The Political Economy of Land-Water Resource Governance in the Context of Food Security

The report illuminates the political economy of land-water resources in the floodplains around the Tonle Sap Lake which constitutes the upper part of the Mekong River Delta and shares seasonal fluctuations and livelihood patterns. [...] 2) A systematic empirical monitoring of the rollout of policies would be very valuable since our analysis revealed that the weakest links in the policy work are the implementation, the upholding of the quality of interventions, and the safeguarding of the sustainability of already established policies. [...] The remaining 14 percent is comprised mainly of coastal watersheds, small catchment areas in the ethnically marginalised regions located in the highlands to the northeast of the country, and in the far west rim of the country. [...] Absorption of water from the Mekong River in the rainy season and discharge into the Mekong River in the dry season constitutes a natural hydrological phenomenon which forms large areas of wetlands and flooded forests, providing a habitat for a biodiversity, including one of the richest inland fisheries in the world. [...] Several policies and regulations have been initiated to enforce the decentralisation of water management, for instance, the Sub Decree on Functions and Structure of District Administration in 2020, Prakas on the Guidelines on the Establishment of Community Fisheries in 2007, and Prakas on the Guidelines on the Establishment of Farmer Water User Communities (FWUCs) in 2000.