TA No. 4756-CAM TONLE SAP LOWLAND STABILIZATION PROJECT CAMBODIA RRA Summary Survey Report Receiver: Asian Development Bank November 2006 In cooperation with: Table of contents LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS 4 SUMMARY 5 1 INTRODUCTION & METHODOLOGY 8 1.1 Background 8 1.2 Survey Methodology 9 1.3 Selection of RRA Contractor 10 1.4 Performance 12 1.5 Selection of Study Villages 15 2 LAND USE 21 2.1 Project Area 21 2.2 Maps 25 2.3 Transects 28 2.4 Summary 31 3 SUSTAINABLE LIVELIHOODS 32 3.1 Vulnerability 32 3.2 Assets & Pentagon Configuration 35 3.3 Summary 46 4 WEALTH RANKING 48 4.1 The Exercise 48 4.2 Results 48 4.3 Summary 53 5 SEASONAL CALENDAR 54 5.1 Nature of the Exercise 54 5.2 Gender 54 5.3 Cultivation & Pollution 55 5.4 Grazing and the Alienation of Land 60 5.5 Ceremonial Obligations 61 5.6 Summary 61 6 MOBILITY 62 6.1 Daily movements 62 6.2 Seasonal migration 64 6.3 Circular migration 65 6.4 Summary 67 7 INSTITUTIONAL RELATIONSHIPS 69 1 7.1 Summary 72 8 DEVELOPMENT PRIORITIES 73 8.1 Gender Analysis of Priority Ranking 75 8.2 Gender Summary of Highest Ranking Issues 77 8.3 Summary 80 9 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 82 9.1 Conclusions 82 9.2 Recommendations 86 APPENDICES 89 APPENDIX 1 LIST OF SUB-PROJECTS SUGESTED BY VILLAGERS 90 1.1 Srah Kaev 91 1.2 Tuol Roka 91 1.3 Ta Vak 92 1.4 Kleng Por 92 1.5 Beng 93 1.6 Ansa Kdam 93 1.7 Chrab 94 1.8 Thmei 94 1.9 Bansay Traeng 95 1.10 Spean 95 1.11 Preah Ponlea 95 1.12 Rung Chrey 96 1.13 Roka Chhmoul 96 1.14 Ream Kon 97 1.15 Voat Kandal 97 1.16 Prey Svay 98 1.17 Pralay Chrey 98 1.18 Ph’av Thmei 98 1.19 Kandal 99 1.20 Sreh Kaeut 99 1.21 Doun Kaev 100 1.22 Doun On 100 1.23 Trapaeng Russei 100 1.24 Srah 100 1.25 Tnaot 101 1.26 Kiri Meanon 101 1.27 Trav Bak 101 1.28 Phka Rumchek 102 1.29 K’en 102 1.30 Phlaoch 102 1.31 Prasat 103 1.32 Slaeng Khpos 103 2 APPENDIX 2 TOPOGRAPHICAL MAPS SHOWING RRA/PRA STUDY VILLAGES 104 Table of Figures FIGURE 1: EXAMPLE OF VILLAGE SKETCH MAP ........................................ 27 FIGURE 2 EXAMPLE OF TRANSECT. ANSA KDAM VILLAGE ........................ 29 FIGURE 3 SUSTAINABLE LIVELIHOODS PENTAGON................................... 36 FIGURE 4: KAMPONG CHHNANG PENTAGONS........................................... 38 FIGURE 5: PURSAT PENTAGONS .............................................................. 39 FIGURE 6: BATTAMBANG PENTAGONS – THMA KOUL DISTRICTT ................. 40 FIGURE 7: BATTAMBANG PENTAGONS – MOUNG RUSSEI & SANGKAE DISTRICTS .............................................................................. 41 FIGURE 8: BANTEAY MEANCHEY PENTAGONS .......................................... 42 FIGURE 9: SIEM REAP PENTAGONS – PUOK DISTRICT .............................. 43 FIGURE 10: SIEM REAP PENTAGONS – PRASAT BAKAONG & SOUTRE DISTRICTS .............................................................................. 44 FIGURE 11: KAMPONG THOM PENTAGONS ................................................. 45 FIGURE 12: EXAMPLE OF SEASONAL CALENDAR. SPEAN VILLAGE, THMA KOUL DISTRICT 56 FIGURE 13: MOBILITY MAP EXAMPLE: POOR & VERY POOR HOUSEHOLDS SIEM REAP ............................................................................. 63 FIGURE 14: TRAPEANG RUSSEI VENN DIAGRAM SHOWING INSTITUTIONAL NETWORK............................................................................... 71 FIGURE 15: WATER MANAGEMENT – IRRIGATION ISSUES FOR RICE CULTIVATION (30 / 32 VILLAGES) ............................................. 77 FIGURE 16: ROADS, BRIDGES AND CULVERTS (28 / 32 VILLAGES).............. 77 FIGURE 17: HEALTH AND HYGIENE (28 / 32 VILLAGES) ............................... 78 FIGURE 18: DOMESTIC WATER SUPPLY (26 / 32 VILLAGES)........................ 78 FIGURE 19: ACCESS TO EDUCATION (19 / 32 VILLAGES)............................ 79 FIGURE 20: IMPROVED FISHERIES MANAGEMENT (12 / 32 VILLAGES)......... 79 FIGURE 21: FOOD SECURITY (10 / 32 VILLAGES)....................................... 80 List of Tables TABLE 1: GREATER TSLSP AREA .......................................................... 15 TABLE 2: SHORTLIST OF TSLSP RRA SURVEY SITES............................. 17 TABLE 3: TONLE SAP LAND STABILIZATION PROJECT RRA SURVEY SITES 18 TABLE 4: SCHEMATIC CLASSIFICATION OF LAND TYPES IN RRA SURVEY AREA...................................................................................... 24 TABLE 5 SUMMARY OF WEALTH GROUPS IN RRA STUDY VILLAGES ....... 49 TABLE 6 RANKED WEALTH GROUPS IN RRA STUDY VILLAGES .............. 51 TABLE 7: MAJOR ISSUES RANKED BY 32 STUDY VILLAGES...................... 75 TABLE 8: MINOR ISSUES RANKED BY A FEW OF THE STUDY VILLAGES..... 76 3 List of Abbreviations ADB Asian Development Bank AEA Agro-Ecological Analysis (Used by Dept Agr. Extn) A&WR Agriculture & Water Resources CC Commune Council CDP Commune Development Plan CMDG Cambodia Millennium Development Goals CSD Council for Social Development DH&RW Department of Hydrology & River Works DoG Department of Geography DOWRAM (Provincial) Department of Water resources and Meteorology EDP External Development Partner FHHH Female Headed Households FWUC Farmer Water User Community HH Household IRAP Integrated Rural Action Planning MAFF Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries MDG Millennium Development Goals MEF Ministry of Economics and Finance MLUPC Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction MOE Ministry of Environment MOI Ministry of Interior MOP Ministry of Planning MOWA Ministry of Women’s Affairs MOWRAM Ministry of Water Resources and Meteorology MPWT Ministry of Public Works and Transport MRC Mekong River Commission MRD Ministry of Rural Development MSME Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises NGO Non-Governmental Organization PCU Project Coordination Unit PLA Participatory Learning and Action PMU Project Management Unit PRA Participatory Rural Appraisal PRDC Provincial Rural Development Committee RGC Royal Government of Cambodia RRA Rapid Rural Appraisal SEDP Social and Economic Development Plan SL Sustainable Livelihoods SME Small and Medium Enterprises SPSS Statistical Package for the Social Sciences TA Technical Assistance TL Team Leader TSBR Tonle Sap Biosphere Reserve TSBRS Tonle Sap Biosphere Reserve Secretariat TSEMP Tonle Sap Environmental Management Project TSLSP Tonle Sap Lowland Stabilization Project TSSL Tonle Sap Sustainable Livelihoods VDC Village Development Committee WSUG Water Supply User Group 4 SUMMARY Between 30 August and 18 October 2006 a contracted RRA team of 9 -10 mostly young people under the leadership of Kaing Khim and the supervision of the TSLSP PRA Specialist visited 32 villages, spoke to 16 commune chiefs, 14 district governors or their deputies, and six heads or their deputies of the Department of Water Resources and Meteorology in the six provinces either bordering on or close to the Tonle Sap. The officials were asked for their advice on where the RRA team should work. Final selection of villages was made from a list compiled in a formal manner in Phnom Penh and approved by H.E. Veng Sakhon. In each of the selected villages a three day RRA exercise was carried out using interactive participatory tools chosen from the PRA inventory. The PRA specialist is satisfied that although these tools were rarely used in an exemplary participatory manner a good standard was achieved and is confident the results are reliable. This report provides a summary of findings. What RRA facilitators were told by villagers. The original hand written village field reports in Khmer are held by the TSLSP along with the English Word translation, RRA Working Reports. There is an Khmer and English report for each province. The main findings in the same order in which they are discussed in the Summary text are: • Right from the early exercises, partly because participants thought the RRA team was from MOWRAM but also because they consider it to be a matter of considerable importance, villagers suggested projects that involved rehabilitating water management infrastructure built largely during Khmer Rouge times. • As many as 90% of rural people included in the survey are extremely vulnerable to shocks, especially seasonal shortfalls in rain and/or flooding. Any serious local ‘drought’, heavy rainfall or flood quickly places 50% of households in extenuating circumstances. Poor health and the costs involved in finding a cure can ruin a family. • Socioeconomic differentiation has gone very quickly and the difference between the rich and poor is growing rapidly. Rehabilitation of ‘irrigation’ structures will largely benefit the better off but this is not always the case. • The poor have few resources to fall back on and women headed households are disproportionately represented in this group. • The Sustainable Livelihood Pentagons illustrate the fact that the capital/assets endowment of any two villages is rarely the same. In terms of available human skills, natural resources, access to credit and other funds, physical infrastructure, and social/political capital each village has its own configuration. Sensitive, sociologically 5 intervention is needed to make the most of potential change and develop positive synergies. • One of the best ways of doing this is to engage in participatory planning followed by the funding of village centred action plans. The psychosocial cost of inequality are considerable. Strategies that can ameliorate this and empower people even in modest ways can make a difference. • Women are a major presence in all agricultural activities and must be deliberately included in any agricultural extension work. • Ceremonial occasions rank