Toward more inclusive wetland governance and the role of women and other marginalized groups in the Cambodian Mekong Delta: a case study of Boeung Preklapov Wetland in Takeo Province

Abstract

This paper advances the understanding of the challenges of participatory wetland management in the Cambodian Mekong Delta. It shows that despite the increasing number of policies promoting women’s participation in resource management decision-making, the implementation of these policies remains inconsistent and ineffective. The research focuses on wetland-dependent communities along the Cambodia-Vietnam border that have been studied less on the Cambodian side. It identifies the main obstacles that impede women’s participation at different levels of governance. It also looks at the role of other marginalized groups, such as ethnic minorities and the landless poor, in wetland management. The study reveals that at the household level, both men and women participate in fishing, harvesting wetland resources, and farming activities and partake in decision-making fairly and equally. However, women’s participation remains nominal at best at the commune, district, and national levels. Particularly at the commune level, where local participation is expected to be higher, the voice of women and the poor is strikingly absent. The identified obstacles to women's participation include inadequate attention paid to assigning clear and meaningful roles and responsibilities, lack of institutional resources, unequal power relations, and frequent instances of exclusionary elite capture.