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Cambodia has become a principal target of transnational (and domestic) land grabs over the past decade, mostly in the form of economic land concessions (ELCs). The northeastern part of the country—where the majority of Cambodia’s indigenous people reside—is a particular hotspot. In this article, we discuss three policy mechanisms that the Cambodian government has employed to extend and legitimize land exclusions in the name of national economic development through the example of two indigenous villages in Srae Preah Commune, Mondulkiri Province. First, we show how the allocation of two ELCs has deprived indigenous communities of their communally managed land. Second, we examine how communal land titling processes have failed to provide indigenous villagers with effective legal mechanisms to counteract ELCs and land encroachment by internal migrants. Third, we elucidate how the promotion of cash crop production contributed to livelihood and land use transitions from a reliance on forest resources in 2003 to a dependence on cash crops in 2012 to a struggle to remain resilient amid a slump in crop prices in 2018. We conclude that the combination of these policies has undermined communal ownership and livelihood resilience under a situation of limited exit strategies.

Plants extracts and essential oils were used in pest management in different crops against various pests. Under field conditions, we examined the effect of two plant extracts and four essential aromatic oils on the response of tomato hybrid cultivar Gold Stone to Tuta absoluta infestation. Also, their effects on some growth characteristics of tomato plants as well as their total phenolic compounds and total flavonoids contents were explored in the two successive summer seasons of 2011 and 2012. The treatments were Lemon grass extract (Cymbopogon citratus) at 25 gm /L., Garlic extract (Allium sativum) at 5ml / L., Eucalyptus oil (Eucalyptus spp.) at 0.5%, Rue oil (Ruta graveolens) at 0.5%, Anise oil (Ocimum basilicum) at 0.5%, Basil oil (Pimpinella anisum) at 0.5%. Ethyl acetate (Solvent) and tap water (Control). The plants were sprayed three times at two week intervals starting after 40 days from transplanting. All treatments reduced population density of Tuta absoluta significantly. The highest reduction was recorded by garlic extract followed by lemon grass extract and basil oil. Lemon grass extract significantly increased Lascorbic acid (Vitamin C) contents in tomato fruits followed by basil oil. Also, garlic extract increased the yield of tomato significantly followed by eucalyptus oil in the first season while in the second season, anise oil followed by garlic extract were insignificantly increased the fruit yield than the other tested treatments. On the other hand, garlic extract recorded the highest values of total phenolic compounds (TPCs) and total flavonoids (TFs) in unifested and infestedtreated tomato leaves.

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Integrating local knowledge and scientific information can aid in co-developing locally relevant approaches for climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction. Communities along the Mekong River have adapted to variability in temperature, rainfall, and flooding patterns over time. Rapid environmental change in the Mekong Basin presents a new set of challenges related to drought, altered seasonal rainfall, more frequent high-flow flood events, and water withdrawals for hydropower and irrigation. We present a multi-method approach to understand how local knowledge of the spatial and temporal patterns of floods, droughts, and rainfall can be integrated with scientific information along a flood-prone section of the lower Mekong River in Kratie Province, Cambodia. Participatory hazard mapping of community members’ knowledge of the movement of floodwaters through the landscape enabled interpretation of flood extent mapping using Synthetic Aperture Radar images from the Sentinel-1A satellite. Seasonal calendars of weather patterns and livelihood activities, together with local indicators of flooding, rainfall, and drought were compared with trends in 35 years of rainfall data, and highlighted “pressure points” at the beginning and end of the rainy season where agriculture may be particularly impacted by climate change. We discuss potential applications of our findings for adaptation and hazard planning.

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The publication of a controversial article in Third World Quarterly and the consequent unveiling and critical questioning of journal practices continue to engender strong negative feelings for many scholars. At a critical juncture within the publication process of this collection, we faced an ethical dilemma regarding how to maintain political and ethical commitments while manoeuvring within a sometimes hostile academic environment. Here we examine the dilemma and its resolutions to reflect on configurations of power in academia. Through the lenses of (dis)comfort, judgement and solidarity, we examine the affective intensities that shaped our individual and collective decisions. Reflections on the process reveal the need to attend to how affects shape the resolution of shared ethical dilemmas in ways that reinforce structural (dis)advantages. We argue that 'comfort' , achieved through solidarities, allows for the navigation of the ethical-political in ways open to multiple possibilities. Decolonial practice should attend to affective practices that privilege some claims over others and limit the capacity of future scholars to shape the ethical terrain of development studies.