Forest Issues in Cambodia

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Forest Issues in Cambodia
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Forestland Clearing Grabbing
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Forest Resource

• Forest Type
• Evergreen forest 3,668,902 ha.
• Semi-evergreen forest 1,362,638 ha
• Deciduous forest 4,692,098 ha.
• Other forest 1,007,143 ha.
• Forest Cover Change
• Before 1975- 73 of total land area
  (13.227.100ha).
• 1992-1993- 60 of total land area
  (10.859.694ha).
• 1996-1997- 58.79 of total land area
  (10.638.206ha).
• 2002-61.15 of total land area.(11.104.294ha)
• 2006-59.09 of total land area(10.730781ha).
• This shows the forest cover declined about 13.1
  during the last 3 decades.

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Evergreen Forest- 3,668,902 ha
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Semi-Evergreen Forest -1,362,638 ha
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Deciduous Forest -4,692,098 ha
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Plantation and Grassland- 1,007,143 ha
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Forest Jurisdiction

• Permanent Forest Estate, Mangrove and inundated
  forest is under the jurisdiction of Ministry of
  Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.
• Protected Areas such as national parks, wildlife
  sanctuaries, protected landscapes, and multiple
  use areas are under the jurisdiction of the
  Ministry of Environment.

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1209 wildlife species mammals (125 sp.), birds
(630 sp.), reptiles (114 sp.), Amphibians (40
sp.), and butterflies (300 sp.)
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Forest Issues

• The major causes of deforestation in Cambodia are
  the following key factors
• Population increase and poverty issue
• Illegal logging
• Forest land encroachment
• Improper management and operations under forest
  concessions
• Weak forestry legislation / regulations and its
  enforcement
• Interference from armed men in forestry
• Conversion to agricultural land

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Forest Issues

• Population increase and poverty issue
• 1975- 7 million people
• 2007- 14 million people
• Population growth rate is 2.50.
• Poor people are 67 of the total population,
  including poor people under the poverty line are
  34.
• 80 of total population are farmers
• Lack of Agriculture land.

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Forest Issues (cont.)

• 2- Illegal logging
• Logging was banned in 2002 until now
• Wood consumption of is needed every day
• Wood price in the market is high
• Poor people, who are living in or near the forest
  area, need to cut the trees to sell for their
  daily livelihood.
• Illegal logging is increasing

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Forest Issues (cont.)

• 3-Improper management and operations under forest
  concessions
• 31 forest concessions were provided
  (3.374.328ha).
• Improper implement of forest code of practices.
• Some of Forest area are insecurity.
• Forest royalty was low.
• .

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Forest Issues (cont.)

• 4-Interference from armed men in forestry
• Allow the violators to cut the trees.
• Rent the chain saw to the people and violators to
  cut the trees.
• Interfere in timber transportation.

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Forest Issues (cont.)

• 5- Weak forestry legislation / regulations and
  its enforcement
• Forestry law was enacted in late 2002.
• 28 Regulations under the forestry law are slowly
  issued
• National budget for enforcement activities
  limited.
• Unqualified staff is third quarter of the total
  staff.

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Forest Issues (cont.)

• 5- Forest land encroachment
• Forest area, clearing by people in 4 year started
  from 2004, is 391.834ha.
• Forest area clearing by poor people, confiscated
  by Forestry Administration in the same period, is
  24,465ha.
• Chain saws statistics, were collected, is 7,896
  chain saws and was seized, is 648 chain saws.

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Forest Issues (cont.)

• 6- Conversion to agricultural land
• Economic development.
• Economic land concession (53 companies with
  forest land area of 909.709ha to plant teak
  Accasia, Poulownia, Cassava, sugar can, cashew,
  kind of hollyhock, industrial crop and livestock)
• Social land concession (around half of forest
  land, confiscated by FA, is allocated to the
  landless people).

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• Thank you
• for your attention