Presentation by Hou Kalyan (RECOFTC) for the Second Regional Land Forum 2018

1. Community Based Natural Resources Management
in Cambodia: From experiences to policy
Hou Kalyan
RECOFTC – The Center for People and Forests
29 May 2018

2. Who is RECOFTC?
 Independent not-for-profit international
organization
 Strategically positioned between organizations
that implement activities in the field…
 …and research organizations that generate
empirically-based knowledge.

3. Our Vision and Mission
Vision
The Center envisions a world
where empowered local people are
effectively and equitably
engaged in the sustainable
management of forest landscapes.
Mission
To enhance capacities for stronger
rights, improved governance and
fairer benefits to local people in
sustainable forest landscapes in
the Asia-Pacific region.

4. RECOFTC Cambodia Country Program
 RECOFTC employs Partnership and Programmatic approach to
support implementation of National Community Forestry
Program (Program 4 of National Forestry Program 2010-2029),
and supporting the implementation of Protected Area Strategic
Plan 2016-2030 in particular Community Protected Areas (CPA)
Development in Cambodia.
 Established Cambodia Country Program Office in 2010
 Registered in Cambodia as an INGO in November 2008

5. Community Based Natural Resource
Management: Initiative, Policy and
Institutions Development

6. What is Community
Based Natural
Resource
Management in
Cambodia?

7. A diversity of co management
approaches that strive to
improve governance and
empower local communities to
participate cooperatively in the
sustainable use, conservation
and management of natural
resources.
tellus. Phasellus viverra
nulla ut metus varius
laoreet. Quisque rutrum.
What is
CBNRM?
• Community Forestry
• Participatory Protected Areas
Management, known as
Community Protected Areas
• Community Based Eco-Tourism
• Community Fisheries
Adapted from Oxfam America: These goals emphasize building local capacity, defining community development
holistically to include not only economic aspects, but also cultural, political, social aspects with a strong emphasis
on sustainability.

8. Goal of CBNRM
ECOSYSTEM CONSERVATION
GOALS
 Ecosystem Services Conserved
 Hydrologic Cycles
 Water Quality
 Soil
 Forests
 Wildlife
 Other Flora and Fauna
 Species Diversity
 Habitats
 Sustainability
COMMUNITY EMPOWERMENT
GOALS
 Reduced Poverty
 Social Justice/Equity
 Improved Livelihoods
 Viable Economic Income
 Resource Rights and Land
Tenure Security
 Respect for Local/ Traditional
Ecological Knowledge
 Community Organization and
Local Networks
CBNRM

9. Existing CF as of December 2017
You can copy&paste graphs from Google Sheets

10. Existing CPA: 153 CPA established covering an areas of
66,295 hectares and has a total of 6,523 families.
72
75
93
98
112
119
121
127
136
146 153
26
28
40
44
58
65 65 65
68 68
68
3
3 4
4 4 4 4 4
4
4
4
11 12
15 15 17 17 17 17 17 17 17
CPA Established
Approved from MoE
Agreement
Management Plan

11. Historical Perspectives: Legal Developments
Laws and Legal Instruments
- Constitution (1993)
- Royal Decree on the Creation & Designation
of Protected Areas (1993)
- Environmental Protection and Natural
Resources Law (1996)
- Law on Commune Administration (2001)
- Land Law (2001)
- Forest Law (2002)
- Community Forestry Sub-decree (2003)
- Community Forestry guideline (2006)
- Draft ENR code (2017)

12. Gaps in the Legal Framework
Protected Area Law
● According to article 22 & 23, CPA management plans were developed for the
purpose of conservation rather than the economic benefits to communities.
However, based on the current forest resources, as well as the needs of CPA
members, they need to receive economic returns for their involvement in CPA
management.
● Article 26 protects the tenure rights of CPAs, but does not provide
opportunity for CPAs to seek collaborative partnerships for the purpose of
developing their forest resources.
● Article 31 is too broad and does not respond to certain needs of the
communities, especially in relation to law, where the community protected
area is an important legal platform of communities involved in managing
protected forests.
● Article 34 outlines funding to support specific activities, including the
establishment of CPAs, but does not state the funding devoted to economic
development and investment to restore resources within the CPAs

13. Gaps in the Legal Framework
Forestry Law
- Article 26 states the role of the FAC in permitting communities to harvest and
transport. The meaning of the permit, however, is not clear for the local FA
who is applying for CF and the legal procedures are complicated and
inapplicable in the context of communities. Additionally, it correlates to
chapter 11, article 52.
● Article 40 clearly protects CF tenure rights (public state land), but it does not
address CF user rights, which limits a community’s opportunity to seek a
collaborative partnership in developing their forest resources.
● Article 44 allows for CFs under agreement to harvest products within CF
areas; however, in practice, CFs have to comply with article 53, which requires
them to request for exemptions of royalties and premiums from the MAFF.
This is a complex legal structure, and local communities don’t have the
proper capacity, cost or time to fairly engage with them.

14. Gaps in the Legal Framework
Forestry Law:
● Article 46 recognizes the need to promote private forests; however, so far there
are only large scale companies prompting plantations rather than smallholders
and households managing private forests.
● There is little to no role for local communities stated in the forestry law, when in
fact many communities face illegal logging and CF land encroachment.
● Article 52 claims that, “The state will not require the payment of royalties or
premiums for the harvesting of forest product and NTFP from private forests.”
This article promotes private forests but does not include CFs and CPAs.
● Article 53, states that royalties and premiums can be waived when requested
from CFs. A few CFs comply with this through the help of NGO partners. This,
however, is time consuming and expensive. Practically, harvesting NTFP from
CFs fall under paragraph 1 of article 53.
● The “National Forestry Development Fund” has not yet been established.
Recently (2017), the government has provided support via provincial
departments of agriculture forestry and fishery, but much of CFMP
implementation relies on NGOs and government agencies.

15. Historical Perspectives: Key Institutions
Government Ministries
- Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry
and Fisheries (MAFF)
- Ministry of Environment (MoE) –
General Administration for Nature
Conservation and Protection and
General Administration of Local
Community
- Ministries of Interior
- Ministry of Land Management
Urban Planning and Construction
(MLMUPC)
- Ministry Water Resources and
Meteorology (MOWRAM)
- Ministry of Rural Development
Offices, Units, Departments
• Community Fisheries Development
Office (CFDO), Department of
Fisheries/MAFF
• Community Forestry Office, Forest
Administration/MAFF
• Community Protected Area
Development Office now become
community and livelihood
department-MoE
• Participatory Land Use Planning
Unit, MLMUPC

16. Linkage between policy and practices: What?
- Practical experiences from various projects implementations in support to
secure rights of local communities including IP have been documents and
used to support the revision of existing laws and contributes to the
development of ENR code
- RECOFTC has piloted the guidelines and facilitated processes to provide
evidence-based recommendations under various field projects, which have
been shared with governments for their incorporation and approval of CPA
guideline at MoE (approved in 2017) and potential for the revision of CF
guideline at FA
- RECOFTC facilitated awareness-raising and consultation processes for the
strategy among local community stakeholders under a UN-REDD Cambodia

17. Linkage between policy and practices: How?
Through various means:
● National Community Forestry Program Coordination Committee (NCFPCC),
● Technical Working Group for Forestry Reform (TWGFR) and as a co-facilitator
(together with the Department of Forest and Community Forestry) of the
Community Forestry task group of TWGFR
● REDD+ Consultation Group (representing international NGOs).
● Support the implementing of government policies and strategies by working
together with all concerns stakeholders

18. CF in Stung Treng province: What lesson learn?
● How to ensure access and tenure for 480 smallholder families, who depend
on the forest in the cancelled ELC? –
● The RGC issued sub-decree No. 76 on 9 May 2016, declaring the area as
wildlife sanctuary, the CFs are now under jurisdiction of MoE,
Technical guidance on how to
transform CF to CPA
CF establishment in three villages
covering an areas of 14,000 ha.
Generate inputs to the development of
the ENR code

19. Local people hold the key to healthy forests
www.recoftc.org
THANK YOU