Advocacy in Cambodia: Increasing Democratic ... - Pact Cambodia

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example, long-term strategies with immediate needs of the people, and how to understand what the role of development workers should be when villagers resort to direct action. A special concern for proponents of direct action is that wellintentioned but inexperienced NGO workers can block direct action as a means of controlling the situation. Coordination and Networking Initially there was a lack of coordination among groups working on fisheries. A number of public forums were independently organized by various groups or networks in the provinces around the topic of fisheries. While uncoordinated activities may help raise general public awareness about an issue, there is also a risk of duplicating efforts and diluting the effect of the forums through overexposure. Later in the process however, organizations and networks did begin identifying specific areas where they would work together and coordination improved. Networks are becoming strong at both the national and provincial levels, and in particular in provinces that have the most fisheries disputes, i.e. Kompong Thom and Battambang. At the national level, FACT conducts regular monthly meetings, organizes public forums, and supports two monthly meetings with province-based NGOs. Planned activities include publication of a fisheries bulletin. Lessons Learned Dual Approach to Lobbying Fisheries advocacy in Cambodia presents an interesting case because NGOs have used a dual approach to working with the authorities. On the one hand, as an extension of their work on land issues, the Oxfam agencies have supported DoF workshops and occasional studies. This has enabled Oxfam to maintain an open channel of communication with the government, facilitating the flow of information and concerns in both directions. Conversely, members of the NGO Forum and FACT fisheries networks have engaged with the Department in the consultation process while maintaining their independence. Although, as mentioned earlier, the process has not always been smooth, NGOs believe that it has been a fruitful collaboration because NGOs and community representatives have been able to express their views on various policies and obtain a degree of compromise. Likewise the Department has gained experience in dealing with NGOs and has gained confidence about what to expect in future consultative processes. When analyzing advocacy, it is important to identify which approach a particular NGO has adopted in order to understand what strategies they might be willing to engage in. NGOs that work closely with the government for example, do so because they expect the government to change. Naturally this form of engagement precludes them then from adopting conflict strategies that would undermine their efforts to develop good relations with the government. Use of Media In this campaign fisheries advocates courted the press by inviting reporters from English and Khmer language newspapers on field trips to fishery conflict areas so that they could learn about the topic in depth. As they take several days, the field trips also offered an opportunity for NGO staff to build relations with journalists. After the field visits, advocates followed up by distributing reports to journalists and sending them regular updates. The field trips proved more difficult for foreign correspondents than local correspondents, as the conditions were hard for some foreign reporters. Other lessons learned from the fisheries advocacy experience in Cambodia include: Case Studies • Case studies need to identify legal articles that are being violated, building an argument for change/ enforcement. • Reports should always be made available in Khmer. • At the legislative level, advocates need to stay one step ahead of the draft law. • Advocates should lobby donors to raise issues with high officials on behalf of the campaign. • Advocates must understand the legislative process and follow the campaign through to the implementation stage. 52
Future Considerations The following items should be kept in mind when advocating for improved fisheries management in Cambodia in the future: • Recognize that there is a highly political aspect to the fisheries issue. • Recognize that without proper means (including adequate income), the DoF will not be in a position to do their work properly. • Recognize that there is a need to build up local leaders and give them confidence. • Avoid having a paternalistic attitude towards communities. • Listen to community members. • Make public information public, e.g. with regard to auctions and boundaries. • Avoid taking a top-down approach with communities. For example, some organizations have drafted community fisheries agreements by themselves and handed them down to community members – not surprisingly, nothing happened. • Assist DoF to develop clear national guidelines with respect to community fisheries and provide guidelines to community practitioners. This will help avoid conflicts created when communities are given conflicting directions. • Assist DoF staff to develop their community organizing skills and understanding of community fisheries. Another media strategy used was making sure that journalists and television stations from the capital were invited to cover provincial ceremonies presided over by high officials. NGOs kept track of speeches as part of a strategy to promote accountability by asking politicians whether they had kept their promises, even going so far as showing videotapes of speeches to villagers. When promises were broken, NGOs promptly provided information to the media, which usually followed-up by interviewing the provincial officials concerned, sometimes going as high as the Ministry level. Use of this general strategy may be backfiring however, as the Prime Minister has now instructed officials to be careful about what ceremonies they choose to attend. Fisheries Action Coalition Team, 2001. Victims of Fisheries Reform: Punishing Local Fishers in Kompong Thom Province: Whose Fault Is It? Phnom Penh. Fisheries Action Coalition Team, 2002. Feast or Famine? Solutions to Cambodia’s Fisheries Conflicts. Environmental Justice Foundation. Mak, Sithirith, 2000. Fishing for Lives: Conflicts and Struggles between Communities and Fishing Lots in Kompong Chhnang Province. NGO Forum on Cambodia. Mak, Sithirith, 2001. The Situation of Fisheries in Cambodia: Small Fishers but Potential Conflicts with Fishing Lots and the Reform in Fisheries. Fisheries Action Coalition Team (FACT), Phnom Penh, Cambodia. NGO Forum Environment Working Group, 2000. Review of Fishery Conflict in Stung Treng. Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Cleaning fish in Battambang province. References Degen, Peter, et al., 2000. Taken for Granted: Conflicts over Cambodia’s Freshwater Fish Resources. Mekong River Commission, University of Antwerp, Department of Fishery, Ministry of Agriculture, Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Degen, Peter, et al., 2001. People, Power and Fishery Policy: Fisheries Management reform Addressing Community Fisheries in Cambodia. Mekong River Commission, Department of Fisheries, Ministry of Agriculture, Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Case Studies 53
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advocacy in cambodia: increasing de
Page 3 and 4: executive summary The Cambodian non
Page 5 and 6: sectors reviewed in this document
Page 7 and 8: livelihood of populations, includin
Page 9 and 10: Pursat Rice Miller’s Association,
Page 11 and 12: Protected Forest and Land Dispute:
Page 13 and 14: implementation. Without policy impl
Page 15 and 16: drafts incorporated into the new La
Page 17 and 18: the relocation site and not at the
Page 19 and 20: Landless Families: O’thkov Villag
Page 21 and 22: Short-term and long-term implicatio
Page 23 and 24: EMOs do not traditionally base thei
Page 25 and 26: or even fearful to solve conflicts,
Page 27 and 28: collection of information on public
Page 29 and 30: each month. Facilitating Engagement
Page 31 and 32: analyzing impact of advocacy activi
Page 33 and 34: communities and NGOs can work with
Page 35 and 36: influencing the legislative process
Page 37 and 38: informal contacts and being able to
Page 39 and 40: CHART OF LEGISLATIVE PROCESS (10) K
Page 41 and 42: considerable public attention, but
Page 43 and 44: lessons learned Advocates have lear
Page 45 and 46: ecommendations The following are re
Page 47 and 48: conclusion Outside of human rights
Page 49 and 50: conclusion of the forum, the govern
Page 51 and 52: level can sustainable resource use
Page 53: literature, interviews, and field v
Page 57 and 58: Timeline of Land Issues Over the Pa
Page 59 and 60: The new Land Law will require betwe
Page 61 and 62: labor The garment factory labor mov
Page 63 and 64: input from AFL-CIO, the largest lab
Page 65 and 66: intervene are by activating the Lab
Page 67 and 68: ights have, in principle if not in
Page 69 and 70: commune council election law The ca
Page 71 and 72: maximize the group’s collective i
Page 73 and 74: communication between EMOs and dono
Page 75 and 76: The CCEL campaign was the first opp
Page 77 and 78: in every four women (25%) aged 15-4
Page 79 and 80: estimates the number of sex workers
Page 81 and 82: elections saw an increase to 14 fem
Page 83 and 84: healthcare. While many women know t
Page 85 and 86: losing influence. For this reason,
Page 87 and 88: plaintiffs at a disadvantage. A sec
Page 89 and 90: level to increase interaction betwe
Page 91 and 92: courses for members of the media (p
Page 93 and 94: economic issues NGOs are advocating
Page 95 and 96: come together to discuss problems a
Page 97 and 98: the issue on the government’s age
Page 99 and 100: premier center for rights-based and
Page 101 and 102: Penh. Watson, Gabrielle, 2000. Advo
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