One of the significant recent shifts in conservation has been the recognition that achieving conservation outcomes requires engaging in the socially-mediated struggle over resources—resources to conserve rather than for direct use—but resources nonetheless. The division of labour that has taken place in conservation means that often those who publish in journals and attend conferences are not the ones directly engaged in conservation politics. Conservation and development in Cambodia does a valuable service in bringing to the broader field a perspective on the ‘dynamic, inter-linked, multi-scalar and power-laden’ (p. 1) dimensions of conservation in Cambodia.
Cambodia is a fascinating country undergoing dramatic transformation: it has one of the highest economic growth rates in South-east Asia and one of the highest deforestation rates. The government has made strong commitments to conservation in the last decades yet the practical outcomes have been what the editors term ‘problematic’. Through its three sections and introductory chapters this volume explores the political ecology of conservation and development, focusing on the dynamics between government officials, conservation organizations, local NGOs, the armed forces, elites, private interests and those studying these actors.
The first section of the book looks at how and why nature–society relationships are changing in Cambodia, with four chapters that address issues such as the dynamics of a post-conflict state, the role of powerful state actors and the role of hybrid rice in market integration. The second section addresses the question of how international conservation efforts have played out, focusing on protected areas, community forests and carbon markets. The final section examines the role grass-roots organizations play in Cambodian conservation and development.
The book has a coherent plan, and the chapters were reviewed by all contributors in a workshop setting prior to publication. Despite this hard work on the part of the editors the chapters are uneven and the frame outlined by the editors is not filled in satisfactorily by these contributions. Some of the individual chapters, such as the one on use of the floodplains of Tonle Sap Lake, are first rate, but others struggle to move the central argument forward. The best part is the introductory chapters, which sketch the state of Cambodian conservation and development with deft and masterful strokes. But this book is not about conservation in the sense that many think of it—it is really about the political ecology of human–nature relations in Cambodia. People, as villains (think elite-capture) as well as heroes (the Kuy as story-tellers), are the focus of the volume. The message is not an optimistic one but the volume does a good job in educating the reader, and the lessons from Cambodia are relevant everywhere.
Finally, the price: in this day of increasing sensitivity to making information widely available, particularly to broad segments of society in Cambodia and elsewhere, the fact that the publishers charge GBP 85/USD 145 for this volume is hard to defend.
