Lincoln University Digital Thesis Copyright Statement The digital copy of this thesis is protected by the Copyright Act 1994 (New Zealand). This thesis may be consulted by you, provided you comply with the provisions of the Act and the following conditions of use: you will use the copy only for the purposes of research or private study you will recognise the author's right to be identified as the author of the thesis and due acknowledgement will be made to the author where appropriate you will obtain the author's permission before publishing any material from the thesis. Community-based Ecotourism and Empowerment of Indigenous People: the Case of Yeak Laom Community Development, Cambodia A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Tourism Management at Lincoln University by Bunly Bith Lincoln University 2011 Abstract of a thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Tourism Management. Abstract Community-based Ecotourism and Empowerment of Indigenous People: the Case of Yeak Laom Community Development, Cambodia by Bunly Bith Ecotourism, with its potential to generate income and employment and its promise to protect natural environment for local communities, has been considered an important agent for indigenous community development since the growth in demand for cultural tourism began in the early 1990s. It has been argued that, as a result of ecotourism, indigenous populations’ living standards and quality of life can be enhanced, and indigenous resources can be protected. In contrast, without community control, more often than not, ecotourism has contributed to unfair distribution of tourism benefits and deterioration of cultural and natural resources in indigenous communities. As a result, empowering indigenous communities to control ecotourism has been advocated as an integral component of sustainable tourism. In this sense, community-based ecotourism is often promoted as an effective mechanism for the empowerment of indigenous communities, allowing them to participate in decision making about, and control over, tourism development. This study evaluated the potential of the Yeak Laom Community-based Ecotourism development for empowering the indigenous Tampuan people who live adjacent to the Yeak Laom Protected Area, Ratanakiri, Cambodia. Key informant interviews, secondary data and survey questionnaires were used as research tools to examine collaborative efforts of key stakeholders to empower the Tampuan community to have control over, and assess the level of community participation in, the Yeak Laom Community-based Ecotourism development. This analysis also includes the evaluation of the perceptions of the Tampuan with regard to the impacts of the development on the economic, psychological, social and political lives of their people. The study results reveal that power re-distribution among the stakeholders involved in a collaborative process in Yeak Laom Community-based Ecotourism planning and implementation had the potential to be a crucial component in facilitating empowerment ii of the Tampuan community. The findings indicate that the Yeak Laom Community-based Ecotourism initiative was perceived as an important tool for enhancing the psychological, social and political empowerment of the Tampuan community, although the capacity of the project to contribute direct economic benefits to the community is limited. The thesis concludes that community-based ecotourism has the potential to contribute to a form of sustainable tourism for people living adjacent to protected natural areas when there is an effective collaboration with indigenous people. This is most effectively achieved when indigenous people have the ability to have control over, and make decisions about, the development based on their own interests. Keywords: Ecotourism, empowerment, stakeholder collaboration, community participation, tourism impacts, indigenous people, Yeak Laom, Cambodia. iii Acknowledgements The support and contributions of many people have made this study possible. First and foremost, I would like to express my profound gratitude to my supervisors, Professor Grant Cushman and Dr. Stephen Espiner, for their guidance and assistance in keeping me on the right track. Their considerable help and encouragment were significant in enabling me to continue the writing process, especially during the disruption from the Canterbury earthquakes (Sep. 2010- Feb. 2011). Their professional approach and positive attitude have positively transformed my academic status. I am indebted to the Government of New Zealand, especially the New Zealand Agency for International Development (NZAID), for fully supporting me in my goal to achieve a degree in Tourism Management at Lincoln University, Canterbury, New Zealand. This support is highly appreciated. Also, Angel Parry, the NZAID administrater, deserves a special mention for her active facilitation between me and NZAID during my study in New Zealand. I would like to sincerely thank all the key informants and survey participants who contributed significantly to the outcome of this study. Without their cooperation, the study would not have been possible. At this point, I am also grateful to Mr. Piseth Chey for helping with the facilitation and for providing contact information for the key informants. Many thanks to Janette Busch for copy-editing this thesis. I wish to extend my gratitude to my parents for unfailingly supporting and encouraging me throughout the process. Many thanks also go to my parents–in- law for their kind support and committment to look after my daughter during my study in New Zealand. In particular, my sincere gratitude goes to my husband for his company, patience and encouragement. I am also grateful to many people who helped me on the path to completing this research and who are too numerous to single out; please be aware that your contribution is highly appreciated. iv Table of Contents Abstract ..................................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................. iv List of Tables .......................................................................................................................... viii List of Figures .......................................................................................................................... ix List of Abbreviations ................................................................................................................ x Chapter 1 Introduction ............................................................................................................ 1 1.1 Background to the study.................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Research purposes and objectives ..................................................................................... 4 1.3 Research questions ............................................................................................................ 4 1.4 Research significance ........................................................................................................ 5 1.5 Thesis outline .................................................................................................................... 6 Chapter 2 Literature Review ................................................................................................... 8 2.1 Indigenous community development ................................................................................ 8 2.1.1 What is community? .............................................................................................. 9 2.1.2 Sustainable indigenous community development ............................................... 10 2.2 Tourism and indigenous community development ......................................................... 11 2.2.1 Tourism impacts .................................................................................................. 11 2.2.2 Sustainable tourism ............................................................................................. 13 2.3 Ecotourism ...................................................................................................................... 14 2.3.1 Ecotourism and indigenous community development ........................................ 16 2.3.2 Community control in ecotourism....................................................................... 18 2.3.3 Community-based ecotourism ............................................................................. 19 2.4 Empowerment ................................................................................................................. 20 2.4.1 Empowerment as a process (means) ................................................................... 21 2.4.1.1 Stakeholder collaboration...................................................................... 22 2.4.1.2 Power redistribution .............................................................................. 25 2.4.2 Empowerment as a ‘goal’ (an end) ..................................................................... 26 2.4.2.1 Degree of community participation ...................................................... 26 2.4.2.2 Empowerment dimensions .................................................................... 33 2.5 Summary