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Traditional Khmer Systems of Forest Management1

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 October 2014

PETER SWIFT  and
ANDREW COCK
PETER SWIFT
Affiliation:
University of Wisconsin-Madison
ANDREW COCK
Affiliation:
University of Tokyo, arcock@gmail.com
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Abstract

Aid donors, civil society groups and the Cambodian government have tended to focus their policy initiatives concerned with communities and their forests on Cambodia's indigenous minorities. Few attempts have been made to document the relationship between ethnic Khmers and forests. However, with almost three quarters of Cambodia covered with forests until quite recently, and a large proportion of the Khmer population living in proximity to forests, it is not surprising that Cambodia's dominant ethnic group has had a close and meaningful relationship with forests. In this article, we examine the traditional systems of forest management of Khmer social groups and how these systems are changing. We argue that traditional Khmer systems of forest management are still relevant in the context of the rapid changes that have occurred in rural Cambodia over the past two decades. These systems shape how Khmer groups make sense of the natural world and claim rights of tenure over forest areas. They continue to play a vital role in preserving Cambodia's natural forests in the face of deforestation driven by plantation schemes and logging operations.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society , Volume 25 , Issue 1 , January 2015 , pp. 153 - 173
Copyright
Copyright © The Royal Asiatic Society 2014 

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Footnotes

1

The authors would like to express their appreciation to a referee for providing very helpful comments and suggestions. Andrew Cock also acknowledges the support provided via the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) Postdoctoral Fellowship (grant P12011).

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