World Rainforest Movement
http://www.wrm.org.uy
<Click on photos to view a larger size version>Proponents of industrial tree plantations argue that the plantations are “reforestation”,increasing the area of forest, providing jobs for local people, or reducing pressure on natural forests.
The reality in Cambodia exposes these arguments for propaganda. Approximately 85 per cent of Cambodia’s 13 million population lives in rural areas. A significant majority of the rural population are subsistence farmers who depend on farmland, rivers and forests for their livelihoods. During the 1990s, the government handed over approximately seven million hectares to logging companies. Although most of these concessions have now been revoked, logging continues, both legally and illegally. One of the mechanisms through which logging continues is the granting of large-scale land concessions (or “economic concessions” as they are sometimes referred to), including concessions for industrial tree plantations.
There are currently close to 1,000,000 hectares under land concessions in Cambodia, for agroindustrial crops such as cassava, sugar cane, rubber, pulpwood and palm oil.
In November 2004, the United Nations Secretary General’s Special Representative for Human Rights in Cambodia, Peter Leuprecht, released a report on land concessions from a human rights perspective. In the foreword, Leuprecht wrote: “The situation I met shocked me. The companies have been given rights over land that are very similar to ownership. Yet they have little or no regard for welfare; and they contribute little, if anything, to overall state revenue. I have concluded that the policies are wrong. They are not reducing poverty in Cambodia, and they are allowing the continued plundering of its natural resources.”
The reality in Cambodia exposes these arguments for propaganda. Approximately 85 per cent of Cambodia’s 13 million population lives in rural areas. A significant majority of the rural population are subsistence farmers who depend on farmland, rivers and forests for their livelihoods. During the 1990s, the government handed over approximately seven million hectares to logging companies. Although most of these concessions have now been revoked, logging continues, both legally and illegally. One of the mechanisms through which logging continues is the granting of large-scale land concessions (or “economic concessions” as they are sometimes referred to), including concessions for industrial tree plantations.
There are currently close to 1,000,000 hectares under land concessions in Cambodia, for agroindustrial crops such as cassava, sugar cane, rubber, pulpwood and palm oil.
In November 2004, the United Nations Secretary General’s Special Representative for Human Rights in Cambodia, Peter Leuprecht, released a report on land concessions from a human rights perspective. In the foreword, Leuprecht wrote: “The situation I met shocked me. The companies have been given rights over land that are very similar to ownership. Yet they have little or no regard for welfare; and they contribute little, if anything, to overall state revenue. I have concluded that the policies are wrong. They are not reducing poverty in Cambodia, and they are allowing the continued plundering of its natural resources.”
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