9.3 Reports of Socio Economic Impacts
In all situations where villages were found to have area contamination the questionnaire sections dealing with socio-economic impacts and victims were administered. Information in these sections permits assessments of the relative significance of contamination and is the key to assigning priorities for mine action.
Village Level Impact Severity
The socio-economic questions at the village level address impacts on:
- Housing land availability
- Agricultural land availability
- Human casualties
- Livestock losses
- Accessibility of water
- Gathering activities
For each of these impacts the village was asked to rate the severity of the impact on a scale from very severe to not severe.
Aggregated reports of these results are available by commune, district, province and nationally showing the number of villages reporting in each severity category. For example in Battambang Province the percent of villages reporting very severe impacts is:
Battambang:
Socio-economic impact |
|
% of villages reporting
very severe impacts |
|
|
Entire Province |
Rotonak Mondol District |
Traeng Commune |
| Housing land availability |
28% |
31% |
43% |
| Agricultural land availability |
40% |
51% |
43% |
| Human casualties |
10% |
9% |
0% |
| Livestock losses |
6% |
0% |
0% |
| Accessibility of water |
3% |
3% |
0% |
| Gathering activities |
6% |
9% |
14% |
|
| Total Villages |
757 |
7 |
37 |
This map shows 3 examples of socio-economic impact. They are blocked access to agricultural land and schools for villages and blocked access to houses by suspected areas.
Suspected Area Impacts
To more precisely assess the socio-economic effects of suspected areas on the life of village populations, villagers were asked to assess the number of houses, families, or villages affected in 14 specified activities. These numbers were recorded for each suspected area. Results can be accessed either by each separate suspected area or for each village. The village reports are aggregations of the numbers reported for all suspected areas associated with that village. The survey results include the number of suspected areas for which restrictions on these activities were reported. These reports can also be viewed by village or aggregated up to commune, district, province or nationally.
The 14 activities for which the socio-economic effects of restricted access have been measured are:
| Activity |
Units measured |
|
Number of... |
| Homes |
Houses |
| Home Construction Land |
Houses |
| Agricultural Land |
Families |
| Pasture Land |
Families |
| Water Sources |
Families |
| Forest |
Families |
| Schools |
Students |
| Dams and/or Canals |
Villages |
| Markets |
Villages |
| Business Activities |
Villages |
| Health Centre |
Villages |
| Pagoda |
Villages |
| Bridge |
Villages |
| Neighbouring village |
Villages |
Villages with Blocked Access to Schools
Villages with Blocked Access to Agricultural Land
The questionnaire was administered for each suspected area with results reported by village. The survey has found for example that in Cambodia access to neighbouring villages is still restricted in 2,272 villages by a total of 896 suspected areas, which is 30% of all suspected areas.
The most commonly reported restrictions on activities are access to agricultural land, pasture land, forests, and water resources.
| Restricted access to: |
Number of suspected areas |
Number of families affected |
| Agricultural Land |
2077 |
102,778 |
| Forests |
2,000 |
172,878 |
| Pasture Land |
1,781 |
105,707 |
| Water Sources |
1,184 |
84,588 |
Over two thirds of all suspected areas restrict access to forests. Lest the reader should gain the impression from these statistics that the socio-economic impact is mainly a phenomenon far removed from village centres, 1,487 villages report restricted access to their pagodas by 527 suspected areas.
Examples of these basic statistical reports are found in
Section 8.3 - Output of Reports and Maps.
The next map shows villages with suspected areas in which people live, and any other villages that have suspected areas with socio-economic impacts.
Example of Suspected Area Socio-Economic Impact.
Details of impacts by suspected area
Within each category details of the impact are also reported. For example for restricted forestry access the impacts include:
Bamboo, Building materials, Charcoal, Firewood, Medicinal plants, Vines and Rattan, Wild food, Gems, Other and Don't know.
The number of families affected in each of these categories is reported. Each type of impact is sub divided in a similar manner.
These numbers are recorded by the field survey for each suspected area. This set of results can only be accessed by suspected area in the query application developed for users. Should reports be required to be produced by village, or higher administrative unit, the files can be exported to any database management software.
Using this socio-economic data a comprehensive assessment of the socio-economic impacts of each suspected area on each affected village, commune, district and province is possible.
Distribution of socio-economic impacts
The maps that follow illustrate, through examples, a range of possible analyses. Our intent in including these maps is to stimulate the readers' imaginations in understanding and thinking through how the database can be of most use for a large variety of organisations. We do not pretend to have forecasted the information needs of all potential users, rather we have sought to provide tools and data that allow each organisation to access the information required to assist them in fulfilling their mission in Cambodia.
This map,
Cambodia's Most Dangerous Mine Contaminated Areas illustrates suspected areas reported to have injured and killed more than 50 people in the last 20 years and which have reported an injury or a death in the last two years.
The following map,
Community Demining shows villages where local people have attempted demining themselves. The map also shows in which of these villages there have been accidents associated with this community demining.
