Wuzhishan Economic Concession

“[T]he Chinese company has encroached on the cemetery land, people’s land, community and reserved land, Neak Ta spiritual land, spiritual forest, grazing land, and the village land. . . “

*Excerpt taken from 09 June 2005 Notification of people of Dak Dam and Sen Monorom communes in Oreang, Mondulkiri.

**Photographs: (top) 2004 aerial photograph of grasslands prior to Wuzhishan activities; (bottom) 2005 photograph of month-old pine seedlings in the Wuzhishan concession,

Over five months ago, the RGC and international donors committed themselves to work together to monitor and meet indicators for various sectors in Cambodia. In the area of "Cross-cutting for Agriculture and Natural Resources Management," the indicators included, inter alia, immediate public disclosure of economic land concession contracts and their locations; consultation with local communities; and the production of ESIAs. Despite the clear language of these indicators, no progress has been made with respect to economic land concessions.

This report illustrates the consequences these failures have had upon the community living on and around the Wuzhishan L.S. Group (“Wuzhishan”) economic concession in Mondulkiri province. NGOs respectfully request donors to raise these issues and the RGC to take action to meet the indicators and goals they agreed upon in December 2004, in the hope of alleviating the problems caused by the Wuzhishan economic concession.

In August 2004, Wuzhishan began operations in Oreang district, Mondulkiri. Its economic land concession is situated in an area of mixed-deciduous dry forest and grassland between Phnom Prich and Phnom Nam Lyr Wildlife Sanctuaries. Although sparsely populated, the area is home to the indigenous Phnong, who use the area for livestock grazing, practice traditional swidden agriculture on their chamkar fields, and whose culture and animist religion is embedded in the surrounding landscape. Wuzhishan began activities without notice or consultation with community members or local authorities, severely disrupting the livelihoods of the local populace. Requests for information and formal complaints submitted by the Commune Councils have not resulted in any disclosure of information or change in Wuzhishan operations. Meanwhile villager lands and resources continue to be dispossessed by the company.

Indicator

RGC disclose the location and legal status and process for termination of mining concessions, Military Development Zones, economic land concession and other development arrangements situated on forest land or in protected areas and inconsistent with law governing management of these areas. [emphasis added]

Status

(1) RGC has not disclosed the location or boundaries of the Wuzhishan concession

(2) RGC has not disclosed the legal status of the Wuzhishan concession.

(3) RGC has not disclosed the process for termination of the Wuzhishan concession.

Results

Although the government and Wuzhishan have made no disclosures regarding the size, location, and area of the concession, the company continues to claim lands, clear fields and plant pine seedlings in Mondulkiri.

Indigenous burial areas and ancestral graves have been destroyed;
Livestock grazing areas have sprayed with herbicide and taken by the company;
Spirit forests have been destroyed;
Chamkar (swidden fields) have been dispossessed.

20,193 ha of the concession area is located inside the Seima Biodiversity Conservation Area, 6,345 ha in the core protected zone (as defined by Prakas in 2002).

Indicator

Application of sustainable management planning, including ESIAs, investor evaluations, consultation with local communities, public disclosure and comment period prior to entering into new contracts for private use/management of state managed natural resources (land, fisheries, forestry, and mines). [emphasis added]

Status

(1) No ESIA has been produced for the Wuzhishan concession.

(2) No investor evaluations have been disclosed.

(3) Local communities had no consultations prior to the implementation of the Wuzhishan concession, nor consultations subsequent to the negative impacts on their livelihoods.

(4) Provincial, district, and commune authorities have had little to no consultation regarding the Wuzhishan concession.

(5) There has been no public comment period regarding the concession, nor has the public received any information upon which it could comment.

Results

Despite the lack of an ESIA, public disclosures, or lack of consultation with local communities, Wuzhishan has sprayed large areas with herbicide and dispossessed villager lands. Attempts by local villagers to consult with the company and remedy the situation consistently result in intimidation and threat of violence. The herbicide use is suspected to have been the cause of recent cattle deaths; human illnesses including vomiting, headaches and diarrhea; and health problems to villagers' cattle, pigs, chickens and ducks. Its effects on the two bordering wildlife sanctuaries and the Seima Biodiversity Conservation Area are not yet fully understood.

Indicator

Increase transparency of state management of natural resources through immediate public disclosure of existing contracts and compliance status (royalties and other key provisions) of contracts governing economic land concessions, mining concessions, fishing lots and continued disclosure of status of review of forest concessions. [emphasis added]

Status

(1) Wuzhishan economic land concession has not been publicly disclosed.

(2) No compliance status of the Wuzhishan economic land concession has been publicly disclosed.

(3) Provincial Departments of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, and Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction have not been consulted with, nor have they any information about the concession.

(4) Provincial Department of Labor has twice requested, and twice been denied access to Wuzhishan plantation sites for inspection.

(5) Other provincial authorities who have been denied access to information regarding the Wuzhishan concession include the Department of Tourism, and the Department of Education.

(6) Requests from local communities for information regarding the Wuzhishan concession have been ignored.

Results

Despite repeated requests to governmental authorities and the company, the contract and compliance status of the economic land concession remain out of public view. Provincial authorities have been unable to properly plan for the areas taken by the concession, nor the resultant problems created by Wuzhishan. Local community lands have already been taken without notice, explanation, or compensation, leaving villagers with the expectation that any or all of their lands will be taken away.

In sum, the lack of notice, consultation, and information about the Wuzhishan economic land concession has severely disrupted the lives and livelihoods of people in Mondulkiri. NGOs respectfully request donors to raise these issues and the RGC to take action to meet their indicators in the “Cross-cutting for Agriculture and Natural Resources Management” area by immediately implementing the following recommendations:

Lack of transparency in the process of granting and implementing economic concessions means there is no accountability or recourse to the situation for affected communities. Without any discourse between companies and locals, there is little hope that economic concessions will offer any meaningful economic integration or benefit to the community. NGOs hope that the donors will work with the RGC to review both the procedural and substantive deficiencies of economic land concessions. Meeting the aforementioned CG indicators will be an important first step in this process.

On June 16, 2005, members of Dak Dam and Sen Monorom communes assembled outside the Wuzhishan headquarters in Sen Monorom, Mondulkiri to request the company to cease its activities and return villager lands. Police forces attempted to dissuade villagers from gathering, and used water cannons to disperse the people. Despite this, some 800 villagers peacefully gathered in Sen Monorom to make their request.[2]

Following discussions with the third deputy governor of Mondulkiri, community representatives agreed to cease demonstrations, upon the condition that their lands be returned, and the government cancel the Wuzhishan concession. On June 17, 2005, the Council of Ministers ordered Wuzhishan to immediately cease its planting activities and work with provincial authorities to ensure that community lands are not affected by the company before any further planting is allowed.[3] In accordance with this, on the following day the governor of Mondulkiri, H.E. Thou Sonn, ordered Wuzhishan to temporarily suspend all activities, and refrain from using burial, forested, chamkar, and village lands of the communities.[4]

However, in spite of these government orders, Wuzhishan has continued to plant trees, and company activities have not yet been suspended. Due to lack of support from the authorities in implementing these orders, community members from Sen Monorom and Dak Dam communes have taken it upon themselves to block access roads to the plantation sites in the hope of preventing further Wuzhishan encroachment on their lands.[5]

[1] Prepared by the Public Interest Legal Advocacy Project of Community Legal Education Center, Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

[2] See The Cambodia Daily, Police Disperse Phnong Hilltribe Protestors, June 17, 2005; see also Rasmei Kampuchea Daily, Mondulkiri Authority Promises to Settle the Land Dispute in Four Days, June 17, 2005.

[3] Sor.Cho.Nor 961, Council of Ministers, 17 June 2005, signed by Prak Sokhonn, Secretary of State on behalf of Minister in charge of the Council of Ministers. The letter also orders Wuzhishan to complete the procedures as required of letter no. 434 Sor.Cho.Nor, 15 March 2005; however we have been unable to obtain this document.

[4] Dor.Kor.Mor.Kor.Ror 51, Governor of Mondulkiri, 18 June 2005, signed by H.E. Governor Thou Sonn.

[5] Based upon reports by local commune members; see also The Cambodia Daily, Hilltribe Clashes With Concession Company, June 23, 2005.