First Regional Workshop

7 May 2002

Forestry and protected areas in Cambodia

Presented by Lic Vuthy, Forest and Wildlife Research Institute, Department of Forestry and Wildlife, MAFF

Introduction

Before 1970, 73% of the land area of Cambodia had forest cover, in 1997 58% had forest cover. Production forests are areas with forest concessions for logging, whereas logging is not permitted in protected areas.

Production forests in Cambodia

	Wildlife sanctuaries		Multiple-use area
	National parks		Water bodies
	Protected landscape		Fishing areas
	Ramsar site		Production forests

Forestry and the economy

High export earners for Cambodia are timber, fisheries and rubber.

80% of Cambodians rely on forests for NTFPs, timber and firewood.

Past challenges

Forest clearance during the Khmer Rouge regime (1975-1979). Following the Khmer Rouge regime there was a construction boom and great demand for housing materials (both city and rural areas). From 1980 to 1998 there was poor forest management due to security risks.

Forest reform

Forest concession management
Central management of Provincial Forestry Offices
Log bar codes

New Direction in Forest Concessions

• Draft Law on Forestry
  • Prevent the loss of forests
    
  • Sustainable yield of forests
    
  • Code of practice for forest harvesting
    
  • Log tracking and chain-of-custody
    
• Environmental management and protected sites

Protection and Concessions

• Community Forestry Areas
  
  • Community Forestry Sub-Decree
    
  • Zones of protection
    
• Protected area buffer zones to reduce intrusion and improve management
  
• Biodiversity conservation within forest concession areas

Proposed Protected Forest Areas

Wildlife sanctuaries National parks Protected landscape Multiple-use area Water bodies Fishing areas   Proposed

Graph showing the growth of protected areas in Cambodia

Important areas

Wildlife sanctuaries National parks Protected landscape Multiple-use area Water bodies     Critical Acute   High

New protected areas

• Gene pool conservation
  
  • Future economic return of genes
    
• Wildlife conservation
  
• Wildlife corridors (critical habitat mass)
  
• Watershed protection
  
• Regulation of water supply
  
• Cultural sites

Constraints

• Poverty
  
  • Fuel
    
  • Building materials
    
  • Food
    
• Timber depletion in neighbouring countries
  
  • Increased pressure on Cambodian forests

Charcoal use

Number of households using charcoal in each province. Protected areas   28 - 75   75 - 268   268 - 624   624 - 1257   1257 - 1547   1547 - 1776   1776 - 2992   2992 - 4118   4118 - 8484   8484 - 57607

Firewood use

Number of households using firewood in each province. Protected areas   28 - 75   75 - 268   268 - 624   624 - 1257   1257 - 1547   1547 - 1776   1776 - 2992   2992 - 4118   4118 - 8484   8484 - 57607

Conclusion

• Sustainable forest use
• Gene pool conservation for future economic return
  
• Protection as a key strategy of development
  
  
  
  

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Review of protected areas and their role in socio-economic development
in the four countries of the lower Mekong River region

page updated: 20/06/02