Northwest Cambodia Research Articles

Potential for sunflower to use residual soil water in the dry season after maize in North-West Cambodia

A series of experiments was carried out in 2012–2014 in Pailin province, Cambodia, to determine the potential and agronomic requirements for a dry season sunflower crop. The research showed that the six high-oleic sunflower hybrids evaluated were similar for phenological development and yield but two varieties had <50% emergence and poor hybrid seed quality was seen as a constraint to planting under rainfed conditions. Sunflower receiving a basal application of 20:20:15 (N:P2O5:K2O) at 200 kg ha−1 produced achene yield of 2423 kg−1, while side-dressing with urea had no effect on yield. Application of s-metolachlor post-sowing pre-emergence was the most effective weed control treatment and significantly increased sunflower achene yield. Post-emergence weed control was not adequate to prevent yield loss from weed competition. The study showed that sunflower can be grown successfully as a dry season crop in North-West Cambodia when planted no-tillage on residual soil water remaining after maize harvest in October and November. The critical requirements for success are related to preservation and effective use of residual soil water and include minimal soil disturbance, adequate application of fertiliser at sowing, and pre-emergence control of weeds, especially grasses.

The peasants in turmoil: Khmer Rouge, state formation and the control of land in northwest Cambodia

Over the past 15 years, northwest Cambodia has seen dramatic agrarian expansion away from the central rice plain into the peripheral uplands fuelled by peasant in-migration. Against this background, we examine the nature of relations between the peasantry and the state. We first show the historical continuities of land control processes and how the use of violence in a post-conflict neoliberal context has legitimised ex-Khmer Rouge in controlling land distribution. Three case studies show the heterogeneity of local level sovereignties, which engage the peasants in different relations with authority. We examine how these processes result in the construction of different rural territories along the agricultural frontier and argue that, in this region of Cambodia, the struggles between Khmer Rouge and neoliberal modes of land control are central to state formation processes.

Borrowing Across Borders: Migration and Microcredit in Rural Cambodia

ABSTRACTThis article explores an unexpected and overlooked consequence of the expansion of microcredit: how it interacts with migration patterns. Drawing on qualitative research in northwest Cambodia, this study explores the uses, meanings and implications of ‘migra‐loans’ — microcredit loans that are used in tandem with household strategies of international migration. Using microcredit in combination with migration allows households to immediately meet consumption goals and utilize the credit being actively promoted by microfinance institutions, while also retreating from insecure and less profitable local livelihood strategies. These strategies problematize expectations about the developmental potential of microcredit, and highlight the importance of local context in framing rural livelihood choices.

Uncovering archaeological landscapes at Angkor using lidar

Previous archaeological mapping work on the successive medieval capitals of the Khmer Empire located at Angkor, in northwest Cambodia (∼9th to 15th centuries in the Common Era, C.E.), has identified it as the largest settlement complex of the preindustrial world, and yet crucial areas have remained unmapped, in particular the ceremonial centers and their surroundings, where dense forest obscures the traces of the civilization that typically remain in evidence in surface topography. Here we describe the use of airborne laser scanning (lidar) technology to create high-precision digital elevation models of the ground surface beneath the vegetation cover. We identify an entire, previously undocumented, formally planned urban landscape into which the major temples such as Angkor Wat were integrated. Beyond these newly identified urban landscapes, the lidar data reveal anthropogenic changes to the landscape on a vast scale and lend further weight to an emerging consensus that infrastructural complexity, unsustainable modes of subsistence, and climate variation were crucial factors in the decline of the classical Khmer civilization.

OLDER-AGE PARENTS IN RURAL CAMBODIA AND MIGRATION OF ADULT CHILDREN

This study examines links between migration status and location of adult children and measures associated with the well-being of older parents. Data come from older adults born between 1940 and 1950 living in a region in northwest Cambodia near the Thai border with good access to Phnom Penh. Analyses are conducted from the perspectives of the older adult and adult children. Results show that high rates of out-migration do not leave their older parents without alternative means of support. Migrant children often remain in contact by telephone. Most adult children remit money to their parents, but the majority of remittances are small. While large remittances are atypical, adult children living in Phnom Penh or across the border in Thailand are more likely to provide substantial amounts. The analysis presents a picture of an area where people are on the move but families still share resources and time with older adults.

Alternative Cropping Systems for North-West Cambodia

Alternative Cropping Systems for North-West Cambodia

Water availability, management practices and grain yield for deepwater rice in Northwest Cambodia

To characterize the annual and spatial variation in grain yield of deepwater rice on the floodplains of Tonle Sap Lake, Cambodia, from 2008 to 2011 we collected information on water availability, farming practices, and rice yield through intensive field monitoring, farmer interviews and yield sampling along a transect line of a water depth gradient. A total of 86 fields covering 91.5ha were divided into 3 zones: an upper zone where only lowland rice (LR) was grown (referred to as ULR), a middle zone where both LR and floating rice (FR) were grown (MLR and MFR, respectively), and a lower zone closest to the lake where only FR was grown (LFR). The inundation from Tonle Sap Lake was within the normal range in 2008 and 2009, but it was extremely large and caused a complete crop failure in the study area in 2011. Conversely, no inundation occurred in 2010. Continuous standing of water started earlier (i.e., early September) in the lower zone and reached maximum depth in mid-October; water receded earlier (i.e., mid- to late November) in the upper zone than in the lower zone. FR was broadcast earlier (April) and harvested later (January) than LR (May and late November to December, respectively). A total of 6 LR varieties and 4 FR varieties with different heading times were planted during the study period. Maximum and average yields of LR were higher than those of FR, and from 2008 to 2011 the proportion of the LR variety Raing Chey planted steadily increased, whereas that of the late-maturing floating rice variety Veal Veng decreased. Grain yield in the middle zone was the lowest of the three zones. Maintenance of standing water after heading, larger input of N fertilizer, and appropriate weed management were found to contribute to higher yields for both LR and FR. These results should help farmers to cope with unpredictable flooding in areas where deepwater rice is cultivated.

Bioarchaeological evidence for conflict in Iron Age north-west Cambodia

Examination of skeletal material from graves at Phum Snay in north-west Cambodia revealed an exceptionally high number of injuries, especially to the head, likely to have been caused by interpersonal violence. The graves also contain a quantity of swords and other offensive weapons used in conflict. The authors propose a context for these warriors in the struggle between emergent polities in the Iron Age before the domination of Angkor.

Farmers’ Management Practices and Grain Yield of Rice in Response to Different Water Environments in Kamping Puoy Irrigation Rehabilitation Area in Northwest Cambodia

The farmers’ management practices and grain yield were examined in the consecutive 4 cropping seasons from wet season rice (WSR) in 2008 to dry season rice (DSR) in 2010 across upstream, midstream and downstream fields, along two secondary drainage canals (located either upstream or downstream side along the main canal) in the Kamping Puoy Irrigation Rehabilitation area (KPIR). In WSR, standing water depth was much deeper in downstream fields where medium and late maturing varieties were planted from May than in upstream fields where early and early medium maturing varieties were planted later (mostly in July and August). In DSR there was less difference in water conditions between upstream and downstream fields and variation in planting and harvesting time was small. As the area percentage of fields where DSR was introduced increased from 2008 (54%) to 2010 (100%), planting time in WSR was later (e.g., from May to July) with declining proportion of dry seeding method and mid-season tillage. Grain yield was low in DSR, particularly in 2010 (287 and 247 g m-2 in 2009 and 2010 on average, respectively), due to insufficient weed control and small amount of fertilizer, and the yield was lowest in fields which practiced DSR for the first time. Grain yield in WSR (286 and 291 g m-2 in 2008 and 2009 respectively) increased by transplanting, use of high yielding Raing Chey variety, and application of a larger amount of N chemical fertilizer. These findings indicated that the agriculture extension support to farmers, particularly in DSR, is a key important factor for rice yield improvement in KPIR.

On the origin of pre-Angkorian peoples: perspectives from cranial and dental affinity of the human remains from Iron Age Phum Snay, Cambodia

This article presents the results of an assessment of the morphological affinities of the skeletal remains from a large mortuary assemblage, dated to Iron Age, in Phum Snay, a village in Banteay Meanchey Province, northwest Cambodia. The purpose of the research is to address the origin of these pre-Angkorian people. Multivariate comparisons using cranial and dental metrics, as well as dental nonmetric traits, demonstrate that the characteristic affinities intermediate between the early Holocene Hoabinhian groups akin to Australo-Melanesians and the present-day people in the mainland Southeast Asia. This finding suggests that the ancient people of Phum Snay preserved genetic traits of early indigenous populations, whereas modern mainland Southeast Asians, including Cambodians, were more affected by gene flow from later migrants from East Asia into this region.

A Case Study on Farmers’ Choice of Direct Seeding and Transplanting in Rain-fed Lowlands in Northeast Thailand and Northwest Cambodia

A Case Study on Farmers’ Choice of Direct Seeding and Transplanting in Rain-fed Lowlands in Northeast Thailand and Northwest Cambodia

The Archaeological Landscape of Koh Ker, Northwest Cambodia

This article provides a summary of research activities and outcomes following several years of aerial and ground-based surveys undertaken at Koh Ker, in Preah Vihear Province in northwest Cambodia. Key findings include the discovery of a sophisticated and multi- period system of hydraulic engineering works bearing some similarities to that of Angkor in the 10th century ; the identification of areas likely devoted to intensive agriculture during the Angkorian period ; a re-appraisal of previously identified "roadways" and "city enclosures" ; evidence for domestic habitation and stone working sites ; the degree of connectivity of the northern "road" from Koh Ker to the Beng Mealea to Vat Phu road ; possible continuity of occupation from early historic to post-Angkorian periods ; evidence for the collapse of the water management system ; and indications of large-scale changes to the local environment including alterations in the flows of entire river systems.

Cambodia's forests and climate change: Mitigating drivers of deforestation

AbstractThe United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is exploring a mechanism to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD) to address global warming. This represents a major expansion of earlier forest‐oriented initiatives under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) that focused on afforestation and reforestation activities. While the scope of REDD projects is still being defined, potential categories include conservation, stock enhancement, and sustainable management, creating a range of new opportunities for forest‐related climate projects. The core concept behind REDD is that deforestation trends can be slowed, halted, or even reversed conserving billions of tons of carbon that would otherwise be emitted. To succeed, REDD projects will need to control powerful drivers of deforestation and forest degradation operating at multiple levels and carried‐out by a variety of actors, from rural people to political and economic elites. This case study of a REDD pilot project in northwest Cambodia explores how drivers might be contained under a project scenario and how the future international articulation of project design parameters could enable or constrain a global REDD strategy. The paper concludes that to be successful REDD projects will require a hybrid approach in which local drivers are controlled by communities and national drivers are mitigated through policy actions necessitating strong partnerships between diverse institutions.

Health in Pre-Angkorian Cambodia: A Bioarchaeological Analysis of the Skeletal Remains from Phum Snay

Excavations at a pre-Angkorian (c. 350 B.C.–A.D. 200) cemetery in the village of Phum Snay, Northwest Cambodia, have revealed 23 inhumations. This small sample of skeletal remains varies in completeness from a scatter of bone to complete articulated skeletons with an array of grave goods including bronze and iron artifacts. There is archaeological evidence for a possible militarized society, but the overall health of this small cemetery population does not provide further conclusive evidence. Demographically, the skeletal sample lacks many subadults and older adults and is skewed 2 : 1 toward females, but this is probably a result of poor preservation and sample size rather than any true bias in cemetery organization. Stature in both males and females is wide ranging and may indicate a heterogeneous sample either in terms of genetics or access to resources. Dental health shows evidence for sexual differentiation in diet, with females showing more caries and less advanced attrition than males, perhaps reflecting a sexual division of labor. There is also a very high proportion of adults, both male and female, with intentional ablation of the anterior dentition, most commonly involving the upper lateral incisors and upper canines. Apart from some cases of moderate joint degeneration and minor fracture (hand and clavicle), there is very little evidence for significant disease or trauma. Overall, evidence from this small sample is suggestive of a relatively healthy lifestyle but with some indicators of a non-egalitarian social structure.

ARCHAEOLOGY IN CAMBODIA] A preliminary report on the excavation of a late prehistoric cemetery in Northwest Cambodia

ARCHAEOLOGY IN CAMBODIA] A preliminary report on the excavation of a late prehistoric cemetery in Northwest Cambodia

Contribution of Rice Field Ecosytems to Food Security Strategies in Northwest Cambodia

ABSTRACT Rich in biodiversity, Cambodia's rice field ecosystems are an important source of livelihood and food security. Foraging of aquatic plants and animals alongside the cultivation of rice has been the main characteristic of food and income systems of traditional Cambodian rural society. Participatory action learning involving 30 farmers in three different villages located in three different lowland ecosystems of northwest Cambodia showed that fish and other aquatic animals collected (between 111 kg and 267 kg/family based on ecosystems) from rice field ecosystems constitute an important source of food and income. It is also true for plants collected from the ecosystems. In lowland environment of Cambodia, and considering the rice economy only, there is very little economic advantage growing rice with traditional cultivation techniques over importing it. However, if we take into consideration the total production of nutrients from cultivated and non-cultivated sources Cambodian rice fields are highly productive. Unsustainable interventions for economic development and modernization (such as increased use of agro-chemicals, development of irrigation, and drainage structures) may reduce the productivity of rice field ecosystems and affect livelihood patterns and food security. The paper argues that a focus on increasing the rice production without any regard to the total bio-productivity of the rice field ecosystems could result in higher ecological costs, which could make the increase in rice production ecologically as well as nutritionally unsustainable.

Efficacy of artemether–lumefantrine for the treatment of uncomplicated falciparum malaria in northwest Cambodia

To determine the efficacy of artemether-lumefantrine malaria treatment, as an alternative to artesunate + mefloquine, which is becoming ineffective in some areas of the Thai-Cambodian border. Two studies were conducted to monitor the efficacy of artemether-lumefantrine in Sampov Lun referral hospital, Battambang Province, in 2002 and 2003, and one study was conducted to assess the efficacy of mefloquine + artesunate in 2003 for comparison. The studies were performed according to the WHO standardized protocol with a follow-up of 28 days. The therapeutic efficacy tests were complemented with in vitro tests and in 2003, with the measurement of lumefantrine plasma concentration at day 7 for the patients treated with artemether-lumefantrine. A total of 190 patients were included: 55 were treated with artemether-lumefantrine in 2002 (AL2002), 80 with artemether-lumefantrine and food supplementation in 2003 (AL2003) and 55 with artesunate + mefloquine in 2003 (AM2003). With the per-protocol analysis, the cure rate was 71.1% in study AL2002, 86.5% in study AL2003 and 92.4% in study AM2003. All the data were PCR corrected. The artemether-lumefantrine cure rate was unexpectedly low in 2002, but it increased with food supplementation in 2003. There was a significant difference (P = 0.02) in lumefantrine plasma concentrations between adequate clinical and parasitological responses and treatment failure cases. In vitro susceptibility to lumefantrine was reduced for isolates sampled from patients presenting with treatment failure, but the difference was not statistically different from isolates sampled from patients who were successfully treated. Treatment failure cases of artemether-lumefantrine are most probably because of low levels of lumefantrine blood concentration. Further investigations are necessary to determine whether resistance of Plasmodium falciparum isolates to lumefantrine is present in the region.

Genetic ancestries in northwest Cambodia

A survey of the genetic ancestry of 125 Cambodian children resident in Siem Reap province was undertaken, based on eight Y-chromosome binary polymorphisms and sequencing of the mtDNA HV1 region. The data indicated a largely East Asian paternal ancestry and a local Southeast Asian maternal ancestry. The presence of Y-chromosomes P* and R1a1* was suggestive of a small but significant Indo-European male ancestral component, which probably reflects the history of Indian, and later European, influences on Cambodia.

Genetic disorders in a paediatric hospital in Cambodia

Cambodia is an extremely underdeveloped country in Southeast Asia with a childhood mortality rate of 105/1000 live births. Angkor Hospital for Children is a paediatric teaching hospital in Siem Reap, northwest Cambodia, which serves as the provincial paediatric department but also sees children from provinces throughout northern Cambodia, and with training provided for health workers from all parts of the country. The impact of genetic disease on this paediatric population is discussed, addressing the areas of haematology (including thalassaemia and other haemoglobinopathies, glucose-6-phosphate deficiency and bleeding disorders), multifactorial disorders (cleft palate, congenital heart disease and neural tube defects), and uncommon genetic disorders and chromosomal syndromes. In the future, as low-income countries develop and their burden of infectious disease begins to subside, the contribution of these disorders to paediatric morbidity and mortality will become increasingly apparent. This transition needs to be considered in the allocation of health resources and in the structuring of undergraduate and postgraduate medical education.

GIS in Participatory Research: Assessing the Impact of Landmines on Communities in North‐west Cambodia

AbstractThe view of GIS, adopted by many, as an undemocratic and divisive technology is perhaps most poignant in settings where financial and skills‐based resources are limited, notably in lower‐income countries. Where those countries are also recovering from a period of military conflict there would at first sight seem to be little opportunity for employing GIS as part of a socially‐sensitive approach to ‘development’. This paper explores the potential for using GIS in participatory approaches to gathering and analysing geographical information on human‐environment interactions in post‐conflict settings. We discuss empirical work from northwest Cambodia where GIS and participatory methods have been integrated to assess risk to local communities from landmines and to develop priorities for landmine clearance. In juxtaposing ‘official’, spatially‐referenced data with indigenous geographical knowledge in this study we seek to privilege meaningful geographical understandings over conventional notions of spatial ‘accuracy’. In so doing we carry out a Participatory Mine Impact Assessment (PMIA) to explore spatial activities among local populations in mine‐contaminated communities and to help identify improved strategies for returning refugees in re‐establishing livelihoods.