The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries promulgated a Rule on Private Forests in 2017 to promote the participation from the private sector in the planting of trees on private land in accordance with the Forestry Law (2002) and the Land Law (2001). The Forestry Administration has since developed Guidelines on Private Forest Registration with the purpose of providing more detailed information on procedures for private companies and individuals to register the trees established on their tenured land. The guidelines incorporate several incentives. These include export tariff reductions and a tree plantation document that certifies that the wood or wood products that originated on their land may be legally traded or exported. There are also provisions in the guidelines to ensure that appropriate authorities are engaged in monitoring and tracking the movement of the wood and wood products.

The principal beneficiaries of the project include (i) local communities, small- and medium-scale farmers, landowners, and private sector companies that participated in the project; and (ii) forest resource and land use management practitioners and planners involved in managing and conserving Dalbergia species.

The Khmer version of the Guidelines on Private Forest Plantation Registration was approved by the Forestry Administration in June 2021. Their development was funded by the AFoCO project (AFoCO/012/2019) on The Registration of Small-scale Private Forest Plantations in Cambodia and the CITES Tree Species Programme project (CITES Project No. S-568) on Integrating the Development of Guidelines and Incentives for Piloting the Establishment of Small-scale Private Dalbergia Plantations with the Determination of a Non-detriment Findings Report in Preah Vihear Province, Cambodia.

Project title: Integrating the Development of Guidelines and Incentives for Piloting the Establishment of Small-scale Private Dalbergia Plantations with the Determination of a Non-detriment Findings Report in Preah Vihear Province, Cambodia.

Project duration: 18 months.

Country name: Cambodia.

Implementing agency: The Forestry Administration’s Department of Forest Plantations and Private Forest Development and Department of Wildlife and Biodiversity

Author of the news item: Kim Sobon, Chheang Dany, and the Cambodia Project Team.

Contact for further information: sobonit@yahoo.com; wpo@online.com.kh