Patterns and Socio-economic determinants of deforestation in Botum Sakor National Park in Cambodia from 2000-2010

抄録

Botum Sakor National Park, a representative of protected areas in Cambodia, has been under pressure with rapid foreign investment. The research aimed to investigate patterns and socio-economic determinants of deforestation from 2000 to 2010. The patterns were investigated with GIS and Remote Sensing (RS) technologies while the determinants were analyzed with multiple regressions. As a result, forest was extremely decreased when the economy was highly grown up. In Koh Kong Province where there are Chinese state-owned enterprises operating its development, forest was sharply decreased from 591,263 to 242,467 ha (41%). This really implies that investments in Cambodia were made with very poor consultation among stakeholders. The study is expected to be able to give useful information for sustainable forest management in Cambodia.

Key Words: foreign investment, forest management, GIS and RS, protected areas