NGO Statement on Policy Choices Proposed by the
Independent Forest Sector Review
Addressed to the members of the Joint Coordinating Committee of the Royal Government of Cambodia and Donors set up to provide oversight to the Review
Phnom Penh – 30 August 2004
NGOs working in the forestry sector in Cambodia have already welcomed the findings of the Independent Forest Sector Review and indicated our willingness to work with the Royal Government of Cambodia and those international donor organisations that are providing support to the forestry sector, on the implementation of the recommendations made in the report.
We
now wish to draw particular attention to two of the recommendations of the
review. Recommendation 21 of the review states: “We recommend that the concession system is
closed. The process is currently stalled at the preparation of SFMPs[1]
and the limited number of concessions recommended as satisfactory by the TRT[2]
still have to be approved by RGC. By transferring undisturbed areas from
production to protection, there would be very few areas left for concession
management.” Recommendation 22 states: “We recommend that this moratorium is
continued and remains in place. This will redirect attention from the commercial
concession forest to apparently sub commercial areas, currently unmanaged, but
being degraded and meeting most of the post-concession demand.”
The above recommendations are clear and unequivocal, they come from highly-qualified, independent experts in forestry working as part of a review commissioned by a broad range of stakeholders. They also echo the advice of numerous previous studies of the forestry sector in Cambodia. We therefore call upon the Joint Coordinating Committee of the review to endorse them as a matter of urgency.
NGOs are concerned that there has been very little attempt made during the official process of reviewing the SFMPs of the six logging companies whose plans have been recommended for approval by the TRT to take into account the comments of forest-dependent communities living in and around concession areas. It is currently unclear whether the views of such people will be taken into account in decision-making on the approval of these SFMPs. NGOs have carried out consultations with these communities and they have expressed a number of serious concerns which we believe should be taken into account. A summary of the concerns raised by forest-dependent communities is appended.
NGOs have also made their own assessment of the merits of the six SFMPs recommended for approval and wish to point out a number of deep concerns, most of which were already pointed out in 2002 when comments on the first draft of SFMPs were sought. We do not believe that the current versions of these SFMPs constitute a viable basis on which to carry out sustainable commercial logging. A summary of the concerns raised by NGOs is also appended.
Given the strength of these various concerns, the well-documented history of illegal activities carried out by some of those companies whose plans have been recommended by the TRT and the recommendation of the Forest Sector Review, we believe that the concession system should be wound up and all remaining concessions cancelled. We believe that alternative forms of management for Cambodia’s forests should be explored in line with the recommendations of the Forest Sector Review. Until such time as alternative management arrangements are agreed and in place, we urge that the current moratoriums on the cutting and transportation of logs remain in place, as called for in the recommendation of the review.
It is worth noting that the six concessions proposed for continuation cover Cambodia’s most valuable remaining forests, and the most valuable lowland evergreen forest in mainland Southeast Asia. Without maintaining the moratoriums, we risk losing their biodiversity and ecological value and the environmental services they provide, including for example watershed protection, clean air, wildlife habitats, soil fertility and retention, fisheries, and local livelihoods. It is also vital to retain such forests if alternative management systems are to have any chance of success, whether economically, socially, or environmentally.
This statement is made by representatives of the following Non-Governmental Organisations