Donal Yeang*, Samnang Khiev**, Channa Net**, Delux Chhun***, Julien Brewster** and Kirtiman Sherchan*
* Fauna & Flora International-Cambodia Programme, #19, Street 360, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
** Pact Cambodia, Phnom Penh Center, Suite 300, Building A, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
*** Forestry Administration, # 40, Preah Norodom Blvd., Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Paper Presented at The Cambodian AgriNatura Research Workshop on:
Integrated Agriculture and Natural Resource Management for Sustainable Development
Integrated Agriculture and Natural Resource Management for Sustainable Development
4 January 2013, Royal University of Agriculture, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Reducing
Emission from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries
(REDD+) is a policy mechanism which aims to reduce carbon dioxide emission from
developing countries through forest conservation, sustainable forest management
and enhancement of forest carbon stocks. Even though the discussion on the
precise design of the future REDD+ mechanism is still ongoing under the United
Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), REDD+ demonstration
projects are being planned and implemented across the tropics, particularly in
countries with high forest cover and high deforestation rates. Implementation
challenges include measuring, reporting and verifying (MRV) forest area change,
carbon stocks and the social and environmental impacts of REDD+ projects.
Community based MRV can help to overcome some of these challenges. The author
conducted interviews with local communities and key stakeholders in Siem Reap
Community Forestry REDD+ project. The analysis was complemented by participant
observation and a review of policy documents and secondary literature. The
paper shows that local communities can help to measure forest carbon stock and
gather social and environmental data for REDD+ project design and development.
The local communities can only perform a basic measurement of biomass stock
parameters in the sample plots such as circumference at breast height, standing
and down deadwood, tree stump while the knowledge and skill of utilization of a
Global Positioning System (GPS) and compass are still limited. The household
survey to gather socioeconomic information regarding the use of natural
resources of individual household could be conducted by the local community
members who can read and write. In conclusion, engaging and empowering local
communities in an early REDD+ project development could build a sense of trust
and responsibility that local communities have towards the project. In
addition, community based MRV could provide a rapid and cost-effective ways to
gather relevant information for REDD+ project development.
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| Biomass Inventory in Bos Thom Community Forest |
