890 E. de Lange et al.


PLATE 1 Waterhole poisoning, showing a dead plaintive cuckoo Cacomantis merulinus close to the water. A purple granular pesticide is visible on the fallen tree. Photo: Wildlife Conservation Society Cambodia.


Inadequate education and labelling mean that pesticide mis- use is widespread, and poisoning of farmers, both acute and chronic, is common (EJF, 2002). Researchers have suggested that misuse, accidental run-off and intentional poisoning are affecting fish and wildlife populations at a national scale (Saroeun, 1999). Effectively addressing wildlife poisoning requires under-


standing the specific practices and actors involved, their motivations and attitudes (St John et al., 2013), and the social context (St John et al., 2010). Local NGO workers have sug- gested that waterhole poisoning could be an unintended consequence of agriculture, a result of conflicts such as land disputes, or intentional wildlife killing. Each practice may have multiple interacting drivers. For example, inten- tional wildlife poisoning could be driven by socio-cultural demand for wild meat (Delisle et al., 2018) or by economic incentives to supply wildlife products to market (Milner- Gulland et al., 2003). It may also be employed as an act of resistance against conservation authorities (Norgrove & Hulme, 2006; Peterson et al., 2017). Theory from social psychology can guide research on


human behaviour. The theory of planned behaviour (Fig. 1) has been widely used to understand the socio- psychological determinants of conservation behaviours (St John et al., 2010;Ward et al., 2018). This theory posits that an individual’s intention to carry out a behaviour in a par- ticular context is predicted by that individual’s attitudes (i.e. is it a good thing to do?), perceptions of social norms (i.e. do others do it?), and perceived control over the behaviour (i.e. am I able to use this method?). It assumes that these are semi-stable constructs that can be reliably determined by measuring relevant salient beliefs (Ajzen, 1991). The theory of planned behaviour can inform the design of behaviour change interventions (Hardeman et al., 2002; Michie et al.,


2008). For example, there may be multiple actors with dif- ferent psychological determinants, requiring multi-faceted interventions that segment audiences (Mckenzie-Mohr, 2000; Jones et al., 2019; Travers et al., 2019). Where indi- vidual behaviours are constrained or enabled by external factors, conservationists may additionally intervene at higher levels, such as by influencing economic drivers (McKenzie-Mohr & Schultz, 2014). To inform intervention design, our study set out to understand waterhole poisoning across two protected areas in Preah Vihear, using a mixed-methods approach. We aimed to quantify the prevalence of relevant practices and measure variables from the theory of planned behaviour to unpack socio-psychological drivers.Wecollected qualita- tive data on poisoning practices to contextualize our quan- titative data, and to determine the motivations of poisoners and the social contexts in which poisoning occurs.


Study area


Preah Vihear province in northern Cambodia lies in a global biodiversity hotspot (Myers et al., 2000), contains the largest remaining mosaics of forests and grassland in mainland South-east Asia and is home to 28 Critically Endangered or Endangered species (Clements et al., 2010), including the giant ibis Pseudibis gigantea, white-shouldered ibis Pseudibis davisoni and three vulture species. Many rely on waterholes for food and water throughout the dry season (Pin et al., 2020). At the time of this study, two protected areaswere man- aged by theMinistry of Environment (a third was gazetted in late 2017; Fig. 2), with support from theWildlife Conservation Society: Chheb and Kulen PromtepWildlife Sanctuaries. We conducted our study across the two protected


areas in 10 villages that reflect a cross-section of levels of wealth, access to markets, and involvement in conserva- tion programmes. All were involved in previous research (Beauchamp et al., 2018a,c, 2019). Many originated from small groups of Indigenous communities, Khmer Rouge soldiers, or other fugitives, living in the remote forest. After the Royal Government recaptured this area from the Khmer Rouge in the late 1990s the state consolidated control over the region through mass patronage and infrastructure develop- ment. Cambodia’s political system is described as hegemonic authoritarianism and the government closely monitors rural life and political activity (Craig & Kimchoeun, 2011;Beban et al., 2019;Morgenbesser, 2019). Cambodia has liberalized its economy, with GDP growth


averaging 8.7% per year (Hughes & Un, 2011). Although this has led to increased employment opportunities and improved access to markets, for many residents it has led to disposses- sion of agricultural land and nearby forests by corporate inter- ests with state backing, andmigration of landless people from other provinces (Davis et al., 2015; Milne, 2015; Beauchamp


Oryx, 2021, 55(6), 889–902 © The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Fauna & Flora International doi:10.1017/S0030605319001492


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