Partnership Forestry

Results of Consultation With

Commune Councils and Community Leaders

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 Consultation Conducted 29-30 July, 2004

Kratie Province

In late 2003 and early 2004, donors and the Forest Administration hired a group of consultants to conduct an Independent Forest Sector Review in Cambodia.  One of their key recommendations was that most of the country's forests should be managed as so-called "partnership forests."  In this model, management and regulatory functions would be split; commune councils would assume responsibility for the forests within their boundaries, in perpetuity, under the regulatory authority of the Forest Administration.

On 29-30 July 2004 NGO Forum organized a workshop to consult with commune councils and community leaders on the concept of partnership forestry, to see what they think of the idea and whether it could be implemented in practice.  Participants came from five different communes that border each other, in which there is overlapping resource use:  Mean Rith and Dang Kambet Communes (Sandan District, Kompong Thom), Siem Bok Commune (Siem Bok District, Stung Treng) and Boeng Char and Kompong Cham Communes (Sambor District, Kratie).  The forest area that lies between these communes is known as Prey Lang. 

The map in Annex 1 shows the five communes, and Annex 2 gives an overview of their demographics.  In three of the communes (Boeng Char, Kompong Cham, and Siem Bok) there are large Kui (an indigenous group) populations. 

 This report summarizes the results of the workshop.            [Top]

Collection of NTFPs (non-timber forest products) is important to livelihoods in all five communes.  The main NTFPs collected are liquid and dry resin (in all five communes) and rattan (in the two communes in Kompong Thom), for which there are traders who buy them in large quantities.

In general, villagers in the two communes in Kompong Thom seem to collect the most forest products and travel the farthest in doing so.  Workshop participants from Dang Kambet estimate that families earn half their income from collecting forest products in Prey Lang.  Siem Bok and Boeng Char are both large communes in area but villagers do not collect forest products throughout them.  Although Boeng Char extends into Prey Lang, people do not go far into Prey Lang.  Villagers in Siem Bok collect forest products in most but not all of their commune.  However, people from Kompong Cham, Mean Rith, Dang Kambet, and other communes in Kompong Thom and Stung Treng come to collect forest products in Boeng Char and Siem Bok communes.  One reason for this situation is that people in Siem Bok and Boeng Char have more opportunities to fish, in the Mekong River; Boeng Char is particularly rich in fish.  Another is that all of Boeng Char Commune was relocated to Koh Tnaot island in 1979, and only in 1994 some people moved back upstream to their former villages.   Still, 90% of villagers in Siem Bok go into Prey Lang to collect forest products. 

There has been more logging in Boeng Char, Siem Bok, and Kompong Cham Communes than in the two communes in Kompong Thom and resin tapping and dry resin collection have reduced considerably as a result. In Boeng Char there are almost no resin trees left, though people are starting to tap more; thousands of resin trees were cut by loggers. Dry resin collection in Boeng Char Commune is primarily on islands in the Mekong, though it is increasing.

Resin trees are tapped in all areas of unlogged forest in Prey Lang, and dry resin is also collected throughout the forest (though people collect most in areas in Stung Treng).  Participants said that the most common large tree species in the forest are chhoe teal (Dipterocarpus sp.), pdiek (Anisoptera glabra), duong chem (Tarrietia javanica), and chor chong (Shorea vulgaris).  Chhoe teal includes most of the main species that are tapped for resin, and chor chong is the main tree that produces dry resin.  These are all commercially important species, chor chong and chhoe teal being in royalty class II.                [Top]

There are a number of varieties of chhoe teal,  including chhoe teal sor, chhoe teal kraham, chhoe teal kroeh, and chhoe teal preng, that are all tapped. Trach is also tapped in deciduous forests around the periphery of Prey Lang.  In most of the communes, liquid resin trees grow throughout the forest, though some species (particularly chhoe teal sor) grow more along streams and others (such as chhoe teal kraham) in higher areas.  Trees tapped by people from Kompong Cham Commune, however, are primarily along streams. In Boeng Char, there are primarily chhoe teal sor along streams, and trach.

Resin tappers collect liquid resin from a given tree once every 5-7 days.  When they have collected up enough resin, they bring it back to their village or to market by oxcart or (in Kompong Cham Commune) by bicycle.  The number of trees per family varies between communes.  In Dang Kambet commune people are currently tapping 8,210 trees.  In Mean Rith, some people have 700-800 tres.  In Kompong Cham the maximum is 500 trees per family; in Boeng Char each family has little more than 30 trees, and in Siem Bok some have just 25 trees. It wasn't clear whether all potential resin trees have been tapped; people from several communes said that there are untapped trees but implied that those were all trees under 50 cm diameter. 

The number of families involved in resin tapping varies considerably between the communes.  The two communes in Kompong Thom have by far the largest number of trees per family, and the highest percentage of families who are involved in resin tapping.  In Sam-Aong and Choam Svay villages in Mean Rith commune, for example, everyone taps resin.  In Boeng Char, less than 40 families tap resin.  In Kompong Cham, about 160 families tap resin in Prey Lang (60 from A Chen, 70 from Tonsaong Thleak, 20 from Yeav, and 10 from Samphin); others tap elsewhere. In Siem Bok, an estimated 70% of families tap resin (more in O Lang than in Siem Bok village).

In Dang Kambet, some of the trees are more than 1.5 meters diameter, with three tapping holes. In Boeng Char, tapped trees are smaller than those that were tapped in the past.  Holes in the trees are only 30 centimeters now.  In the past, there were really big resin trees, with three holes. In the areas where people from Dang Kambet and Mean Rith tap, there may be untapped trees, due to limitations on people's ability to tap and them being busy with other things. Tapping is done in both rainy and dry seasons, but people from Kompong Cham said they tap less in the rainy season because they are busy with farm work and rainwater gets into the resin, lowering the quality. In Mean Rith, when people were busy planting soybeans they did not go out tapping their resin trees.

There are local markets for liquid resin from all the communes.  In Dang Kambet, people take it to Sandan District town; in Mean Rith they take it either Sandan District town (in the case of villages located along Stung Sen) or to Kompong Thmor on National Route 6; in Siem Bok they take it to Stung Treng; and in Boeng Char and Kompong Cham Communes they take it to Sambor district town.  In many villages people can also sell their resin to buyers in the village.  In Boeng Char the finer part of liquid resin is sold for sealing boats and the remainder used to make torches (which are used as firestarters or by villagers for light).

Liquid resin is sold for 650 r/kg in Kompong Thmor and 18,000 riels per 30 liter jug in Sambor market, 22,000 in Stung Treng.  (Prices depend, however, on the quality of the resin.)  100 resin trees produce approximately 100 kg of resin each tapping, and people tap each tree an estimated 3 times per month.

Resin tapping is often done in groups of 3-4 people.  In Dang Kambet, the group sells the resin together and then divides up the money; in Kompong Cham, people go out into the forest together but tap individually.  Resin tappers are primarily men, and they camp out in the forest for several days up to two weeks while tapping resin.  People who stay out for long periods of time have large numbers of resin trees and tap trees every day; they might tap fifty trees a day. In Siem Bok, people tap in groups of about 4 people, and take turns tapping – this month, one person, next month someone else.  A group might have about 400 trees total.

[Top]  

Dry resin collects on the branches of the chor chong tree and falls to the ground.  Participants said that a given tree only produces dry resin once a year.  (In Boeng Char people also collect resin of the pchek tree, on islands in the Mekong, and chor s'ong, resin produced by insects.) Whoever gets there first gets to collect the resin, and trees are not privately owned the way liquid resin trees are.  Especially large lumps will bury into the ground when they fall, and people dig them out.  However, in some places (particularly in Boeng Char Commune) it is no longer possible to find such buried lumps.  Dry resin is collected mostly in Siem Bok (where it is most abundant), and people from Kompong Thom come into Siem Bok to collect it.  In Mean Rith and Siem Bok, an estimated 90% of families collect dry resin.  

Markets for dry resin are similar to those for liquid resin.  However, in Boeng Char, dry resin is used primarily in the community to seal boats.  The current price of dry resin is 1000 r/kg in Kompong Thmor.  

Collecting dry resin is considered less strenuous than tapping liquid resin, and men, women, and children are all involved.  In some of the communes (particularly Dang Kambet and Mean Rith) people go into the forest in large groups of up to forty people and collect hundreds of kilograms at a time.  They stay in the forest in temporary camps, moving around to areas where no one has collected the resin yet.  In general, people travel further to collect dry resin than they do to tap liquid resin. In Siem Bok, people go out in smaller groups, when they face shortages.              [Top]

In the communes in Kompong Thom, collection of rattan provides income comparable to that from resin tapping or collecting dry resin. In Dang Kambet, one type (soeng) is collected, and in Mean Rith, this and another larger type are collected.  In Dang Kambet, people travel further to collect rattan than to tap resin; in Mean Rith they collect rattan in the same areas that they tap resin.  Men, women, and children all collect rattan.  In Mean Rith the price is currently 12,000 riels per batch, in the villages, and about 50% of families collect it. Rattan is not collected in Siem Bok, Boeng Char, and Kompong Cham communes because there is no market for it. In Boeng Char, there is very little rattan, then primarily only at the border with Siem Bok where people have to compete with collectors from Kompong Thom, and there is not enough to collect.  

Liquid and dry resin and rattan are the three products that villagers regularly go into the forest in search of; while they are out in the forest they also collect other products that they find, or wildlife such as turtles and monitor lizards.  One does not go out in search of both liquid and dry resin, or dry resin and rattan.  Collection of these different products are separate ventures.  However, someone who is out collecting rattan and comes across a lump of dry resin will pick it up; the reverse is not true as carrying rattan is tricky because of the thorns.  

People will also collect wild fruits and vegetables when they encounter them while they are out in the forest, but do not go out specifically looking for them (except near the village), and don't sell them except in small quantities within the village.  In some cases, at least, markets are too far away to take them there to sell.  Wild fruits include kriel, sampoch, rumduol, kuy, kakau, phneav, wild rambutan, and wild pineapple. There are no malva nuts. In Siem Bok there is a lot of wild fruit, but no market (though a little may be sold in the village).  

There are other forest products that people collect but not in Prey Lang: 

•         People dig up spiders near the villages.

•         Honey is collected in some areas.  In Mean Rith, there are a few people who go out with buckets to collect honey during the rainy season; they get the honey in the evening and then bring it back home.  In Boeng Char, also, there are only about 4-5 old men who collect honey; honey collection used to be much more significant in the past.  In Dang Kambet people do not collect honey.

•         People collect wild potatoes.

•         In Dang Kambet, people cut wild growing pandanas (rumcheik) during the dry season, to make mats.  About 80% of families in the commune make mats, mostly to use themselves.

In the past, villagers in Kompong Thom collected vines (vor antung) but have not done so in the past three years because there is no market for it – apparently because of the substitution of synthetic rope for vines in fish gear construction.          [Top]

On trips into the forest to collect liquid resin, dry resin, or rattan, villagers also fish.  In general this seems to be done using fishhooks and gillnets, while people are camped out or on their way home.  In the past, natural poisons were used but people say they no longer are because they kill all the fish.  Several of the streams are very deep, including Stung Damrei and Stung Po Rong (which runs through the middle of the forest), and people with resin trees nearby will put out nets at night.  There are pools up to 4 meters deep in the dry season in Stung Po Rong, and villagers say they have seen crocodiles in Stung Damrei.  People catch trey tuok (a large celurid fish) up to 30 kgs in weight in Stung Po Rong.  In Boeng Char, people fish in the streams in the forest (such as O Krak and O Choam) during the rainy season, using traps for trey andeng and trey ksan, but in the Mekong River during the dry season.  (This stretch of the Mekong is particularly rich in fish.)  In Kompong Cham Commune, people fish on their way back from resin tapping.[Top]

Throughout the Prey Lang forest there are powerful spirits, and participants could not identity any areas that were particularly important.  However, in Boeng Char, there was a place with a spirit that everyone used to worship, about 18 km away, at a place called Boh Luong.                     [Top]

In general people's agriculture land is at the edge of the forest, and there appears to be no farming in the heart of the forest.  However, people from Boeng Char and Siem Bok communes said that they have old paddy fields in the forest that have now regrown. If they wanted to farm them, it would take several years before paddy could be cultivated.                 [Top]

The participants were not aware of where the commune boundaries are, and one request they made was for the boundaries to be clarified.  According to maps from the Geography Department, all the boundaries between the communes (except between Boeng Char and Kompong Cham, and possibly between Mean Rith and Dang Kambet) are the same as they were in the 1960s.  But in reality the boundaries have not meant much, and commune chiefs (or commune councils) have not tried to exert control over peripheral areas.  People from Siem Bok did not know where the boundary with Kompong Thom is.

At the village level, there are clear, traditionally defined boundaries between villages, often defined by streams.  However, in cases of villages that lie at the edge of the forest, participants were not certain whether village boundaries could be defined or not.  On the one hand, they said that the village extended deep into the forest to the boundary of the village on the other side of the forest; on the other, they said that the influence of traditional village leaders (chah srok) did not extend so far and that a boundary could be defined as where his influence ended.  In any case, what boundaries there are seem to have less meaning than they did in the past.  Traditionally, participants said villagers only collected forest products or fished within the boundaries of their own villages.  In Siem Bok, village boundaries are about 20 km into the forest, in Kompong Thom less far.                 [Top]

Participants mapped the areas where people in each commune tap resin and collect dry resin (see Annexes 3 and 4).  They also identified areas (by stream) where they collect these products (see Annex 5).  These areas do not correspond to commune boundaries.  People in Mean Rith and Dang Kambet go into Siem Bok and Boeng Char Communes to tap resin and collect hard resin.  People in Kompong Cham go into Siem Bok to tap resin and collect hard resin.  People in Boeng Char use resources in only a small fraction of the commune; people from the other communes use the rest of the area. People from Siem Bok do not go into Kompong Thom, and don't cross into Kratie to collect dry resin but do do so to tap resin.

Villagers and commune councils are aware that people are crossing commune boundaries to use forest resources.  It is clear to people in Boeng Char Commune, for example, that people from Dang Kambet, Mean Rith, and Kompong Cham tap resin and collect dry resin in their commune.  People from Mean Rith, Boeng Char and Kompong Cham compete for dry resin in areas within Boeng Char commune.

Participants said that they accepted cross boundary use as a reality.  However, they also pointed to some points of conflict.  For example, people from Boeng Char do not get to areas of dry resin collection in their commune in time to collect dry resin, because people from other communes get their first.  In the past, however, they used to collect dry resin in these areas.  Now, people in Boeng Char collect dry resin from pchek trees, on islands in the Mekong. Collection areas in Boeng Char are particularly restricted and there seems to be some resentment of this fact by people living in the commune.  Participants even mentioned that people from other communes sometimes collected liquid resin from their resin trees before they got there.  Participants did not mention what mechanisms have been used in the past for resolving disputes.

In addition to the five participating communes, people in Dong and Keh villages (in Kang Cham Commune) and Spung Village (in Anlong Phe Village), in Thalla Barivat District, Stung Treng also collect dry resin and tap resin within these communes.  Their resin tapping areas are also shown on the map in Annex 3.  Other communes in Kompong Thom also tap resin and collect dry resin and rattan within these communes, but their resource use areas were not mapped out.  Participants said that communities in Preah Vihear that border these communes (Riep Roy, Putrea, and Thmear communes) do not use resources in these communes.Some people in Siem Bok have bought resin trees from people in Kompong Thom to tap themselves.                            [Top]

The current role of commune councils in forest management was not explored in much depth.  Commune councils do not derive any official income from the forests.  They have been supportive of community forestry initiatives in many of the communes and in some cases helped communities to stop illegal activities.                          [Top]

There are no formal relationships between the communes, except between communes in the same district.  The commune councils have not talked to each other much in the past about issues of cross-border resource use.  However, there are informal and even family ties between communes and some communes have helped each other to stop illegal activities.                [Top]

The concept of partnership forestry was new to all of the participants.  However, both community members and commune councils showed a strong interest in the concept.  They identified a number of positive aspects of the concept:

• Commune councils are close to communities and are aware of appropriate uses of forest resources; at the same time, they are themselves forest users and have a vested interest in the sustainability of the resources.

• Most of the communes have existed for many years, and some uses of the resources started much more recently.  Therefore it is possible for commune councils to make a prior claim, enabling them to take firm management measures.

• Partnership forestry can be used to generate income for commune councils.  If forests are to be used to generate revenue, this can be done at the commune level in a way which maintains the forests, in a way not possible through large concessions.  Most participants felt that income generation should be through collection of voluntary contributions, which people could be expected to pay in return for protection of the forest.

• Partnership forestry is consistent with the government policy of decentralization and good governance.

• Communes have the power to enforce rules, can issue dekas (commune orders), and are authorized to stop actual forest offenses.

 Three main obstacles were identified:

• Participants questioned whether the Forestry Administration would agree to partnership forestry.

• In some cases there could be conflicts where people from one commune use resources in another commune, either because restrictions are placed on them or the host commune feels the users are getting a free ride.  For example, currently people in Mean Rith and Dang Kambet communes tap resin and collect dry resin in Boeng Char Commune and leave little room for people in Boeng Char to do so.  If this situation continues, but the Boeng Char commune council is responsible for protecting the forest, the commune council in Boeng Char could become frustrated.  The commune council could decide to charge fees of the resin tappers to pay for the cost of management.  Or, the commune council could gradually claim resource use rights for people who live in Boeng Char.  Resin trees could be given over to villagers in Boeng Char, or sold to them.  The Boeng Char commune council could assert a prior claim – that the commune existed before anyone from Mean Rith or Dang Kambet started to tap resin or collect dry resin in the area.  However, participants from Mean Rith and Dang Kambet were not comfortable with giving up their use rights in Boeng Char commune.

• The commune councils could have difficulty managing some areas because of the large size of the communes and long distances involved.  Again, there are areas of Boeng Char Commune where people from the commune rarely go (but people from other communes go more regularly).  The same is true of Siem Bok commune.  Where villagers go into the forest to collect forest products, they can be expected to help patrol the forest.  In areas where they don't go, there is a problem.  Either people from the commune that uses the resources help with management, or they pay the costs of people in the commune where they use the resources to manage those resources.

Ultimately, all participants agreed that the latter two issues could be resolved, the first through negotiation between communes and the second through greater investment in enforcement as well as cooperation between communes.  The key problem would be getting support from the Forest Administration.                  [Top]

Recommendations

Participants all agreed that partnership forestry was something they would be very interested in.  Measures that would have to be taken include:

• Boundaries between communes would need to be clearly defined.

• The Government would need to empower commune councils to manage forests.  Participants noted that the law governing commune administration specifically states that commune councils cannot make decisions related to forestry, but this does not mean that they cannot manage forests on a day to day basis according to a plan that is approved by the Forest Administration, monitored by the Forest Administration (in the same way that concessions are supposed to operate).  However, they would need official support from the Forest Administration.

• Concessions should not be renewed.  If they are renewed, there would be no space for partnership forestry.

• Networking between communes would have to be strengthened, perhaps through the creation of an inter-commune committee.  This commune would sort out cross-boundary management issues, as well as facilitate cooperation in day to day management.

 Participants also agreed on a number of practical next steps:

• Commune councils will conduct village consultations on the concept of partnership forestry, to assess whether other community members think the concept would work and whether they are interested in it.

• Commune councils will collect more detailed information on forest use, in particular on areas used, in order to be able to better understand cross-boundary issues and plan ways to address them. 

• A follow up meeting with the five communes participating will be held to report on results of the above activities and facilitate networking between the communes.

There was also interest in holding a workshop with different stakeholders, including Government, to discuss partnership forestry more widely.                         [Top]

Annex 2:  Overview of Demographics

 Dang Kambet Commune: 

•         There are five villages:  (1) Sre Ksach, (2) Sre Veal Lech, (3) Sre Veal Kaoet, (4) Sampor Toch (5) Sampor Thom.

•         The population of the commune, according to 2004 statistics, is 1,873 people (940 female) comprising 384 families.

 Mean Rith Commune:

•         There are eight villages:  (1) Sam-Aong, (2) Choam Svay, (3) Boeng, (4) Trapeang Tralach, (5) Rang Knay, (6) Mean        Rith, (7) Tbong Teuk, (8) Kati.  

•         The population of the commune is 3,851 people total (1,965 female), comprising 670 families. 

 Boeng Char Commune:

• There are three official villages:  (1) Kompong Roteh, (2) Tamre, (3) Koh Dambang.  All of them are centered on Koh Tnaot island, 9 km north of the district center, where people moved in 1979.  (Some people also moved to other communes.) There are five unofficial villages upstream to which some people moved back in 1994, and they are under the administration of the above official villages: (1) Koh En Ta Chey, (2) Koh Kboeung, (3) Kompong Damrei, (4) Boeng Char, and (5) O Krasang.

• According to 2004 statistics, there are 476 families.  In the northern part of the village (to which people returned in 1994) there are 1,230 people (636 female) comprising 240 families, and in the southern part of the village (on Koh Tnaot island) there are 236 families.  Only those families in the northern part of the village use Prey Lang.

• Almost everyone in the commune is Kui. 

Siem Bok Commune:

• There are three official villages:  (1) Siem Bok, (2) O Lang, and (3) Tonsaong.  Khle is an unofficial village that administratively is part of O Lang village.

• Most of the population is Kui.

 Kompong Cham Commune: 

There are four villages in the commune that use Prey Lang:  (1) A Chen, (2) Tonsaong Thleak, (3) Yeav, (4) Samphin.  (People in Samphin use it only a little.)                         [Top]

 Annex 5.  Collection Areas for Dry and Liquid Resin

 Dry Resin Collection Areas:

• Dang Kambet: O Popel, O Lang, Veal Damnak Sdech, Stung Po Rong, Choam Ream, Kbal O Ngeav, Teuk Mo.

• Mean Rith: O Roluos (St. Treng), O Chamnap (St. Treng), O Tumpor (Kratie), O Krak (Kratie), O Choam (Kratie), O Tnaot (St. Treng), Hong Chambak (St. Treng), Damnak Thom (St. Treng).  In Kg. Thom:  O Tuok, O Kava Noy, Stung Damrei Kraom, O Lvieng, O Thmar, O Maong Kry, O Trapeang Katheay (border with St. Treng).  

• Boeng Char: People collect dry resin (from pchek trees) primarily on islands in the Mekong River.  

• Siem Bok: . O Tnaot, O Krak, O Choam. 

• Kompong Cham:  O Sieng, O Choah, O Tangha, O Ampiv, O Andat Dal, Kbal O Choam, (Near Phnom A = Phnom Chae Mae, 4 km from the forest.)

Liquid  Resin Tapping Areas

• Dang Kambet:  Trees are all in Dang Kambet commune.  Resin trees are at Choam Ream, Kbal O Ngeav, O Cheik, O Teuk Thla, O Saom, Choam Chrol, O Triek, O Arieng (CF area), O Sre Krasang, O Kambao Thom..  Don't go all the way to Stung Po Rong.  It is about 3 hours from where the resin trees are to the Stung Po Rong. Some people in Sandan commune have some resin trees in Dang Kambet.  

• Mean Rith: Stung Damrei (Kg. Thom), O Thma (Kg. Thom), Trapeang Kantheay (Kg. Thom), O Damrei Puon (Kg. Thom), Trapeang Chrey (Kg. Thom), O Tuok (Kg. Thom), O Krak (Kg. Thom), O Ta Mao (Kg. Thom), O Sre Prang (Kg. Thom), O Dak Por (Kg. Thom), O Ta Map (Kg. Thom), O Kteah (Kg. Thom), Chrak Taol (Kg. Thom), Teuk Kraham (Kg. Thom), O Chraot (Kg. Thom), O Ta Chan (Kg. Thom), O Day Tunle (Kg. Thom), O Troap Roteh (Kg. Thom). 

• Kompong Cham:  The area where people are tapping is O Sieng, O Choah, O Tangha, O Ampiv, O Andat Dal, Kbal O Choam, (Near Phnom A = Phnom Chae Mae, 4 km from the forest.)  People used to tap resin trees near the village, but they were all cut during the time of reintegration of the Khmer Rouge. So people started tapping in Prey Lang.  The current area is 35 km from the village. 

• Boeng Char: People tap trees (Khlong trees) on the island. Resin trees are at O Snguot (Kg. Kboeung), O Tonlie and O Samraong (Koh En Ta Chey), O Choam (Boeng Char and Kg. Damrei).  O Krasang tap resin on Koh Lgiev. O Krak, there are few resin trees, people from Siem Bok tap them.  To south, people from Kompong Cham. 

• Siem Bok:  locations:  O Choam, O Krak, O Tnaot, Damnak Sakiet (O Sakiet), O Sangke, O Ang Keo, Bach, O Thma, O Lang, Bak Rien, Sey Moan.   

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