Documento(s) 15 de 24

Abstract

This chapter details the key strategies through which the Community Forestry Research Project (CFRP) addressed opportunities for policy reform in community forestry in Cambodia. The research project's engagement in national forestry-sector reforms and its contribution to forest governance processes evolved from three different approaches. The first was the action research of the CFRP team in the field to formalize and improve the local community management of collectively held forestlands. The results of this work were highlighted in order to strengthen local voices. The second approach cultivated multidisciplinary and multilevel cooperation between different actors in community forestry in Cambodia. Recognizing the value of the roles and relationships held by different actors has been central in facilitating a stronger role for communities in forestry-sector reforms. Third, links were created between field learning and institutional and policy development to bridge the gap between community and national levels.

In October 2003, villagers discovered poachers cutting timber from their recently formed community forest in Toupcheang, Koh Kong province, Cambodia. There had been a longstanding problem with armed outsiders entering the forests in their community and logging valuable luxury-quality timber. Community members said: 'Please leave our forests alone and find somewhere else to do it.' However, with the power of guns and threats, the poachers cut timber virtually uncontested, saying 'We have the guns, you don't,' and, 'You should think more of the safety of your families than the trees.'

Previously, some of the villagers had visited communities managing forests in Ratanakiri province, where they heard stories of conflicts between villagers and concessionaires and saw widespread forest degradation and local organization to oppose it. Motivated by this experience and frustrated by tensions with poachers in their own forests, the Koh Kong villagers began to consider how community forestry might benefit them. They began negotiations with a concessionaire company, whose representatives agreed that it would be possible for some of the concession forests that were located close to their villages to be managed by the villagers.

Together, the company and villagers developed rules and regulations for the forests and with the help of provincial forestry officers were able to convince the district governor to approve them. After receiving this official support, the power dynamics shifted in favour of community members. In cooperation with the military, community members confronted the armed poachers, presented the signed document and secured the transfer of these poachers into custody. This experience demonstrates how community forestry in Cambodia offers an opportunity to increase the security of local livelihoods and legitimize collective action by local user groups.

Background

Community forestry (or CF) appears to present an opportunity for improved forestry management. This chapter describes how the community forestry research project has worked to generate wider understanding of this option.

Cambodia is predominantly a rural country with an annual income per head of US$310. Cambodia still lacks much of the infrastructure and growth opportunities of a modern economy. Forests are essential for the daily lives of most Cambodians and play a critical role in maintaining the ecological balance and productivity of farming and fisheries, peoples' main sources of livelihood. This fact, coupled with the growing population, means that the vast majority of Cambodians will continue to rely heavily on forests and other natural resources for the near future.

Before 1970, forests in Cambodia belonged to and were managed by the state through a centralized Forestry Administration (FA), using a system of forest reserves with some concessions. However, between 1970 and the early 1990s, this administration lost effective control over the forests during the civil war and Khmer Rouge regime. Central management was replaced by a regional structure under which forest resources were primarily controlled by provincial authorities. However, while authority shifted from the central to regional and provincial levels, the state maintained a central role in forest policy and management (Savet and Sokhun, 2002).

In the early 1990s, Cambodia had the most intact national inventory of primary and natural forest in Asia. When postwar reconstruction began, under the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC), the country's forest resources represented a major national asset that could have become an important and sustainable base for livelihoods and for the environmental health of the country. However, during the mid-1990s, Cambodia experienced some of the highest deforestation rates in Asia. Forests provided an important source of revenue for both the government and others, both legally and illegally. Many areas of forest were cut to feed one side or another in the slowly fading civil conflict in the countryside.

The political, economic and institutional environment in Cambodia also began to shift substantially with the re-establishment of national self-government in the early 1990s. National policy favoured private-sector development under a new market-oriented economy. Many forest or land concessions were granted to large domestic and international companies, by different authorities and without clear legality, coordination or public disclosure. This resulted in a frenzy of logging, conflicting claims and general confusion.

In the late 1990s, efforts were initiated that are still ongoing to reform the forest sector and related policies. Most early reforms focused on improving the performance of forest concessions as a means to achieve more sustainable forest management. Concurrently, the FA and the government were increasingly concerned about the small share of timber revenues they were receiving from the concessionaires.¹ When it transpired that many concessionaires were logging at rates exceeding sustainable levels, a public outcry ensued. Global Witness² and other organizations succeeded in drawing the attention of important donor groups and the outside world to the plight of Cambodia's forests. Because of these pressures, the FA and the Cambodian government began to rethink their forest policies.

A number of important steps in the reform process were adopted, including:

• identification of priorities and recommendations for forest-sector reform;
  
  
• new legal instruments such as the Sub-decree on Forest Concession Management (1999), a revised Forestry Law (2002) and a Sub-decree for Community Forest Management (2003);
  
  
• preparation of a model Forest Concession Agreement including Codes of Practice for Forest Harvesting, a Forest Concession Management Planning Manual and community forestry guidelines, which include community forestry agreements and community forest management planning requirements;
  
  
• establishment of an independent forest crime monitoring office reporting to government and the FA; and
  
  
• cancellation or renegotiation of over 80 per cent of forest concessions based on mandatory compliance requirements that had not been met, including the preparation of long-term, strategic forest management plans consistent with international standards.³

While these steps represent important progress in forestry reform, the processes have also lacked transparency. Broad and genuine participation was absent. Real progress in forestry reforms is viewed by some as being substantially less than appearances and certainly less than the potential. As with all policies and programmes, constant reassessment is required, while keeping in mind that implementation processes are often difficult to administer.

The evolution of community forestry: an alternative pathway

Community forestry in Cambodia evolved and expanded in a relatively uncoordinated way, with support from various groups and through different mechanisms. A few small-scale community forestry projects commenced in the early 1990s. Forest communities undertook the projects themselves, with limited support from NGOs. As a result, community forestry projects gained momentum and expanded rapidly throughout Cambodia. Recent surveys identified over 176 such initiatives, spanning a wide variety of local and institutional contexts across the country.

The total area under community forestry remains relatively small (about 90,000 ha, mainly in degraded forest areas). However, it is significant, because these types of projects represent the only forests in Cambodia under active forest management. This is in stark contrast to the millions of hectares allocated to forest concessions that were damaged heavily by poor logging practices.

Early community forestry groups were successful. They proved that forests can regenerate and bring tangible benefits to the lives of local people, particularly when they are managed in a sustainable way by local communities. Their success invited the wider adoption and promotion of community forestry approaches. A variety of NGOs (such as CONCERN Worldwide, Oxfam and the Coopération Internationale pour le Développement et la Solidarité, CIDSE) have actively embarked upon support for community forestry practices. However, their strategies and efforts often were poorly coordinated with other groups. Some major donors have also supported community forestry projects, notably a large FAO project in Siem Reap province and another located in Ratanakiri province. The Seila Programme also supported community forestry development.

The CFRP was formed in 1999 and was structured around multi-institutional collaboration between different levels of government and by different actors that include representatives from civil society. A prime goal is to give stronger voices to local communities. Three national institutions have collaborated in steering and implementing the project: the MoE,⁴ the Forestry Administration (FA)⁵ and the Forestry Sciences Faculty of the Royal University of Agriculture (RUA). Through the research project, these national organizations collaborated with each other, with provincial and local government agencies, NGOs, commune councils, village groups and local forest user groups. In some cases, the research team also worked with forest concessionaires and the military. A number of the research project's activities promoted a broader understanding of forest governance. CFRP joined with others to establish consultation mechanisms and build capacities for a pluralistic policy and institutional environment for community forestry. Key initiatives included:

• building a national community forestry network and broad alliances;
  
  
• supporting working groups at different levels;
  
  
• collaborating with other projects or groups in this sector; and
  
  
• engaging in and supporting a multistakeholder process to draft national community forestry legislation (creating a sub-decree).

CFRP has contributed to forest-sector reform and to governance processes through three main strategies. The following strategies form the structure for this chapter.

1. Strengthening local people's practices and voices in forest management and expanding their practical understanding of community forestry in different forest conditions;
   
   
2. Developing multi-institutional and multilevel approaches that recognize and value the roles and relationships of different agencies and organizations in community forestry, and which contribute to inter-institutional learning at many levels; and
   
   
3. Creating links between field learning and institutional and policy development that allow actors to understand and influence policy processes, such as the community forestry sub-decree and community forestry guidelines. These concepts and approaches are illustrated in Figure 11.1.

Project start-up and site selection

When the project started, the concepts of community forestry and PAR were new to most team members. Although some of them had forestry degrees, they had been taught little about community forestry. To begin building understanding and awareness, teachers from the RUA and others who were involved in the project were invited on field site visits. Here they viewed some of the early successes of other community forestry groups. They became enthusiastic about the natural regeneration possibilities for degraded forests when they are managed by community groups. Team members noted the degree to which regeneration could provide quick returns to households and noted how mixed tropical forests are highly valued by villagers. In addition, they saw how forests can regenerate with minimal investment costs. Team members wondered why it was necessary for governments to borrow money from development banks in order to re-establish natural forests.

Figure 11.1 Diagram of a community forestry action research and learning cycle

PAR was adopted as a key strategy of CFRP, aimed at expanding practical knowledge of forestry rooted in experiences from different forest conditions and different institutional or economic settings. The project strategy was to promote a learning-oriented approach to forest management, in contrast to a conventional rule-based approach.

CFRP has five research sites, as shown in Table 11.1. The five sites include those inside protected areas and forest concessions; one straddles a protected area boundary; and two sites are considered 'typical' under FA administration (in neither a protected area nor a forest concession). In one of these latter sites, the forests are degraded while in the other their condition is still relatively good.

The site-based research teams in the CFRP are all multidisciplinary, originating from various organizations including NGOs. Community members also participated. Each team was led by ministerial and departmental representatives at the national and provincial levels.

Strengthening local forest management practices in Chumkiri

This chapter highlights outcomes from the Chumkiri site, in a commune where both agriculture and forest resources are crucial to villagers' livelihoods. People in Kampot province are among the poorest in Cambodia. During the Khmer Rouge era, forests here were logged extensively in order to support the military. Even though peace was officially restored before the commencement of the Chumkiri project, a strong military presence continued. Until recently, both local people and outsiders treated the forests in Chumkiri as a resource that could be logged and used for firewood and other needs. As such uses continued, the quality of the forests steadily declined.

Table 11.1 Location and characteristics of CFRP research sites

Figure 11.2 Map of CFRP research sites

The action research cycle that the team followed typically began in discussion with village groups about the condition of the forest and other natural resources. Im Maredi (one of the CFRP members at Chumkiri and a local FA official) reported,

I learned a lot from the traditional forest management practices of local people. They already have clear ideas on the proper management of private forests and I appreciate also their active participation in community forestry.

When reflecting upon these early visits and experiences, team members felt it was important to arrange a study tour for villagers to other parts of Cambodia to learn about positive community forestry experiences. By visiting, discussing and solving problems together, villagers enriched their understanding of community forestry, and assessed its value in terms of their own situation. At this early stage of the work, Kim Noun, a Chumkiri elder, stated:

This is the first time that I saw a forester come to work with the local people. So far, I have never seen this before and am surprised at how closely he is working with the people.

Although most of the area in Chumkiri is degraded forest, a few older residents have managed to preserve small private forest areas. One was a former forester during the French colonial times who maintained a private forest area near his house so that he did not have to go far to collect firewood. He sometimes lets poorer households access this area for firewood. As someone with more financial resources, he has some influence among other villagers. Therefore, it helps that he actively provides support, shares information willingly, and serves on the Community Forestry Committee.

There are several research activities involved in forming community forestry groups and in developing management plans for the community's forests. The different steps, which are neither mechanistic nor sequential, are set out in Figure 11.3. In terms of community organization, the research team helped to facilitate the election of a community forestry management committee. Candidacy was based on criteria such as willingness to serve and time available, literacy, and popularity of and respect for candidates. In addition, the team hoped to find women who could participate.

Action research and learning processes involved participatory land-use mapping, negotiating agreements on boundaries and forestry sites, forest inventories, and local studies on forest resource use and management options. It was relatively easy to conduct forest assessments in Chumkiri, where the forests were already in a state of degradation. There the main task was to help all the villagers understand the value of establishing a community forestry group and to build commune support for the initiative. After this, the community identified areas to be managed as community forest and agreed on rules and regulations for their management. Finally, the local commune and district were asked officially to support the group.

Once the community forest management group was formed, meetings and lengthy discussions formalized the group. In the first site, this process took more than a year, but in subsequent sites, the process has been accomplished more quickly.

Because policy provisions for community forestry had not been finalized at the national level, all the community forest groups operated under ad hoc provisional recognition. The first step in acquiring recognition occurred at the commune level (a commune is the lowest level of formal government structure and includes several villages). Local community forestry groups must receive support from their village in order to secure commune council approval. These groups then apply to district and provincial FA officials, who can endorse proposals for the approval of district or provincial governors respectively. The team discovered that field visits by officials facilitated this process because villagers could demonstrate their management knowledge and ability. During the process, the team learned the effectiveness of shared learning between one site-based research team and another. In all five of the research sites, there are now formalized community forestry groups with official recognition by district or provincial governors.

Local outcomes

Action research on community-based management of forest resources has resulted in a variety of outcomes in the sites where CFRP is active. The basket of outcomes is a result of local adaptive capacity and local empowerment processes generated by PAR, in contrast to more traditional research approaches.

To structure the process of community forestry development and planning, CFRP research teams have begun to test a 'principles, criteria and indicators' (PCI) framework with local communities, which has led to very positive results. This approach provides tools to measure the sustainability of forest management by examining three main dimensions: the well-being of the forest, the well-being of the community and its members, and supportive policy conditions. While the PCI framework is primarily intended to assist communities plan community forestry activities, the project has also been working with FA officials at different levels to see if this methodology can satisfy their approval standards for community forestry agreements. We use these categories of forest well-being, community well-being and related policy conditions to report outcomes in Chumkiri below.

Figure 11.3 Steps in helping to establish a community forestry group, to procure formal approval at a local level, and to implement a management plan

I believe that our Community Forest members can protect these trees. Before, this forest was degraded and during the dry season it was not green. But now the forest has recovered and we can see green and yellow even during the dry season.

Noun Siv, a villager from Chumkiri

Once the degraded forest came under community management, improvements in forest productivity and quality became evident. Villagers in some parts of Chumkiri now travel for only half a day to collect products from newly regenerated forests, whereas previously they would have had to travel for between seven and 10 days. An indicator of forest health has been the growing abundance and diversity of wild life. The increased population of wild pigs has even led to problems in Chumkiri where they destroy crops and villagers are prevented from hunting by local regulation. This is an instance where local policies and regulations will need to be reviewed in keeping with changing realities.

Improved food security through increased rice production is an unexpected benefit in Chumkiri. As the forests regenerated, the productivity of fields located near the forests rose, and crop yields increased. Soil erosion was reduced in the forest where runoff and erosion had damaged fields and impeded farming. In addition, other forest-based food sources are contributing more to community members' diets. Bamboo shoots, mushrooms and wild fruits are becoming more abundant and accessible. For the first time in 2004, after three years of management, community members were able to harvest significant quantities of bamboo for sale. Now, selective harvesting of poles is being considered.

If they (management committee) are not able to participate in writing up plans, whatever results will not be practical.

Chun Sara, CFRP member from Provincial Forestry
and Wildlife Office of Kampot Province

If we do not have a proper management plan, then anyone can cut trees in our forest. Soon the forest will be destroyed again.

Tep Ant, Chief of the Community Forestry
Management Committee of Chumkiri

The cohesion of the community has been strengthened through increased collective activities under community forestry. In Chumkiri, the community forestry committee organized the pooling of finances and supplies to allow the poorest five families in the village to construct housing. Voluntary participation through contribution of monthly fees for the support of the committee has increased, while the proportion of contributing households has also increased from approximately 50 per cent initially to 80 per cent by early 2004. Community awareness of the importance of firebreaks as well as participation in their maintenance has also increased. Finally, a multiplier effect has resulted whereby community forestry activities have spread from the core communities to other villages in the commune.

In the past, there was extensive illegal use of timber and NTFPs by outsiders. In the Chumkiri project site, illegal use of the forest has stopped completely, due to community patrols and better recognized boundaries. There is greater understanding of penalties related to illegal forest activities and communities can now enforce these with the support and sanction of forestry officials.

Complex local conflicts relating to forest use could be addressed, but only after the community forest regulations have gained a measure of legitimacy and credibility. The crucial step was the support of the FA office at the district and provincial level, which leads to official recognition and the signature of the provincial governor. Chumkiri was able to use the legitimacy conferred by this approval to successfully challenge even the military, when outsiders bribed a local officer to ensure access to firewood collection in the newly designated community forest.

The introduction of community forestry improved the regulation of forest use and ensured local people could enjoy some benefits from the forest. The condition of the forests has improved in terms of diversity, cover and the diameter of the trees, and there has been a notable reduction in soil erosion and the sedimentation of rice fields. The community forestry management plan now being prepared will divide the forest into three zones: timber, rotation and bamboo. This next step will strengthen local management and the sustainability of forest resources.

Forest well-being has been enhanced in all five research sites. Community-based management and the enforcement of approved forest boundaries has halted open access and over-exploitation of local forest resources, enabling forest ecosystems to begin recovery. While community forestry is unlikely to result in re-establishing primary forest conditions, it has initiated recovery towards a forest ecosystem that provides many important ecological functions and services.

The team noted that discussions among different communities were often instrumental in prompting local communities to adopt a community forestry development project in their village-level development plan. For instance, now that the Chumkiri community forestry group has become well established, they have hosted 28 visits from official groups (as of 2004). Hosting is often tedious and costly for communities. In Chumkiri, the team and villagers ask visitors to contribute to their community fund to help compensate for their time.

Multi-agency and multilevel approaches

The research project has not only led to local impacts, however. Throughout the project, careful structure of the research teams and strategic engagement with related organizations have allowed the project to have far-reaching effects on the attitudes and knowledge of government staff, development organizations, and university faculty members and teachers.

Community forest management also includes functional linkages to government at all levels, from local through district, provincial and national. Donor support has often translated into stronger links at the national level. However, there is a shift towards more support at provincial and district levels of government.⁶ A pluralistic policy and institutional environment for civil society has been actively encouraged and strengthened by advocates, donors, practitioners, NGOs and communities. Many community forestry advocates recognize the need for engagement with the FA and for creating the enabling policy and institutional environment required.

Historically, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) and MoE have not always seen eye-to-eye on forest management issues. There have been tensions resulting from unclear mandates and competing jurisdictions. The research project brought staff from these two key national institutions together, and at times also involved their provincial counterparts and staff of the RUA. Their goal was to develop an awareness of forestry issues and realities at the local level. Interagency collaboration such as this will be essential to promote policy dialogue and institutional reform in community forestry.

The same applies at the commune, district and provincial levels. Local departments' activities have considerable impact on local communities and in promoting good forest governance. These groups' institutional capacities require strengthening so that learning can be shared among different groups. Because of its multi-institutional composition, the national project team has been helpful in facilitating communication and understanding between different groups. Likewise, at the local level the different partners who worked together in the field began to reach understanding and agreement on shared issues and concerns.

Effective interagency cooperation and learning involves line departments, the Forestry Faculty of RUA, local communities, field implementation agencies and partner NGOs. All were key to the success of this project. The project's structure, strategies and activities demonstrate organizational learning approaches that have strengthened the institutional environment for community forestry. The field experiences of the multidisciplinary teams and of national staff, who have worked with provincial and district level counterparts as well as communities to pilot and evaluate community forestry schemes, have played an important role in influencing policy outcomes. The value of the participants' experiences and expertise has not been lost on the project's three parent agencies. For example, these agencies involved CFRP members in policy discussions when important decisions needed to be made. Research outputs, such as reports, presentations, case studies and briefs have not only assisted the ongoing discussions, but also have won recognition of the value of community forestry practices.

Partnership leads to community forestry expansion

Cooperation in community forestry requires changing conventional resource management practices, acquiring new skills, building or establishing new partnerships and overcoming the distrust that often exists between different stakeholders. Managing forests, including the community management of forests, involves many stakeholders whose interests may vary because they are represented through organizations with different mandates and goals. No single organization can effectively undertake community forestry, from national to local levels and across all types of contexts. The research project has highlighted the value of partners as well as interinstitutional and multisectoral coordination. CFRP has been involved in multiple partnerships among government and NGOs involved in rural development. For example, in Chumkiri, CIDSE became a major partner. It helps implement rural development programmes such as rice and livestock banks, credit and road-building.

Prior to joining CFRP as a partner in Chumkiri, CIDSE expressed little interest in forestry activities. However, based on the lessons from this project and requests from other villages for community forestry assistance, CIDSE incorporated forestry into its programming in Chumkiri. The research team continues to provide technical support to CIDSE's forestry programme.

Community forestry is also spreading to other sites and government agencies. In Kampot province, the local FA officials are beginning to consider ways in which to increase community forestry initiatives elsewhere, because of the province's degraded forests and the success of Chumkiri. Community forestry may be possible under the Seila programme. In Boeng Per, local commune councils have made similar requests for support from the national research team so that they can adopt community forestry approaches in protected areas. Based on these and other cases, the MoE, the ministry responsible for permanent nature reserves in Cambodia, has begun to adopt a people-included approach to parks and forest conservation.

One of the ways in which the project has achieved a wide impact has been the presentation of reports in both English and Khmer at various meetings and workshops. Research findings and results have been presented and discussed among key partners, institutions and stakeholders, as well as with donor representatives at review meetings. Throughout the project, documents, reports, brochures and posters in Khmer and English were used as tools to inform relevant stakeholders. These publications and other dissemination activities have successfully attracted a wide interest in the project's fieldwork and results.

The experiences and lessons learned at the field level have also influenced course and curriculum development in the forestry faculty at the RUA. CFRP strategically included university faculty and students as part of the research team. These team members have used their experiences to enrich their teaching, and as a result they are sharing PAR and community forestry practices more actively. The close involvement and collaboration of teachers in field-based research means that important new material is being incorporated into university courses and curriculum design.

Along with other faculty members, the dean of the Faculty of Forestry has been an important member of the team. So far, 16 students from the RUA have received financial and field support from CFRP. Their thesis research findings have also been a valuable part of the overall research and, in some cases, theses have been incorporated into course materials in forestry and environmental programmes.

Creating links between field learning, institutions and policy development

Viewing the work of CFRP in a forest governance framework provides illuminating insights on how to situate the work and approach. This framework focuses on three main types of groups: enabling agencies, service providers and user groups (see Figure 11.4). The importance of power relationships among the different actors is at the core of this governance perspective. Viewed from this angle, the experience of the research project brings out the basic relevance of building good working relationships and maintaining good communications among different organizations in order to garner the necessary acceptance and support for policy changes.

At the start, CFRP realized that the FA authority under the MAFF would continue to be extremely important before reforms could be achieved. Therefore, the FA became involved in community forestry research and dissemination at all levels. The research team identified and invited key policy-makers to sit on our management committee. We involved them in our work and learning, and they and other top officials visited our field sites on many different occasions. We believe that they learned a lot about community forestry as a management approach during our discussions with community members. Now we are seeking formal approval for local community forestry agreements under the recently passed community forestry sub-decree. Therefore, we are assisting communities in developing formal forest management plans for FA approval under the new legislation. At the same time, we are continuing to involve senior ministry staff in the work of the project. Learning from the different forest research sites helps explain how the FA is implementing new regulations. Research evidence, reports and field visits help villagers' voices to be heard in the ongoing discussion on policy implementation.

Dialogue and interaction between the national, provincial and local levels has been encouraged in our work. This has been one of the most significant challenges that CFRP has faced. In practice, the realities of policy implementation often mean that policy adoption at the national or provincial levels does not easily translate to the grass roots level. Nor are the needs and experiences at the local level generally taken into consideration by higher levels. CFRP attempts to bridge this gap by operating at and between these levels.

Figure 11.4 Beginning to understand forest governance, interinstitutional linkages and power relationships

The research team has established a number of specific links between field learning and institutional and policy development processes, including the formulation of sub-decrees (anukret) for community forestry and protected-area management. We were also involved in developing guidelines (prakas) for community forestry management planning, a proposed national community forestry programme, forestry curriculum reforms and the participatory land-use planning process. The team's field research and experimentation provided policy-makers with first-hand information about the problems at the grassroots level, as well as feasible options for policy implementation.

I have learned a lot from the field experiences of CFRP and it has been very useful in formulating policy related to community forestry such as the Community Forestry Sub-Decree and Community Forestry Guidelines. It is expected that in the near future, it will play a role in formulating draft community forest agreements, community forestry guidelines, draft forest community management plans and other important documents.

Lao Sethaphal, CFRP member and Deputy Chief of the
Community Forestry Office of the FA

CFRP has attempted to foster a pluralistic policy and institutional environment for community forestry by promoting and supporting various multi-stakeholder mechanisms. This involved both vertical learning between the field, district, provincial and national levels; and horizontal learning among communities, commune councils, local government agencies, NGOs, and other local stakeholders. Such linkages provided the less powerful stakeholders with platforms for voicing their concerns and opinions.

Community forestry sub-decree consultation process

Although community forestry expanded significantly from the early 1990s onwards, this occurred without any specific national policy or legal basis. Several efforts to formulate a national policy foundered due to differences and disagreement among important stakeholders, particularly between the FA, MoE and NGOs. Recognizing the need to resolve the impasse and to move forward, in May 2001 Chan Sarun, then undersecretary of state of MAFF, called for the formation of a multistakeholder task force to undertake a consultative process in drafting a revised community forestry sub-decree, to establish a specific national policy and legal basis for community forestry.

The research team members were involved in the drafting process in several ways. Some were included in the task force and directly involved in the drafting exercise. The team also had working relationships with a number of the key stakeholder groups represented on the task force, including FA, MoE, NGOs, Seila and forest concessionaires. As well, the research team actively supported local consultations during the drafting process. Such consultations were important in order to ensure an inclusive and transparent process, rather than one that happened behind closed doors. The research process and ensuing documentation showed that community forestry user groups could manage and regenerate forests under their own control. As a result, these groups demonstrated they had a meaningful role in the consultation process.

The consultation process undertaken by the task force engaged different stakeholders in the formulation of the draft community forestry sub-decree. In February 2002, the multi-agency task force for developing the sub-decree successfully completed its work and made its submission to the FA. This was the culmination of more than six months of consultations. It was the first time that forest-sector legislation had been formulated with an extensive consultation process. Formerly it was achieved via centralized experts. Local communities became active participants in this consultation processes. In practice, consultation involved brainstorming subjects to be included in the draft chapters and articles, which in itself was a key entry point for local voices. Communities were both able and enthusiastic to express their concerns and suggestions. This was a landmark because up to that time officials had been sceptical of the role villagers could play in the drafting process.

These consultations set a precedent in being the first open public consultations in any FA policy-formulation process.

This is the first time that I have had a right to say what I think and to give suggestions on what are our needs from the community forestry sub-decree formulation.

Sya Sam, a villager in Tbeing Pork, Chumkiri,
who was involved in the sub-decree consultation process.

The community forestry process proposed in the draft legislation mirrored this kind of consultation. It suggested that all proposed regulations be discussed first at the village level, then at other appropriate levels in the decentralized administration. Under the provisions of the sub-decree that was formally approved in December 2003, the entire village has to be consulted throughout the community forestry planning and authorization process. After community agreement has been reached, relevant technical departments and local authorities can become engaged. A finalized local community forestry regulation must not only win the approval of community members. It must also be recognized and accepted by the commune council, the district governor and the provincial forestry office, before the approval of higher officials can be given.

The sub-decree clarifies the roles and responsibilities of the various government bodies with respect to community forestry. In addition, it represents a significant advance in protecting the rights and interests of communities, and in promoting decentralization, poverty alleviation and providing an adequate legal framework for community involvement in the sustainable management of forestry resources.

The sub-decree allows community forestry organizations to be established and to manage forests wherever there is forested land. This potentially allows community management of all forested areas under the jurisdiction of the FA. Based on the sub-decree, a community forestry group has the right to plant, manage and harvest forest products and NTFPs, and use and sell timber from selected tree species based on a community forest management plan approved by the FA.

Communities under a Community Forestry Agreement may harvest, process, transport, and sell forest products and NTFPs in accordance with the following conditions: Harvest of forest products for selling or bartering shall not be allowed within the first 5 years of approval of the Community Forest Management Plan. If the Community Forest has been operating with a Community Forest Management Plan prior to the passage of this Sub-Decree, then the moratorium on harvesting forest products shall be considered from the date of approval of that Community Forest Management Plan. (Article 12 of Community Forestry Management Sub-Decree)

In theory, the sub-decree is supportive of community forestry, but at the time of writing this chapter no group had managed to receive official approval or to obtain an approved community forest management plan. Therefore, the CFRP team feels that it has only made partial progress. The sub-decree, however, has only recently been approved, so the FA is still exploring implementation options. One of the most difficult issues is the list of requirements for forest management plans. When the FA initiated the new forest concession management system, it required that a forest inventory be conducted prior to approval of a management plan. The process demands the use of expensive equipment and elaborate statistical calculations, which are beyond the capacities of most local communities. The technical difficulties involved in drawing plans and planning processes have meant that traditional methods are still primarily used, which the FA does not consider satisfactory for the task. Therefore, the research team faces a challenge in bridging the gap and facilitating consensus on what type of management plan might be acceptable to both parties.

Mainstreaming natural resource management into Seila/PLG planning processes

The Seila local governance reform programme is now undertaking efforts to mainstream NRM. Villagers and commune councils can request help and support for the establishment of a community forestry group or similar resource management initiatives. When this occurs, local governments and provincial line agencies are obliged to attempt to meet these requests. When this approach was initially considered, Seila and staff from the Cambodian UNDP programme, Partnerships for Local Government (PLG), visited many different field sites and began to conceptualize ways to incorporate community forestry into their programme. Seila staff are line department officials at the national or provincial levels. Accordingly, they wanted to visit sites to learn what mainstreaming NRM actually involved, so they could consider how to adopt this approach into their work.

Likewise, officers from the Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA), which has launched a mainstreaming project in NRM under Seila, visited one of the CFRP's research sites. Using this approach, Seila is beginning to set up procedures so that they can satisfy the demands of commune councils who request community forestry practices. CFRP's work with villagers and partnering with line agencies successfully demonstrates it is possible to support forest user groups. Their work also proves the costs do not need to be prohibitive, which is an important consideration for nationwide programming.

Future challenges

The CFRP team's success in informing communities about national policy was made possible by its field-based research and learning processes. Research outcomes in the field translated into support for community initiatives as well as documentation. Another reason for their influence was the multi-agency and multilevel nature of the learning processes. Other important outcomes of CFRP work include contributions to the sub-decree process and to university curriculum development. Finally, direct links between field, policy and governance processes provided an opportunity to extend the impacts of the research. However, despite the project's successes, it has not been without its complications.

On close examination, the NRM policy environment in Cambodia provides both opportunities and challenges for researchers. A key question is how we can be more effective in linking our work to policy processes, while at the same time meeting important grassroots needs. The legal framework now recognizes decentralized forest management by communities and their customary rights to use forest resources as a viable option. However, laws remain fragmented and inconsistent, with conflicting statements among ministries. As our understanding of this legal framework deepens, implementation at the local level is expected to become clearer.

Clarity depends on an iterative process of field learning, multilevel and multisectoral learning, and of building stronger linkages between the various policy levels. One interesting challenge that has emerged at the community level has raised the concerns of forestry officials. Although villages with community forests can quite effectively conserve their own forest area, there is a tendency for them to exploit and degrade other forests outside their own protected boundaries. This is a challenge that requires further research and policy measures.

Perhaps one of the more important challenges will come when the new Community Forestry Sub-decree is tested and implemented. There has been resistance to reform from within the forestry sector in several of the countries in the region. Real commitment at the policy-making level is often questionable. The draft sub-decree has been revised significantly, but it is hard to pass judgement on it before it has been widely tested in the field.

The CFRP has an ongoing and important research agenda related to the forest policy reform process in Cambodia. As the new sub-decree is implemented, the research team will continue to build trust, support and commitment from all stakeholders in its study sites and elsewhere in the country to evaluate and improve CBNRM.

The next step in this process is to study the changing structure of local and provincial governance with respect to forest administration under the new legal framework. Conclusions emanating from this work will be shared with local forest users and village leaders to help them determine successful approaches to propose to government officials. The research team also plans to investigate internal conflicts and exclusions within forest user groups, with a view to identifying emerging problems and social issues in the implementation process.

The research team will continue to promote and respect the plural views of stakeholders for collaboration and networking. It will also build on its successful iterative-action research strategy to help local communities develop innovative but practical community forestry management plans.

Acknowledgements

Many thanks to Stephen Tyler, John Graham, Hein Mallee, Doug Henderson, Regan Suzuki and other IDRC officers and participants in the writeshop in Tagaytay, Philippines (May 2004), who provided tremendous support and helpful advice for this chapter. Very grateful thanks to local communities, field partners, local authorities at CFRP research sites, CFRP research teams, as well as the project coordination and steering committees of MoE, FA and the Royal University of Agriculture. They significantly contributed to strengthening local livelihood conditions through promoting CBNRM. The CFRP research project was supported jointly by IDRC and RECOFTC in Phase 1, and by IDRC in Phase 2.

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