The document summarizes community participation in forest management in Cambodia through different forms including community forestry, community protected areas, community fisheries, and indigenous communal land titles. It provides details on community forestry and community protected areas, such as the legal frameworks, national plans that support them, current numbers established, and challenges including long processes, short tenure durations, limited economic incentives, and lack of resources. The document concludes by asking about opportunities, risks and challenges over the next 5 years to increase recognition of customary and traditional forest tenure for local communities and indigenous peoples in Cambodia.

1. Community Participation in Forest Management in
Cambodia
26 May 2021

2. Tol Sokchea
RECOFTC Cambodia

3. Photo credits:
Different Forms
• Community Forestry
• Community Protected Area
• There are other forms such as
• Community Fisheries (flooded forest)
• Indigenous Communal Land Title (eg. spirit forest etc.)
• Community networks or community alliances (Prey
Lang, Prey Preah Rokar, ...) – informal.
Photo Credit: RECOFTC

4. Community Forestry
• Community forests can be establish in production forest (under Ministry of Agriculture Forestry and Fisheries
through Forestry Administration) by the local community or indigenous peoples that are living in or near this forest
area.
• Legal frameworks: Forestry Law (2002), Community Forestry Sub-decree (2003), Community Forestry Guideline
(2006)
• National/Strategic plans that directly and indirectly support Community Forestry: National Forest Program,
Production Forest Strategies (draft), National REDD+ Strategy and Action Plan, National Strategic Development
Plan, Cambodia SDG,
• Community forest agreement with FA cantonment for 15 years
• Currently there are 636 Community Forests established on 516,817 ha with 169,248 families as members from
954 villages in 312 communes, in 99 districts, in 21 provinces.

5. Community Protected Area
• Community protected areas can be establish in a sustainable use zone of a protected area (under Ministry of
Environment through General Directorate of Local Community) by the local community or indigenous peoples that
are living in or near this forest area.
• Legal frameworks: Protected Area Law (2008), Community Protected Area Guideline (2017)
• National/Strategic plans that directly and indirectly support Community Forestry: National Strategic Management
Plan for Protected Area, National REDD+ Strategy and Action Plan, National Strategic Development Plan,
Cambodia SDG,
• Community protected area agreement with general directorate of local community for 15 years
• Currently there are 174 community protected areas established on 296,511ha, with 46,121 families as members
from 330 villages in 100 communes, in 16 provinces.

6. Challenges and Opportunity
• Process – long, technical, and complicated
• Duration of tenure - short (agreement 15 years)
• Economic incentive from CF and CPA – limit to resource and legal barriers
• Level of playing field – CF/CPA versus other form of land uses
• Resources – financial, capacity,
• Gender equality

7. Thank you very much

8. In the next 5 years, what are the opportunities,
risks and challenges to increase the recognition
of customary and traditional forest tenure for
local communities and Indigenous Peoples in
Cambodia?