Development for Whom? Examining the impact of economic land concessions on rural livelihoods in Preah Vihear Province, Cambodia
Abstract
The global phenomenon of land grabbing has driven significant changes in access to and control over land in Cambodia, as land is leased to private companies, often through economic land concessions (ELCs). Continued interest in rural land from Chinese companies operating under China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), as well as a nation-wide moratorium on ELCs implemented in 2012, makes access to land highly contested and a critical challenge for rural development. This thesis seeks to better understand how ELCs affect the day-to-day lives of Cambodian villagers and assess whether the development benefits promoted in government policy and by foreign investors materialise for rural communities. Past research on ELCs and land grabbing has tended to focus on how such modes of dispossession operate through force and direct violence, often at the moment of the land ‘grab’. By using structural violence theory to understand the power dynamics shaping access to land, this thesis considers what happens after a land grab and the intergenerational effects of such forms of rural development in Cambodia. A conglomerate of five Chinese sugarcane companies awarded concessions in Preah Vihear Province forms the central case study analysed in this thesis. Semi-structured interviews and other field-based qualitative methods are used to understand how villagers located within or near the ELCs regard the ELCs as a form of development. Findings from this fieldwork are used to compare the lived experience of rural villagers with the stated development goals of the government and the ELCs’ Chinese stakeholders, which are derived from policy documents and public materials. The findings of this study reveal how the purported development benefits of the ELCs do not materialise for local participants, with many participants reporting loss of land, and diminishing livelihoods. A key trend for villagers living near or within the companies’ ELC boundaries was for villagers to have lost some of their land but not all of it, as they experienced creeping encroachment from the companies. Villagers’ reserves of land for the future were particularly susceptible to being grabbed, creating a shortage of land for future generations, and constraining villagers’ livelihood opportunities. The ELCs in Preah Vihear constitute a form of structural violence for marginalised locals due to unequal access to essential land and forest resources. This violence manifests as a slow squeeze on the livelihoods and aspirations of rural communities, for current and future generations. Within Preah Vihear, this research highlights the discrepancy between villagers’ needs and aspirations and the development plans of investors operating under the BRI. More broadly, this research contributes to a better understanding of the ongoing processes taking place after a land grab and what this may mean for the future of affected rural communities.