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Forest plantations and climate change discourses: New powers of ‘green’ grabbing in Cambodia

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  • Scheidel, Arnim
  • Work, Courtney

Abstract

Efforts to combat global climate change through forestry plantations designed to sequester carbon and promote sustainable development are on the rise. This paper analyses the trajectory of Cambodia´s first large-scale reforestation project awarded within the context of climate change mitigation. The 34,007 ha concession was formally conceived to promote sustainable resource use, livelihood improvements and emission reduction. On the ground, however, vast tracks of diverse forest landscapes are being cleared and converted to acacia monocultures, existing timber stocks are logged for market sale, and customary land users dispossessed from land and forest resources. While the project adds to an ongoing land grab crisis in Cambodia, we argue that the explicit environmental ends of the forestry concession enabled a ‘green grab’ that not only exceeds the scale of land grabs caused by conventional economic land concessions, but surprisingly also exacerbates forest logging and biodiversity loss in the area. This case demonstrates the extent to which current climate change discourses, forestry agendas and their underlying assumptions require critical revision in global policy discussions to forestall the growing problem of green grabbing in land use.

Suggested Citation

  • Scheidel, Arnim & Work, Courtney, 2018. "Forest plantations and climate change discourses: New powers of ‘green’ grabbing in Cambodia," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 9-18.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:lauspo:v:77:y:2018:i:c:p:9-18
    DOI: 10.1016/j.landusepol.2018.04.057
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Citations

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    Cited by:

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    3. Bin Huang & Zaijian Yuan & Mingguo Zheng & Yishan Liao & Kim Loi Nguyen & Thi Hong Nguyen & Samran Sombatpanit & Dingqiang Li, 2022. "Soil and Water Conservation Techniques in Tropical and Subtropical Asia: A Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-19, April.
    4. Borras, Saturnino M. & Franco, Jennifer C. & Nam, Zau, 2020. "Climate change and land: Insights from Myanmar," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 129(C).
    5. Franco, Jennifer C. & Borras, Saturnino M., 2019. "Grey areas in green grabbing: subtle and indirect interconnections between climate change politics and land grabs and their implications for research," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 84(C), pages 192-199.
    6. Chanrith Ngin & Andreas Neef, 2021. "Contested Land Restitution Processes in Cambodia," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(5), pages 1-14, May.
    7. Nhem, Sareth & Lee, Young Jin, 2019. "Using Q methodology to investigate the views of local experts on the sustainability of community-based forestry in Oddar Meanchey province, Cambodia," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 106(C), pages 1-1.
    8. Manuschevich, Daniela & Sarricolea, Pablo & Galleguillos, Mauricio, 2019. "Integrating socio-ecological dynamics into land use policy outcomes: A spatial scenario approach for native forest conservation in south-central Chile," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 84(C), pages 31-42.
    9. Bin Yang & Jun He, 2021. "Global Land Grabbing: A Critical Review of Case Studies across the World," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(3), pages 1-19, March.
    10. Nery, Thayse & Polyakov, Maksym & Sadler, Rohan & White, Ben, 2019. "Spatial patterns of boom and bust forestry investment development: A case study from Western Australia," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 67-77.
    11. Bauernschuster, Sonja & Pichler, Melanie & Ingalls, Micah & Thongmanivong, Sithong & Gingrich, Simone, 2022. "Discursive and biophysical dimensions of land sparing policies in Laos: Implications for greenhouse gas emissions and food security," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 120(C).

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