Mediation Mechanism for Local Disputes in Rural Cambodia

​Conflict over forest resources is one of the major challenges in forest management, particularly in Cambodia. It is believed that the number and severity of forest conflicts has increased in the last decades. The Royal Government of Cambodia, for example, put conflict resolution as one of the important aspect in its National Forest Program, underlining its commitment to address the issue.
 
To minimize the negative impacts (and maximize the positive impacts) of forest conflicts, there is a need to develop and strengthen appropriate conflict management methods, tools and practices. There are some approaches of conflict management including avoidance, negotiation, mediation, arbitration, adjudication, coercion, and violence. Among others, mediation is considered a key method for addressing forest conflict. As a process in which a third party helps the conflicting parties in resolving the conflict, mediation is considered not only an effective tool in resolving conflict, but also in transforming social relationships and building peace.
 
This study will be analyzed with the aim to develop a better understanding of mediation and its dynamics of success, gaining insight into the challenges facing this conflict management method, and to strengthen its practices. The results of this analysis will cover the state of the art of forest conflict mediation in the Cambodian community, the trends observed through the analysis of various case studies, as well as proposing innovations for the development and application of conflict mediation in the transformation of conflict. It is also hoped that the result of the analysis will contribute to the development of policy and capacity building on conflict mediation.
 
The purpose of this presentation is to examine the application of different mediation methods in Cambodia by focusing on the process of mediation, including the aims of mediation, role of mediators, process of mediation, methods and outcomes of the mediation.
 
As resulted of this analysis mediation will be perceived as an important method to address conflict in Cambodian society, especially traditional conciliation is practiced widely in the rural Cambodia  to manage tensions and reduce angers between the community people and Economic Land Concession-based Company, and thereafter, to create peaceful resolutions at community level, pursue several strategies to improve conflict transformation and promote the capacity building programs of conflict management.