Soil erosion causes land degradation which negatively impacts not only natural resources but also livelihoods of people due to low agricultural productivity. Cambodia is prone to soil erosion due to poor agricultural practices. In this research we use Battambang province as a case study to quantify impact of land use and land cover change (LULC) on soil erosion. This study assessed the impact from LULC changes to soil erosion. LULC change maps were analyzed based on Landsat satellite imagery of 1998, 2008, and 2018, computed in QGIS 6.2.9, while the soil erosion loss was estimated by the integration of remote sensing, GIS tools, and Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) model. The results showed that the area of agricultural land of Battambang province significantly increased from 44.50% in 1998 to 61.11% in 2008 and 68.40% in 2018. The forest cover significantly decreased from 29.82% in 1998 to 6.18% in 2018. Various soil erosion factors were estimated using LULC and slope. Based on that, the mean soil loss was 2.92 t/ha.yr in 1998, 4.20 t/ha.yr in 2008, and 4.98 t/ha.yr in 2018. Whereas the total annual soil loss was 3.49 million tons in 1998, 5.03 million tons in 2008, and 5.93 million tons in 2018. The annual soil loss at the agricultural land dramatically increased from 190,9347.9 tons (54%) in 1998 to 3,543,659 tons (70.43%) in 2008 and to 4,267,439 tons (71.91%) in 2018 due to agricultural land expansion and agricultural practices. These losses were directly correlated with LULC, especially agricultural land expansion and forest cover decline. Our results highlight the need to develop appropriate land use and crop management practices to decrease land degradation and soil erosion. These data are useful to bring about public awareness of land degradation and alert local citizens, researchers, policy makers, and actors towards land rehabilitation to bring the area of land back to a state which is safe for increasing biodiversity and agricultural productivity. Measures to reduce or prevent soil erosion and the use of conservation agriculture practices, along with water and soil conservation, management, agroforestry practices, vegetation cover restoration, the creation of slope terraces, and the use of direct sowing mulch-based cropping systems should be considered.

Digital extension services (DESs) play a crucial role in transforming the agri-food sector while creating the potential to enhance production towards sustainable development via ensuring resource efficiency, environmental resilience, and economic viability for smallholder farmers. However, there is less research on the availability and quality of digital advisory information to provide the foundation for the ways forward to ensure accessible and timely benefits of science-based extension and innovation for smallholder farmers. This study used a systematic review method to explore the opportunities and barriers to develop interactive DESs in developing countries (2005–2021). Features of 141 articles were summarized resulting in the identification of 13 opportunities and 21 barriers. Opportunities indicate that interactive DESs were the best source for learning and the exchange of information/ideas/experiences, useful for enhancing agricultural productivity and profitability, creating network collaboration among farmers and stakeholders, and making extension service delivery cost-effective. Barriers of interactive DESs include a lack of a two-way interaction information, lack of a centralized information network between farmers and service providers, lack of technical know-how on ICTs, poor internet connection, and lack of effective training on ICTs. However, farmers’ awareness, motivation, and readiness to use interactive DESs has increased in several countries. It is therefore a great opportunity to invest in digital platforms as a long-term intervention to boost sustainable agricultural sustainability.

The main objective of this research was to evaluate land use and land cover (LULC) change in Battambang province of Cambodia over the last two decades. The LULC maps for 1998, 2003, 2008, 2013 and 2018 were produced from Landsat satellite imagery using the supervised classification technique with the maximum likelihood algorithm. Each map consisted of seven LULC classes: built-up area, water feature, grassland, shrubland, agricultural land, barren land and forest cover. The overall accuracies of the LULC maps were 93%, 82%, 94%, 93% and 83% for 1998, 2003, 2008, 2013 and 2018, respectively. The LULC change results showed a significant increase in agricultural land, and a large decrease in forest cover. Most of the changes in both LULC types occurred during 2003–2008. Overall, agricultural land, shrubland, water features, built-up areas and barren land increased by 287,600 hectares, 58,600 hectares, 8300 hectares, 4600 hectares and 1300 hectares, respectively, while forest cover and grassland decreased by 284,500 hectares and 76,000 hectares respectively. The rate of LULC changes in the upland areas were higher than those in the lowland areas of the province. The main drivers of LULC change identified over the period of study were policy, legal framework and projects to improve economy, population growth, infrastructure development, economic growth, rising land prices, and climate and environmental change. Landmine clearance projects and land concessions resulted in a transition from forest cover and shrubland to agricultural land. Population and economic growth not only resulted in an increase of built-up area, but also led to increasing demand for agricultural land and rising land prices, which triggered the changes of other LULC types. This research provides a long-term and detailed analysis of LULC change together with its drivers, which is useful for decision-makers to make and implement better policies for sustainable land management.

Global policy commitments to ensure that protected and conserved areas (PCAs) are equitably governed have increased interest in empirically assessing and analyzing social equity. Although numerous assessments have been conducted in individual PCAs, there is limited empirical insight into equity as a multidimensional concept beyond the site level. We investigated the distributional, procedural, and recognitional equity challenges associated with the governance of PCAs and determined whether the identified challenges differed according to governance type and actor group. We conducted a meta‐level analysis of equitable governance assessments conducted at 37 PCAs in 19 countries that form part of the new SAGE (Site‐level Assessment of Governance and Equity) database. SAGE is a participatory tool for site‐level actors to systematically discuss and assess equity dynamics at their PCAs. We found a large variation in assessment results across the sites. Mitigating the negative impacts of conservation on local communities was most often identified as the biggest challenge. In general, equity assessments tended to be slightly more positive for PCAs governed by and with Indigenous Peoples and local communities than those governed purely by government agencies. Evaluations of different actors often revealed substantial differences in opinion on specific governance issues. In particular, evaluations of PCA decision‐makers tended to be more positive than those of PCA users. As an early‐stage exploration of the growing SAGE database, our findings provide proof of concept that tools for assessing and improving PCA governance gain value from taking multidimensional approaches and need to consider different actors’ views. Although the growing SAGE database holds potential for further insights on how equity is perceived across governance types, ecosystems, and geographical regions, the primary objective of SAGE needs to remain understanding and advancing equity at the site level.