National Report on Protected Areas and Development

The Cambodia National Report examines the contribution of protected areas in implementing Cambodia’s national strategies for socio-economic development, poverty reduction and biodiversity conservation. It was prepared by an interagency core group of government experts, convened by the Ministry of Environment to look at the links between protected areas and development and bringing together economic and financial planners, natural resource developers and conservation managers from ten ministries.

The premise of their work is as follows: protected areas need to be understood and managed as essential development assets in socio-economic plans of surrounding communes and provinces and at national level. The development values of protected areas come from the services and products that ecosystems provide in their natural state. If those natural systems degrade from overuse or misuse, their value for development diminishes. It is therefore in the interests of all sectors and communities receiving development benefits from protected areas to contribute to their maintenance and enhancement.

That premise led the core group to carry out the Cambodia Review of Protected Areas and Development with four objectives in mind:

1. To identify and express in economic terms the development values of protected areas;
2. To have the development benefits of protected areas better understood and reflected in sector policies, plans and budgets;
3. To increase the level of investment in conserving the development services and products provided by protected areas; and
4. To identify the key areas where institutional strengthening and capacity building are needed so that protected areas are planned and managed as essential components of local and national economies.

Based on those four objectives the national report examines protected areas from the perspective of local communities and development sectors. The relationships between protected areas and resource users are assessed and management strategies defined which increase protected area development contributions while better conserving them. The many recommended strategies relating to each field of development are distilled into five main priorities for action:

1. A national strategy and sector plans for protected areas;
2. Protected area trust funds and financing based on a user pays policy;
3. A pilot demonstration project for the south-west cluster of
   protected areas;
4. Economic analysis of protected areas;
5. A national protected area training program.

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Citation

ICEM, 2003. Cambodia National Report on Protected Areas and Development. Review of Protected Areas and Development in the Lower Mekong River Region, Indooroopilly, Queensland, Australia. 148 pp.
ISBN: 0 975033 21 2

Download

The full report in English [PDF 1,298 KB]
The report in English without images [PDF 591 KB]

Thematic maps of Cambodia's protected area system

The protected area system [GIF 1200x772 pixels 190 KB]
Protected areas and landuse [GIF 1200x787 pixels 238 KB]
Protected areas, villages and their 10 km zones of influence [GIF 1200x779 pixels 238 KB]
Protected areas and bioregions [GIF 1200x768 pixels 130 KB]
Protected areas and ecoregions [GIF 1200x761 pixels 185 KB]
Protected areas and infrastructure [GIF 1200x785 pixels 262 KB]
Protected areas and poverty levels [GIF 1200x789 pixels 218 KB]
Protected areas and population density [GIF 1200x774 pixels 203 KB]
Protected areas and wetlands [GIF 1200x775 pixels 288 KB]
Protected areas and the wildlife trade [GIF 1200x787 pixels 170 KB]
Transboundary protected areas [GIF 1200x888 pixels 214 KB]

Visit the Cambodia protected area maps page for set of map data sources

Table of contents

Foreword
Acknowledgements
Summary
Introduction

PART 1: Biophysical and demographic features

1. Biogeographic characteristics of Cambodia
   • Biogeographic profile
   • Bioregional planning, protected areas and priority setting
2. Demographic characteristics of Cambodia
   • Population profile
   • Socio-economic profile
   • Migration trends
   • Socio-economic trends and protected areas

PART 2: Economic development, governance and protected areas

3. Governance and institutional reform
   • Government Structure
   • Decentralisation
   • Other governance reform priorities
   • The role of protected areas in governance reform
4. The Cambodian economy
   • Cambodian economic performance
   • Economic outlook
5. Development planning and finance
   • Socio-economic planning
   • Government priority setting
   • National finance and budgetary system
   • Future directions

PART 3: Protected areas and environmental management

6. Protected area planning and management
   • Institutional arrangements
   • Staffing issues
   • Intersectoral cooperation and conflict resolution
   • Management planning
   • Zonation.
   • Investment in protected areas
   • Protected areas legislation
   • Integrated planning and the cluster approach to protected areas
   • Future directions
7. Environmental management and protected areas
   • National environmental policy
   • The EIA framework
   • Future directions

PART 4: Poverty alleviation and protected areas

8. Poverty, migration and protected areas

PART 5: Sector development and Protected Areas

9. Forestry and protected areas
10. Agriculture and protected areas
11. Fisheries and protected areas
12. Water resource management and protected areas
13. Energy development and protected areas
14. Tourism and protected areas

PART 6: Strategies for protected areas as engines for development

15. Priorities for action
    1. National policy framework for protected areas
    2. Protected area trust funds and financing
    3. Pilot demonstration project in the south-west cluster of protected areas
    4. Economic analysis of protected areas
    5. Protected area training program
    6. Conclusion

References
Acronyms
Annex 1. The budget process
Annex 2. Data derivation and sources

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Review of protected areas and their role in socio-economic development
in the four countries of the lower Mekong River region

page updated: 07/05/04