| The recent arrival of natural resource based industries to Tumring is greatly impacting the livelihoods of local people. The sustainable livelihoods framework is used to analyse the effects of this commercialization on the rural population. Villagers' access to natural, social, human and financial capital impacts their resilience and vulnerability to change. Natural capital has long been the asset forming the base of livelihoods, particularly through rice farming and NTFP collection. Livelihood sustainability has therefore been affected by annexation of farmland by a state owned rubber company and by restricted forest access because of local timber concessions. This has resulted in threatened food security and natural resource base sustainability. Any benefit arising from recent development is not distributed justly, with Cambodian political and economic elite profiting and local villagers often gaining the least. This development is not reducing poverty in the region, as is suggested by the government's poverty reduction strategy. |
