Rehabilitation and Conservation for its
support  and  advice  during  the  author’s  stay  in  Cambodia, and to Hongyan Gu (Shanghai Academyof Social Sciences) for helpful comments on the earlier draft, and Robert Blasiak (The Universityof Tokyo) for editing the manuscript.
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