The family and the pagoda have been at the centre of traditional Cambodian society, where networks are essentially based on kinship and religion (Ebihara 1971; Ebihara, Morland, and Ledgerwood 1994). Beyond family and neighbours, the pagoda, or wat, remains the central social institution at the village level, and may provide a supporting role for community forestry initiatives (Ngim and Nhanh 1998; Tin et al. 1999)