CF Agreement Signing Cambodia: Dr Yam Malla Speech

On 27 March 2009, RECOFTC's Executive Director Dr Yam Malla, spoke at a Community Forest Agreement signing ceremony in Kampong Thom, Cambodia. Thirty-two agreements were signed. Community and government representatives, national media, and NGO and donor representatives were present. 

Dr Yam Malla's Speech

It gives me the greatest pleasure to be here for this wonderful occasion.

I am delighted to be here today because at RECOFTC we believe community forestry is of great importance, not only in Cambodia, but in many countries, and especially those where rural poverty and declining forests are common.

We are not alone in thinking this. Currently, over 400 million hectares of the world’s forest are managed by local communities. This figure is increasing everyday and is expected to double by 2015.

Why is this happening and why are we here today? There are three main reasons.

Firstly, forests need to be managed. As you know, without management forests can be quickly destroyed, leaving nothing useful for anyone. The forest provides us with so much. You people, like millions around the world, have always relied on forests to support your livelihoods: culturally, socially, economically, and environmentally.  Forests provide your timber, fuel, food, medicines, small wood for tools, a place for your animals to graze, clean water, and your spiritual forests. In times of poor harvest and difficult times, it can provide you backup. 

Secondly, local people are proven to be the most effective managers of local forests. Local people care about these things. They have the most to gain and the most to lose from what happens to the forests they depend upon. Local people are therefore the most willing and most able to invest time, effort, and their considerable human resources to ensure the forest is protected and well managed. Not just to protect it, but also to maximize the contribution forests make to their lives and those of their children, and their children’s children.

Thirdly, poverty reduction is a global and national goal. If this goal is to be achieved then we must make sure that valuable local resources, such as forests, directly benefit poor rural people. CF is a proven strategy and approach that enables local people to manage, protect, and benefit from their local forests for the long-term.

For example, community forestry user groups in Nepal are generating US$750,000 every year from timber, handicrafts, food, fibers, and medicine. This is more than the annual budget the Government there allocates for the entire forestry sector. These communities generate this money by themselves and for themselves, choosing to use it for building roads, health services, education, irrigation, energy schemes, clean water and building better lives for themselves and future generations. Meanwhile the forests there are getting healthier, bigger, and more productive. 

In Asia, around 25 million hectares are actively managed by communities and this number is also growing. What is happening here today is adding to this growth. Many more people are being given an opportunity to have a better life through directly benefiting from their local forest resources.

In Cambodia, these 32 agreements follow 18 previously signed in Siem Reap. They are the first for Kampong Thom province. Nearly 4,000 families are about to be given legal authority and responsibility to manage and benefit from almost 15,000 hectares of forests. Cambodia has achieved what many other countries in the Mekong region have yet to, and it is emerging as a lead country in this respect in the region. You must be proud of this.

It has been a long road; many of you have been involved in the CF process for over a decade now. It has taken a lot of work and learning by doing. We would like to congratulate all of you here today for achieving this important milestone. Congratulations to the Forestry Administration, Local Government Authorities, supporting NGOs, and of course to you, the forest communities.

We are particularly encouraged by how this has been achieved. The progress you have made has been based on partnership. You have all had specific roles to play and none of you could have achieved today’s result alone. Equally impressive has been the programmatic approach coordinated by the FA cantonment. This has ensured that CF partner’s contributions have worked towards a common goal through joint planning and consultation.

Such an approach can enable CF to continue its impressive growth in this cantonment where another 48 CF sites are developing and aspiring to achieve what you have today. We hope that your experience will stimulate similar approaches to be adopted across the country.

We are very excited by the opportunity the draft National Forest Program offers through the recognition that CF will be a key strategy for forest management in the future. It is encouraging that the targets being discussed under the National Forest Program emphasize that all forest dependant people should be given the opportunity to be involved in the management of their local forests. If this is happens, not only will it benefit these people, but also the natural environment, and all of the people of Cambodia.

RECOFTC has a long history of supporting CF in the region and in Cambodia. We are very proud to have been able to support the process that has led to this achievement today. RECOFTC intends to continue supporting the further development of CF in Kampong Thom and also nationally, because there is still much to be done. These 32 CF groups now need management plans, and to develop their skills and access support to carry out their plans. For you who are signing agreements today, and the other 48 proposed CFs in Kampong Thom, and hundreds throughout the country-RECOFTC offers its support to you in partnership with the FA, local government, and NGOs.

I would like to finish by again congratulating everyone here today on this fantastic achievement. I wish you prosperity, happiness, and long-life.