Orientation workshop on Social and Environmental Safeguards for REDD+ in Cambodia









From 04-05 April 2013, the Civil Society Organizations REDD+ Network in Cambodia (CSO REDD+ Network in Cambodia) organized an orientation workshop on "Social and Environmental Safeguards for REDD+” in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The purpose of the workshop is to share information and filed experiences/challenges to CSOs/NGOs on the concept of REDD+ safeguards including the role of Free, Prior, Inform and Consent (FPIC).The concepts and guidelines on Social and Environmental Safeguards in REDD+ from global to regional levels were presented and in addition, experiences and lesson learned on how safeguards have been applied  in REDD+ pilot project in Cambodia were also shared in the workshop. A group discuss on the perspectives on national safeguard guidelines development and capacity building need  as well as their further engagement in REDD+ program of CSOs/NGOs were also held.   


Workshop backdrop (Credited: CSOs REDD+ Network)

Workshop Materials: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/i9mf6v7c0ivk1sk/rIVVbg2Oms








Factors Affecting Forest Area Changes in Cambodia: An Econometric Approach

Tetsuya Michinaka, Motoe Miyamoto, Yasuhiro Yokota, Heng Sokh, Sethaphal Lao, Vuthy Ma


Clarifying factors affecting forest area changes is critical to implementing REDD+ scheme properly. We analyzed some socio-economic factors and clarified their relationships with deforestation in Cambodia for the period of 2002 to 2010. A panel data analysis was conducted for 18 provinces, while six other provinces were deleted from the list because only a small amount of their land was forested. Time effects, cross-sectional dependence, serial correlation in idiosyncratic errors, and heteroskedasticity were tested, and robust variance matrix estimations were obtained to solve the problems of heteroskedasticity and serial correlation. The model estimation results showed that population, gross agricultural production and large-scale plantation development have negative impacts on forest area changes. On the other hand, the impacts of rice cultivation, gross industrial production, household income and house floor area by household were found not to be significant. Overall, however, the results indicated that forests in Cambodia still face pressure from the increases in population, agriculture production, and the enlargement of land development. As the increase in productivity of agriculture gives a better use of current agricultural land and lessens the pressure on forest, intensifying agriculture is important. It is also important to develop industry and other economic ventures to grow national economy while not imposing pressure on forest. This research reminds decision makers to use discretion when developing large-scale plantations.

Cambodia’s REDD+ Pilot Projects Contribute to Settlement of Forest Disputes

Credit: www.un-redd.org
In January, the UN-REDD National Programme in Cambodia hosted a field mission and associated meetings, bringing together a wide range of stakeholders, to identify preliminary options on how to strengthen consensus building mechanisms for forest disputes, based on international best practices and observations at  the two REDD+ pilot project sites. Participants included international experts in conflict resolution and stakeholder engagement, community forest network members, civil society and indigenous peoples representatives, as well as representatives from the provincial and national governments.The field mission and associated meetings have resulted in the assessment of the types of drivers of deforestation and forest degradation likely to lead to conflicts, identification of potential consensus building mechanisms and ways to
strengthen them to prevent and resolve forest sector disputes/grievances; and a preliminary analysis of relationships among different state and non-state actors.  These results will be used as inputs in designing an effective consensus building and conflict resolution system for REDD+ in Cambodia.

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