DISCOURSES, INSTITUTION, AND POWER: POLITICAL ECOLOGY OF COMMUNITY-BASED NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT IN CAMBODIA

Abstract

Community-Based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM) is one of popular contemporary approaches for natural resource management around the world. It is widely known for its discourse as a panacea for addressing environmental problems and rural livelihood improvement, even though their success stories remain questionable. Through the lenses of two remote communities in Cambodia, my PhD dissertation examines how interactions of diverse actors from multiple scales shape processes and practices of this northern-originated approach, CBNRM, on the ground. To inform my analysis, I borrow some theories from Political Ecology, which include discourse, power, and institutions. The results from the study demonstrate what I term ‘Environmental Theatre’. In the context of this study, I use the term environmental theatre to refer to a situation where diverse actors at multiple scales, whether state agencies, non-government organizations, transnational corporations, or individual villagers, play a part in shaping environmental policy, and try to influence and direct policy outcomes towards individual, rather than collective, ends or goals. Individual performance replaces collaboration and co-working.