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THAILAND PROGRAM

CAMBODIA PROGRAM

SUSTAINABLE RESOURCE GOVERNANCE

INDIGENOUS LIVELIHOOD RIGHTS

MYANMAR/BURMA PROGRAM

SUSTAINABLE RESOURCE GOVERNANCE

After decades of conflict and violence, Cambodia has entered the 21st century as a politically stable country with strong and sustained economic growth. The country’s future path towards sustainable social and economic development, however, will principally depend on present day decisions on the use and management of its natural resource wealth.

Cambodia’s natural resource sector can only become a force for sustainable development if natural resources are managed in a way that minimises social and environmental impacts. Benefits and costs must be shared fairly and decisions made in a transparent, accountable and participatory manner.

The Cambodia office works towards empowering local civil society actors to contribute effectively to debates on policy priorities in the governance of natural resources. Our projects include the support of a coalition of Cambodian non-governmental organisations that promote greater transparency in the management of revenues from extractive industries. Through our partnership with the Community Based Natural Resource Management Learning Institute we support dialogue and joint learning among different stakeholders from communities, local organisations, academia and government.

In close cooperation with the HBF office in Beijing, and as a joint collaboration with WWF the Conservation Organisation and the International Institute for Sustainable Development we aim to better understand the role of China as an increasingly important actor in the region. This and other research projects aim to influence decision-making in consuming, producing and resource-providing countries to ensure that economic development and regional integration contributes to the sustainable use and management of natural resources in Cambodia and other countries of the Mekong region.

Rethinking Investments in Natural Resources: China’s Emerging Role in the Mekong Region Scoping Study, December 2008

China is establishing itself as an economic powerhouse around the world. Its economic rise and consequent demand for a reliable and steady supply of inexpensive natural resources have led to a rapid increase in Chinese foreign direct investment (FDI) stretching all the way to Africa and Latin America.
This policy brief summarises the results of a scoping study on Chinese investments in natural resources in Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. The scoping study has been carried out at the outset of a research project entitled Understanding China as an Actor in the Mekong Region, jointly implemented by the Heinrich Böll Foundation, WWF and the International Institute for Sustainable Development. The project aims to shed some light on China’s economic role in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia as a basis for constructive dialogue between decision makers and other stakeholders in China and the Mekong countries.

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