Cambodia

With new government focus, community forestry offers hope for the country's growing deforestation rates and high rural poverty levels.

Cambodia’s forests have been under immense pressure the past two decades. In the drive for economic development, millions of hectares of forest land have been signed over to logging and other companies — nearly all these concessions lack effective environmental or social safeguards. This trend, coupled with extensive illegal logging and rapid population growth, has resulted in high levels of forest destruction, especially in pristine forest areas.

Fast Facts

Population (2008)

14,562,000

Land area (ha)         

17,652,000

Forest area (ha)(2010)    

10,094,000

Annual change rate (ha) 2000-2010    

-145,000
Carbon stock in living biomass    
2000 (million tonnes)    537
2010 (million tonnes)    464

Forest under community forestry (public/private)    

2008 (million ha)    0.06
2010 (million ha)    0.13

Forest management regimes    

community forestry,
community protected area

 

Sources:
State of the World's Forests 2011, FAO
Forest Tenure in Asia: Status and Trends, RECOFTC 2011

In addition to environmental damage, the loss of forests has been devastating for the millions of Cambodia’s rural poor who depend on them for sustenance, protection, and livelihood support. However, since 2007, many forest-dependent villages have had the opportunity to legally secure some remaining forest areas through community forestry. Hundreds of villages are making the most of this opportunity, protecting their livelihoods as well as the forest cover. If community forestry continues to gain momentum in Cambodia, it will help reverse forest damage and ensure a more secure future for local people.

More on:

Community Forestry in Cambodia
Challenges for Community Forestry in Cambodia

RECOFTC in Cambodia

In partnership with the Forestry Administration, local governments, communities and NGOs, RECOFTC’s project work, as of mid-2010, has seen nearly 200,000 hectares of forest put into the hands of 60,000 families from 450 villages. RECOFTC has directly supported more than half of the country’s community forestry sites, and more than half of those with legal agreements, through training, facilitating partnerships, and more.

Our work in Cambodia is just beginning. RECOFTC is continuing to set up new community forestry sites and help communities and the government through the legalization process. Meanwhile, with many forests now securely in local people’s hands, we are increasingly focusing on translating community forestry rights into participatory forest management and real economic benefits for local people.

More on:

Our Work in Cambodia