Community Tenure Rights and REDD: A Review of the Oddar Meanchey Community Forestry REDD Project in Cambodia

Donal Yeang  

ASEAS - Austrian Journal of South-East Asian Studies, 5(2), 263-274 

Tenure rights over land, forest, and carbon have become a contentious issue within REDD implementation across the tropics because local communities could be excluded from REDD benefits if land tenure or use and access rights are not clear. This study aims to understand and assess tenure arrangements under the fi rst REDD demonstration project in Cambodia, the Oddar Meanchey Community Forestry REDD Project. In particular, the study explores the following questions: (1) How are tenure rights arranged in the Oddar Meanchey REDD Project? (2) Does the tenure regime recognise the rights of local communities to their land and its associated resources? (3) What kind of institutions are put in place to support tenure rights of local communities in the project? The author conducted in-depth semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders and complemented the analysis by participant observation and a review of policy documents and secondary literature. The major finding of this study is that the local communities in the project are still given rights to use and access forest resources, although carbon rights belong to the government. While the government retains ownership over carbon credits, it agreed that at least 50 percent of the net revenue from the sale of carbon credits will flow to participating communities.

Download Full Paper: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2194259

Training Workshop on “GHG Inventory Preparation for Forestry”

From 05-08 November 2012, the Forestry Administration (FA) of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fishery and Forestry (MAFF) and the General Department of Administration for Nature Conservation and Protection (GDANCP) of Ministry of Environment (MOE) under the Cambodia UN-REDD Programme organized the training workshop the on “GHG Inventory Preparation for Forestry” in Siem Reap, Cambodia. The workshop aims to build the capacity on GHG inventory under the UNFCCC guidelines of relevant stakeholders from government agencies (MAFF, MoE, and Ministry of Land Management), academic institutions (Royal University of Agriculture, Royal University of Phnom Penh and Preak Leap National School of Agriculture and non-governmental organizations (JICA, FFI and CI). The concepts of GHG inventory under the UNFCCC and the GHG inventory software were presented to the participants in the workshop. In addition, the status of the national forest inventory and biomass assessment which is the important part for Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (MRV) for the Cambodia UN-REDD Programme were also discussed in the workshop. 

Group Photo

Oddar Meanchey Quarterly: The REDD+ Update (April-June 2012)

Biomass Plot Re-measurement for Credit Verification Completed

Plot re-measurement is a key part of Monitoring Reporting and Verification (MRV) and the changes in biomass can be assessed to determine the number of credits earned since the project inception. Some 100 biomass plots have been re-measured with the collaboration of local Forestry Administration (FA) officers, Children Development Association (CDA) staff and Community Forestry (CF) members. By the end of May, 100 biomass plots in the project area were re-measured.

CF members use a compass to lay out a forest biomass plot in Sorng Rokavorn CF

Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) and Planning for Assisted Natural Regeneration (ANR)

The OM CF REDD+ project requires additional data and information from the community level in order to establish a solid baseline by which the impact of project interventions can be measured. Information obtained will also help to further define the project strategies.In June, Pact’s team with the collaboration of local FA officers and CDA staff, started to conduct PRAs in all 13 communities. The PRA covers a range of topics including wealth ranking, analysis of drivers of deforestation, trends in NTFPs, and local timber production. Under the verification requirements, the project team also needs to conduct planning for areas designated for Assisted Natural Regeneration (ANR). In total approximately 5,000 hectares in the project area will be treated under ANR, which includes pruning, thinning, and enrichment planting. ANR will allow the project to increase its earnings of carbon credits through restoration of degraded areas.

Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) in Ratanak Ruka CF

Gender Assessment of the OM CF REDD+ Project

With financial support from the Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute (FFPRI) of Japan, Pact with the technical support from Women Organizing for Change in Agriculture & Natural Resource Management (WOCAN) has completed a Gender and REDD+ Assessment for OM CF REDD+. The report will be available shortly and a workshop to disseminate the results of the study will be held in late July.

Focus group discussion on gender issues in Phaav CF

Click here to view the full version of the Oddar Meanchey Quarterly: The REDD+ Update (April - June 2012)