Political Economy of Fishing Villages: A Case Study in the Tonle Sap Lake, Cambodia

Sithirith, Mak

doi:10.17265/2162-5263/2016.06.005

Cited by 3 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…Very few publications in our sample address themes from all three clusters. Of these, notable publications that take a holistic view of dried fish economies include Kurlansky's Cod : A Biography of the Fish that Changed the World (1998), which explores the 600‐year world history of cod fishing and salt cod trade with reference to culture and geopolitics; Mak Sithirith's (2016) political‐economic study of fishing villages surrounding the Tonle Sap Lake in Cambodia; and Slaves for a Season (Blanchet et al, 2006), which reports on children's labour in the fish drying industry in Bangladesh, addressing themes of well‐being, economy, gender, health, microeconomics, and labour relations. These studies are important for their attention to the human dimensions of dried fish economies, identifying the impacts of economic practices at scales ranging from the individual to the regional or global political economy.…”

Section: Discussion: Strengths and Gapsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dried fish at the intersection of food science, economy, and culture: A global survey

et al. 2022

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Dried fish-here defined broadly as aquatic animals preserved using simple techniques, such as sun-drying, salting, fermentation, and smoking that permit storage as foods at ambient temperature for extended periods without specialized packaginghave received little direct attention in fisheries research. This lack of visibility belies their historical and contemporary importance. Prior to the introduction of refrigeration, dried fish were the main form in which fisheries catches were traded and consumed. Dried fish products remain a core component of production, trade, diets, and cuisines across the world, particularly in the Global South. The dried fish sector provides employment for millions of people, particularly women, who comprise most of the fish-drying workforce in many locations. However, the sector also confronts and creates significant challenges including food safety concerns and exploitative labour conditions. This paper is the first systematic assessment of the global literature on dried fish, comprised of a sample of >1100 references. In contrast to the general fisheries literature, which is dominated by studies of ecology and governance and focusses mainly on primary production, the dried fish literature is dominated by studies from food science and concentrates on the processing segment of fish value chains.As such, it offers valuable reference point for fisheries research, which is becoming increasingly attentive to food systems. This paper uncovers a wealth of insights buried in this largely unheralded literature, and identifies key thematic intersections, gaps and research questions that remain to be addressed in the study of dried fish.

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Section: Discussion: Strengths and Gapsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dried fish at the intersection of food science, economy, and culture: A global survey

et al. 2022

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“…The Neak tonle and neak leu live together as part of one mutual system, each respecting the function of the other. A form of dependency and reciprocity was thereby established between the neak leu and neak tonle to share their resources to support their respective livelihoods (Sithirith, 2016). Only about one per cent of the water flowing through Cambodia, with 750 million m 3 being utilized, 95% of it for agriculture.…”

Section: Fisheries and Fishingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Srekandal are located deeper inside the floodplain area between 6-and 8-m asl, being lower than Sreleu, but higher than Srekrom. Srekrom (deep water rice/floating rice field) are located deeper inside the Tonle Sap floodplain area between 4-and 6-m asl(Sithirith, 2016).The rice cultivation in Sreleu is entirely dependent on rainfall rather than on the lake's hydrology. Farmers in the Srekandal cultivated floating rice in the past, but have since changed to planting receding rice after the receding water in the lake.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Thus, farmers cultivate rice varieties (known as a 'Srove Leung Tuk', translated as 'rising water rice' in English) that grow and rise according to water levels. Although farmers cultivate a 'dry season rice' in this area during the dry season, farming in these areas is carried out traditionally, being small-scale and subsistence in nature and largely dependent on rainfall and, sometimes, on the lake water(Sithirith, 2016).Farming in Sreleu, Srekandal and Srekrom has been affected by situation of too much water and too little water. There is too much water in the TSL floodplain during the wet season, sometime causing flooding and damaging the rice farming and people's properties.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Analysing transboundary water governance: A global‐regional‐national water governance framework of Tonle Sap Lake

Sithirith

2022

Lakes & Reservoirs

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Transboundary water governance is multiscale and multilevel, involving different actors with diverse interests, power and politics at different levels and scales. The specific level and scale are key governance challenges in transboundary water governance. Although there is considerable literature on the scale and level, there is a little elaboration on how they are operationalized in transboundary water governance. Accordingly, the present study focuses on how scale and level complicate transboundary water governance. It is based on literature and a case study on Tonle Sap Lake (TSL) to illustrate the implications of transboundary water governance at different levels and scales on the Mekong River Basin (MRB) that have also affected water governance of TSL. The Mekong River is the 10th largest river and 12th longest river in the world. Its basin drains a total land area of 795,000 km 2 from the eastern watershed of the Tibetan Plateau to the Mekong Delta. The Mekong River flows approximately 4909-km through three provinces of China, continuing into Myanmar, Lao PDR, Thailand, Cambodia and Viet Nam before emptying into the South China Sea. It begins in the mountains on the northeastern rim of the Tibetan Plateau in wetlands situated about 5000-m above sea level. It flows through Chinese territory in Qinghai, Tibet and Yunnan for nearly 2200-km. By the time the river leaves China, its altitude has fallen to about 400-m above sea level (Hori, 2000). It then winds its way for just over 2700-km through Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam before emptying into the South China Sea (Jacobs, 2002). The Mekong River releases 475 km 3 of water each year to the China Sea (Kummu et al., 2008).

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“…Despite its significant value, Tonle Sap has been increasingly threatened, becoming a cause of serious concern (Shivakoti et al, 2020). A number of studies have been carried out, pertaining to topics such as: the co-management of small-scale fisheries (Sok & Yu, 2021); the effects of environmental degradation on income deriving from small-scale fishing (Hartje et al, 2018); the role of CFi's in reducing livelihood vulnerability resulting from climate change (Wessling, 2020); impediments to community fishery management (Sok et al, 2012); how fishing communities in the Tonle Sap Lake make their living in the context of declining stocks of resources, increased competition between fishers, resource politics, and increased trade around the Lake (Sithirith, 2016); political participation and small-scale fishery management (Sok et al, 2021); lake and livelihoods (Bao et al, 2022); and, the importance of and challenges to fishery resources (Seingheng, 2022).…”

Section: Conceptual Framework: Sustainable Livelihoodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sustainable livelihoods analysis in the Tonle Sap Lake and its floodplain, Cambodia

Doeur,

Senglong

2022

ICJBAR

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Tonle Sap Lake is the largest body of freshwater in Southeast Asia, benefiting millions of Cambodians. Yet, the lake is under increasing pressure, causing great concern for hundreds of communities depending on the bounty of its natural resources. This research analyzed types of employment, sustainable livelihood, and provision mechanisms in the fishing communities in Tonle Sap Lake. Household surveys were deployed to collect quantitative data from 505 households, and participatory approaches were applied to collect qualitative data through key informants and group discussions. The research findings supported four main conclusions. First, agricultural jobs remained the dominant mode of employment for the villagers in the communities surrounding the Tonle Sap, followed by fishing. For example, fishing was the mode of work for (33.7%), rice farming for (24.2%), and horticulture for (11.7%). Fishery and rice farming played an essential role in daily livelihoods. Second, however, the villagers' livelihoods were not yet fully sustainable. Their daily income per capita (9,199.7 Khmer Riels) was not significantly lower or higher than the rural poverty line (8,908 Khmer Riels), at t (504) = 0.499, P = 0.618. Moreover, their daily income was significantly lower than the national poverty line (10,951 Khmer Riels) set by the Ministry of Planning in 2021, at t (504) = -2.997, P = 0.003. Third, the villagers’ livelihoods were constrained by limited access to the five livelihood assets, specifically, professional skills and social assets, support mechanisms to create alternative livelihoods, and local livelihood strategies. Fourth, the existing support mechanisms do not function to improve access to the five assets and engender local strategies for reducing vulnerabilities. Some suggestions are given to enhance sustainable livelihoods related to increased access to the five assets. Access to the five assets for sustainable livelihoods is required to establish robust support mechanisms for all the key stakeholders, which include government agencies, NGOs, and communities. Alternative livelihoods were found to be a viable option to decrease the burden on natural resources and improve sustainable livelihoods.

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Political Economy of Fishing Villages: A Case Study in the Tonle Sap Lake, Cambodia

Cited by 3 publications

References 8 publications

Dried fish at the intersection of food science, economy, and culture: A global survey

Dried fish at the intersection of food science, economy, and culture: A global survey

Analysing transboundary water governance: A global‐regional‐national water governance framework of Tonle Sap Lake

Sustainable livelihoods analysis in the Tonle Sap Lake and its floodplain, Cambodia

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