Cambodia

Throughout most of its recent history, Cambodia has been beset by political strife. After gaining independence from France in 1953, the country was dragged by global politics into a period of profound violence. In 1975, the Communist Khmer Rouge captured Phnom Penh and evacuated all cities and towns, causing the deaths of around 1.5 million Cambodians through execution, starvation, and hardship. Cambodia fared somewhat better during the 10-year Vietnamese occupation that followed. In 1991, the Paris Peace Accords led to a ceasefire and eventually to free elections. However, the long years of political strife left Cambodia struggling economically and environmentally.

Bordering on the Gulf of Thailand, Cambodia has a coastline of 443 kilometers. The climate is tropical with seasonal variations. The rainy season generally lasts from May to November and is followed by a five-month dry season. Monsoons are common between June and November, and flooding and occasional droughts threaten the stability of life. Though the government created flood protection sleeves, many migrants have made their homes in these structures, limiting ability to control water flow. Most of the terrain is flat with interspersing paddies and forests. In the southwest and north, the land is mountainous. Cambodia's most distinct geographic features and the ones perhaps most important to its history, are the Mekong River and Tonle Sap, a lake in the western part of the country. During the dry season, the Tonle Sap drains to the Mekong. But this flow is reversed on an enormous scale during the rainy season, which increases the size of the lake by more than three times, ensuring a flow of fresh water into the Mekong delta to support agriculture, [Page 194]and producing a unique and enormous fishery that supplies most of the country's protein. Other natural resources include oil and gas, timber, gemstones, small deposits of iron ore, manganese, phosphates, and the potential for developing hydropower.

In 1999, an agreement with the United States and a guaranteed quota of textile imports paved the way for economic growth, but competition has since slowed economic recovery. Three-fourths of the workforce is involved in subsistence farming. Forty percent of the population lives below the poverty line, and one-third of Cambodians are chronically undernourished. Rice, the staple food for most Cambodians, is often destroyed by flooding and drought. The per capita income of $2,100 places Cambodia 173rd in world incomes.