Over the last 30 years, the context of development in Cambodian has undergone dramatic changes. A
succession of deep transformations, characterized by a complete restructuring of institutional and
socio-economic environment, has resulted in a singular situation. Cambodian society remains largely
agrarian, with land being the corner stone of the production system for a large majority of the
population. To address a growing food demand of an increasing rural and urban population1
, the
agrarian systems are being transformed by the intensification of the livestock and cropping systems as
well as by the territorial expansion onto the forest areas. The urbanization and industrialization of the
economy are additionally becoming key drivers for the development of the country. All these
intertwined processes are leading to dramatic land use changes within a more and more competitive
environment of access to land.
Cambodia has also embarked in a comprehensive “Decentralization and De-concentration” reform
process aiming at a redistribution of power and functions from central to sub-national levels. Land and
natural resources management planning is amongst the new prerogatives of elected councils at
province, municipal, district and commune levels. Yet, the mechanisms and responsibilities for
devolved spatial planning are yet to be translated into sound procedures and practices. The paper is
aimed as a contribution to fill in this vacuum.
Building on the debate about notions of scale and governance, the paper presents the institutional
foundations of the spatial planning system that is being designed in Battambang province2
, Cambodia3
.
It addresses some conceptual issues of scales to be considered in spatial planning. The overall
planning approach and procedures are further discussed with specific reference on multi-stakeholders
participation and spatial analysis using a combination of GIS-RS and perception-based mapping
techniques. The paper reviews how the principle of countervailing influence is applied to produce a
provincial spatial planning policy framework, district spatial master plans and legally-binding
commune land use plans.