Forests & Water/REF/12
KINGDOM OF CAMBODIA
Nation
Religion
King
IIIIII
Country Report
on
Forest and Watershed Management
Prepared by
Teang Sokhom
Deputy Chief
of
GIS/RS and Watershed Management Unit
Department of Forestry and Wildlife
Contact Address:
# 40, Norodom Blvd. Phnom Penh
CAMBODIA
TEL/FAX: 855-23-214614
Mobil phone: 855-12-840725
Email: [email protected]
1
CONTENT
I.
II.
III.
IV.
Background
Deforestation
Forest Management
3.1
Forest Land allocation
3.2
Forest Concession Management
3.2.1
Concession level forest inventory (long term, 25-30 years)
3.2.2
Compartment level forest inventory (medium term, 5 years)
3.2.3
Coupe harvesting plan (Annual term, 1 year)
3.3
National Protected Areas
3.4
Protected Forest
3.5
Forest Plantation
3.6
Forest Community
Watershed Management
4.1
Data for Watershed Management
4.1.1
Data available
4.1.2
Data not yet available
4.2
Watershed's Issues
4.3
Watershed Management Activities
4.4
Future Plan
4.5
Constrain Faced
4.6
Proposal
Annex
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Page
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I.
Background
The multiple demands on the land, natural and water resources of the Cambodia increasingly strain
its watershed. The integrity of watersheds is, however, vital to sustainable natural resources
management. Of particular interest in this regard are water regime and water quality of the river
system which depend to a large extent on the conditions of the landscape in the head waters. It is
only with careful integrated watershed management that these conditions can be sustained or
improved for the sake of the people living in the upper and lower reaches of the river.
As in other regions of the world, the natural vegetation cover of Cambodia is being destroyed or
altered to an alarming extent through human activities such as forest land conversion to agricultural
land or new settlement, over exploitation of forest product, shifting agriculture, mining, etc. The
consequences are widespread erosion, soil and water degradation, landslide, siltation of
watercourses and reservoirs, flash floods in Cambodia, and salt-water intrusion in the Mekong Delta,
etc. On the other hand, it also affects people more vulnerable to poverty in the whole catchments of
Cambodia.
The forest cover is a significant renewable natural resource if the management has been carried out
in a sustainable way. These forests not only play an important role in protecting the environment,
sustaining water resource and water quality, mitigating flood hazard and soil erosion, but they are
quite important to the socio-economic development of the country. The management of forest
resources in a sustainable way can provide current, as well as future requirements of the Cambodian
people which is an important objective of the Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC). In order to
achieve this goal, the government is paying very high attention on forest management practices and
the elimination of illegal logging or unsustainable management activities. A component of the RGC
forest policy reform shows the involvement of rural people in natural resource management through
promotion of community forestry.
II.
Deforestation
Deforestation is a serious problem in Cambodia. Forested area has decreased from 13227100 ha or
73 % of total land area during 1970 to 10,671,939 ha or 58.79 % in 1997 with an average decline of
0.52% per year (forest cover 1996/97). The above figure shows that between 1970 and 1997, forest was
removed more than 2 million hectares and the deforestation and forest encroachment activities are still going
on in a considerable rate. The deforestation in Cambodia during the two decades are mainly caused by the
following factors:
1.
Civil war
2.
Commercial over-exploitation
3.
Illegal logging
4.
Shifting agriculture
Conversion from forestland to agricultural land
5.
Illegal mining
6.
Forest products are quite important as a source not only for earning foreign currency but for meeting
the daily needs of rural people who exclusively depend on the natural resource of fuel wood, non
wood product, food, wildlife, etc. Deforestation can, therefore, seriously affect the water regime and
water quality and as well as the livelihood of the people in the catchments.
Analysis of changes in land use data from 1992/93 to 1996/97 reveals that deforestation has been occurring at
an accelerating rate. According to report of MRC/GTZ and GIS & RS Unit of Department of Forestry and
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Wildlife (DFW) shown that Cambodian land use has accelerated in the last twenty years. Land use data is
summarized in table.
Table: Forest Land Cover Change in ha Between 1969-1997
Land use
Forest Areas
Dry Land Forest
Edaphic Forest
Sub-Total Forest
1970
1992/93
1996/97
12,449,900
777,200
13,227,100
73%
10,464,774
427,145
10,891,919
60%
7,261,066
18,152,985
10,263,797
408,142
10,671,939
58.79%
7,481,046
18,152,985
Total Non-Forest
Total Area
18,103,500
Source: GIS & RS Unit, DFW
Change
(from 93 to 97)
Annual
change, % (from
93 to 97)
-200,977
-19,003
-219,980
-0.48
-1.11
-0.50
-219,980
0.50
III.
Forest Management
Prior to 1970, the forests of Cambodia were managed in a very conservative manner with little
impact on forest eco-systems. Forest areas were classified into a system of forest reserves that were
managed for meeting specific objectives, with emphases on sustainable production and protection,
resulting in establishment of production forests, wildlife sanctuaries, research forests, and
preservation forests.
In the period between 1970 and 1979, Cambodia was embroiled in civil war. During that period, all
forest management activities were suspended because forested areas had been used as military bases
and the access to forest areas were limited.
The 1979-1992 periods witnessed dramatic changes in forestry administration, during which the
DFW lost effective control over the management of forest resources, as a result of the replacement
of the regional forestry administrative structure by provincial authorities that controlled forest
resources utilization. The consequence of planned economy policy of the government and the
relative inaccessibility of forest areas, however, most forests continued to remain intact, with the
annual harvest well below the annual allowable cut, which was variously estimated to be between
500000 and 1000000 cubic meters per year.
In early 1990, under the National Program to Rehabilitate and Develop Cambodia and the First
Socio-economic Development Plan, a transition in land allocation to private companies and groups
emerged. Emphasis was laid on commercially based development by leasing large land areas to
investors. Land use allocation was done in a manner of a centrally planned economy of the RGC.
Between 1990 and 1997, the RGC granted more than 30 commercial forest concessions
encompassing an area of 7 million hectares or 65%of Cambodia forests. By introducing a forest
concession system, the RGC sought to delegate responsibility for forest management to private
sector companies and raise much needed revenue for national development.
From the end of 1998 up to date, the RGC has been implementing the forest reform program by
establishing the normalcy and order in the sector. As the result of this reform, all illegal logging
activities have been eliminated, and 22 forest concessions covering area 3001470 hectares had been
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terminated from 15 companies, and the cancelled concessions set-aside as proposed protected forests
and forest estate. Currently there are 14 concessionaires with valid forest agreements, covering a
total area of 3526741 hectares.
3.1
Forest Land allocation
Since 1990, under the National Program to Rehabilitate and Develop Cambodia and the First Socioeconomic Development Plan, a large numbers of forest land have been allocated to private
companies for variety of purposes. The agreements have been signed for a specific of time between
the government and private investors.
During 1990-98, 7 million hectares or 65% of forestland were officially allocated to forest
concessions. There were other types of land concessions granted by government such as: agriculture
concessions for private sector development of rubber, cashew and oil palm. Currently, the RGC has
cancelled 22 forest concessions with an area of 3001470 hectares from 15 companies. Now remain
only 14 forest concessions with valid forest agreements, covering a total area of 3526741 hectares or
19.5% of total area.
National Protected Areas were established in 1993 by the Royal Degree on "The Protection of
National Areas". These protected areas cover a total area of 3,327,200 hectares or 18.37% of
Cambodia's total area. The National Protected Areas are under the management of Ministry of
Environment (MoE).
The cancelled forest concessions have been allocated to protected forests by Sub-degree with the
total area of 1040828. These protected forest are managed by Department of Forestry and Wildlife
(see map 1).
3.2
Forest Concession Management
The Royal Government of Cambodia promoted foreign investment in the forestry sector over the
past 7 years, including the log processing sector. Log production from Cambodian forests has
increased dramatically since 1993 when the new government was elected. Since 1996, the Royal
Government of Cambodia (RGC) had banned to export logs and encourage to have log processing in
the country instead in order to regulate forest sector development. The investors were required to
enter into agreements (Investment and Timber License) with the RGC and invest agreed level
capital into establishing veneer, saw milling and furniture manufacturing plan in Cambodia,
transferring new technology and knowledge and employing agreed numbers of employees. In return
the RGC gave them exclusive rights to logging concessions, at agreed royalty and tax rates. Both
parties undertook to comply with the terms and conditions of the agreements.
The law of investment has been adopted since 1994. In that year the first concession was granted,
and over the next three years, thirty-three (33) concession areas totaling almost seven million ha
were granted. Unfortunately the delineation of concessions was done without any reliable resource
inventory and many of the areas contained little or no operable forest types. The period from 1994
to 1998 was also one of significant uncontrolled and/or illegal logging activity, which further
reduced the viability of many forest areas. As a result, in1999 and 2000 there was a first major
reorganization of forest concessions, with the cancellation of 14 concession contracts, involving 11
companies and a total area of 2,437,970 ha. This has left 17 companies, and currently the RGC had
cancelled another forest concession. So now, the forest concession remains only 3526741 hectares.
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In order to achieve the sustainable management of the forest, the RGC introduced mandatory
compliance requirements for every concessionaire in 2001. Preparation of long-term strategic forest
management plans consistent with international standards, and renegotiating model forest
concession investment agreements are features of the compliance requirement.
To ensure the forest resources will be managed in a sustainable way, currently, DFW cooperated
with ADB and World Bank technical consultants had developed a manual for forest concession
management plan. The selective cut system has been used in all logging activities, especially in
forest concession management plan. According to this manual, the forest concession management
planning system will be based upon a three tiered forest inventory and planning approach:
•
Concession level forest inventory (long term, 25-30 years)
•
Compartment level forest inventory (medium term, 25-30 years)
•
Coupe harvesting plan (Annual term, 1 year)
3.2.1 Concession level forest inventory (long term, 25-30 years)
In this stage, a number of activities should follow the planning components:
•
Policy Statements and Goals,
•
Management Objectives
•
Concession Background Description
•
Integrated Forest Resource Inventory
•
Forest Zonation and Stratification
•
Forest Resource and Yield Calculation
•
Arterial Roads, Bridges & Infrastructure
•
Economic Viability
•
Environmental & Social Impact Assessment & Mitigation
3.2.2 Compartment level forest inventory (medium term, 5 years)
In this stage, a number of activities should follow the planning components:
•
Detailed Forest Zonation by Functions
•
Forest Inventory & Resource Calculation by Coupes
•
Engineering Plan
•
Forest Management Specifications
•
Community and Environmental Issues, Consultation & Mitigation Measures
•
Designation, Demarcation & Management of Special Management Areas
•
Localization and Training
•
Forest Management Implementation
•
Financial Analysis
3.2.3 Coupe harvesting plan (Annual term, 1 year)
In this stage, a number of activities should follow the implementation and control components:
•
Coupe Description, Harvest Plan
•
100% Tree Marking and Enumeration
•
Technical Description, Roads, Bridges, Extraction
•
Prescriptions for Forest Management Activities
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3.3
National Protected Areas
The Royal Decree on the Protection of Natural Resource Areas, November 1993, designated
3,327,200 hectares or 18.37% 0f Cambodia’s total area as 23 protected areas where under
management of the Ministry of Environment. There are 7 National Parks covering 871,250 Ha, 10
Wildlife Sanctuaries covering 2,030,000 Ha, 3 Protected Landscapes covering 97,000Ha and 3
Multiple Use Area covering 403,950 Ha. Figure 1 represents percentage of different types of
national protected areas in Cambodia.
Figure 1: Percentage of different types of National Protected Areas in Cambodia
Wildlife Sanctuaries
National Park
Multiple-Use Areas
Protected Landscape
1955000 ha
871250 ha
403,950 ha
97,000 ha
Wildlife Santuaries
National Park
Multiple-Use Areas
Proected Landscape
59%
26%
12%
3%
Multiple-Use Areas
12%
Protected Landscape
3%
National Park
26%
Wildlife Santuarie
59%
Source: Royal Decree, November 1993
3.4
Protected Forest
Since late of 1998, The RGC has been implementing the forestry reform program by establishing the
normalcy and order in the sector. As the result of this reform, all illegal logging activities have been
eliminated, and 22 forest concessions covering area of 3,001,470 hectares had been terminated from
15 companies, and the cancelled concessions set aside as proposed protected forests 1,040,828
hectares and the remain as forest estate. The above proposed protected forests are under the
management of DFW and have been separated into 5 different types of protected forest such as:
1.
Conservation of watershed and bio-diversity of the Central Cardamom Range
401313 hectares
2.
Conservation of wildlife and gene resources
619465 hectares
3.
Conservation area for Sarus Crane
12650 hectares
4.
Zoological park and wildlife resource center
1200 hectares
5.
Protected forest for fresh water
6200 hectares
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3.5
Forest Plantation
Due to the fact that some over humid and semi-humid forest are located in the regions where the dry
season lasts only from 4 - 5 months and that the fall of seed grains does not coincide exactly with
the beginning of the rainy season, the possibilities for natural regeneration are very uncertain.
Consequently the artificial regeneration had been carried out from 1915 until 1972 in some poor
forested areas on a small scale 300 - 400 ha per year. Species, used in forest plantation, are Hopea
odorata, Dipterocarpus spp. Tectona grandis, Pinus merkusii, and other fast growing species for
fuelwood such as Peltophorum ferugineum, Combretum guadrangulare, ect.
The following table indicated the general situation of forest plantation before 1972:
Table 1: Areas Planted until 1972
Pine
(ha)
Area planted
until
1972
225
Ecalyptus,
(ha)
24
Teak,
(ha)
2,136
Other
Deciduous
(ha)
3,085
Total
(ha)
5,470
From 1985 to 2001, the Department of Forestry and Wildlife has reforested 8,923 hectares. The
annual tree planting target ranges from 280 hectares to 830 hectares. The department of Forestry and
Wildlife also encourages people to participate in tree planting, and provides over million seedlings
of various species every year to people, especially on National Harbor Days, the occasion of
religious ceremonies etc. The main species of seedlings supplied are: Acacia auriculiformis,
Eucalyptus camaldulensis, Tectona grandis, Dipterocarpus alatus, Hopea odorata, Pinus merkusii,
etc. It is obviously seen that the reforestation rate of DFW did not equal to the deforestation rate due
to the limitation of budget. DFW really need assistances from outside to increase the forest
plantation rate to meet the requirement of forest rehabilitation.
Up to now, there are 55 nurseries have been established within 19 provinces. Most them are quite
old and need to repair. Some nurseries have no land to plant any more; they produce seedlings for
distributing to the communities near by. Species produced by the nurseries are: Hopea odorata,
Dipterocarpus spp. Tectona grandis, Pinus merkusii, and other fast growing species for fuelwood
such as Peltophorum ferugineum, Combretum guadrangulare, ect.
DFW with technical assistance from JICA experts have developed a National Strategic Plan for
forest rehabilitation in Cambodia. JICA is also continuing to assist the DFW on a Technical
Cooperation Project for a period of three years starting from December 2001 onward. The objectives
of the project are to strengthen the capacity of the institution and staff of DFW in order to
effectively implement forest administration and to upgrade technical procedures necessary for
reforestation and transfer of knowledge to each target group.
To achieve the above objective, JICA has actively promoted technical cooperation, invested in
human resources development and provided the equipment necessary for implementation activities
in conjunction with DFW. JICA is funding the construction of a training center, providing technical
advisors, and a number short term experts, as well as equipment for operation of this center.
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Currently, DFW have carried out a three years project "Indochina Tree Seed Project" which funded
by DANIDA (Denmark). The purpose of the project is to provide genetically suitable seeds of good
physiological quality from well-managed seed sources of priority woody species to meet the need
for tree planting activities in Cambodia.
3.6
Forest Community
Community forestry is an approach for integrated forest and land use management intended
primarily to benefit the local people of the forest. A large part of local people's living based on forest
resources. So the increase of population will also increase pressure on forestland and forest
resources. In order to conserve and reduce the pressure to the forest resources, many NGOs
cooperate with DFW try to set up forest communities. Up to now, 163 forest communities have been
established within 16 provinces cover the total area of 68478 hectares. Against the need of local
communities and forest resources conservation, forest communities have been set up by NGOs and
DFW before the available of forest community law or regulation and the forest resources have been
managed under different management plans. So far FAO have carried out a community forest
management plan that defines specific activities and time frames. It is prepared with the community
after analyzing the user needs, the condition of the forest. The process is as follow:
•
Participatory mapping
•
Block division and sub-block division based on forest productivity and the objective
of the users
•
Land allocation based on indigenous forest management system and village location
•
Participatory forest inventory
•
Data analysis and discussion with community members
•
Draft management plan
•
Review and finalize management plan with community
•
Submit management plan to provincial forestry office for approval.
Community forest management plan include: objective, forest types and condition, forest product
harvesting, natural regeneration, forest rehabilitation need, land use and land allocation, distribution
of benefits, management activities, bio-diversity consideration, roles and responsibilities.
Although all forest communities have their own management plans but those management plans
seem not fully answer to sustainable management. It is very important to have a community forestry
law or regulation for all forest communities to implement. Currently, DFW have drafted a forest
community sub-degree. The draft sub-degree of community forestry is still on the process of
consultation with all stakeholders to get feed back.
IV.
Watershed Management
The Royal Decree on Watershed Management, January 1999, designated Ministry of Agriculture,
Fisheries and Forestry (MAFF), especially DFW as an institution carries out forest management
activities in all watershed catchments to ensure the forest resources have been managed in a
sustainable way in order to protect soil erosion, flood, landslide, etc.
About three forth of Cambodia lays in flat land, only one forth is mountainous area. The highest
elevation is 1813 meters above sea level and the lowest elevation is 5 meters above sea level. There
are total 43 watershed catchments in Cambodia in which 32 watershed catchments lay in Mekong
Rivers Basin equal to 89.76% of total area of Cambodia and 11 watershed catchments are outside
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Mekong River Basin (see map 2).
According to the data of watershed classification project shown that slope bigger than 30 degree
cover the area of 61015 hectares or 0.33% of total area of Cambodia and Watershed Class 1 and 2(1)
cover only about 5.8%.
Most of the water heads are covered by evergreen forest, semi-evergreen forest, deciduous forest or
wood and shrub land, etc. Only 7.8% of people live near or next to the water heads of watershed
catchments and more than 90% of populations live in the flood plan (see map 3).
From 1970 to 1997, Cambodian forest has been lost more than 2 million hectares and the
deforestation activities still going on with a considerable rate. Now natural disasters happen nearly
every year in all catchments of the country.
4.1
Data for Watershed Management
4.1.1
Data available
GIS/RS and Watershed Management Unit of DFW has analyzed and compiled some data related to
watershed management such as: Watershed classification, elevation, slope, digital terrain model,
done by watershed classification project funded by Swiss government, forest cover, contour lines,
river next work, roads and population. These data and information are available within the DFW.
4.1.2
Data not yet available
The available data and information are not sufficient for watershed management. It really needs
more data and information such as: rain fall, soil type, geology, soil erosion, siltation, and water
regime and water quality for each watershed catchment. Currently, there is a project on "Changes of
Water Circulation in Mekong River Basin" funded by Japanese Government through Forestry and
Forest Products Research Institute of Japan cooperates with DFW. This research project will start
from 2002 and terminate in 2006. The research work will cover a number of components such as:
1.
Historical Mapping on Water Content of Natural Vegetation in Mekong River Basin
2.
Estimating ground rainfall and developing a model of soil water supply in forest
area
3.
Development of prediction models on the variation of the storage of water resources
by using water storage capacity data of forest soils
4.
Clarification of influences on water transfer processes among soil-plant-atmosphere
continuum through forest management practices (Evaluation of effects on water
transfer processes among soil-plant-atmosphere continuum by forest management
practices)
5.
Inference to spatial and temporal variations of water flow in forested catchments
(Modeling hydrology of forested watershed)
________________________________________________________________________________
(1) Watershed Class1: Areas with very steep slopes and rugged landforms, commonly uplands and
headwater areas. Critical areas for water and soil resources management
Watershed Class 2: Areas with steep slopes, usually at higher elevation. Landforms are general
less susceptible to water and soil degradation than under class 1.
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4.2
Watershed's Issues
During the last ten years, natural disasters have been increasingly happened nearly every year
through out the whole catchments such as:
•
Flood
•
Draught
•
Water regime and quality of all main streams have been changed
•
Soil erosion and siltation
4.3
Watershed Management Activities
Due to the lack of experience, human resource, equipments and budget, GIS/RS and Watershed
Management Unit have carried out some activities related to watershed management such as:
1. There is no permission to log on the areas where watershed class 1 and class 2 are.
2. There is also no permission to log on the areas where slope bigger than 30 degree.
3. Buffer the rivers not allow to log.
4.4
Future Plan
It is clear that watershed management is the mandate of DFW. It is quite important to have natural
resources in the watershed catchments managed sustainably. There are a number of activities that
DFW planned to carried out in the future:
• Cooperate closely with Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute of Japan carry out the
research project on "Changes of Water Circulation in Mekong River Basin"
• Collect data and information for every watershed management.
• Define the issues in each watershed catchment and prepare management plan for individual
catchment.
4.5
Constrain Faced
At the present, DFW is facing a number of constrains in watershed management sector such as:
• Lack of human resource
• Lack research equipment
• Lack of budget for implementing watershed management.
• Lack data and information
4.6
Proposal
The environmental impacts caused by improper watershed management, not only affects the host
country but also countries in the region and as well as the global. DFW think that watershed
management should be done carefully and properly in order to minimize the impact to the
environment. In this case, DFW really needs assistances from experienced and developed countries
to cooperate with DFW to improve the present's watershed management plan. The following are the
needed assistances from developed countries:
• Develop human resource in watershed management through providing scholarship in this
field.
• Provide experts to work and train DFW's staff.
• Provide research equipments
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Annex
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13
14
15
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