Deforestation in Cambodia has increased in recent years. Cambodia is one of the world's most forest endowed countries, that was not historically widely deforested. However, massive deforestation for economic development threatens its forests and ecosystems. , the country has one of the highest rates of deforestation in the world.
Deforestation has directly resulted from poorly managed commercial logging, fuel wood collection, agricultural invasion, and infrastructure and urban development. Indirect pressures include rapid population growth, inequalities in land tenure, lack of agriculture technology, and limited employment opportunities.Sin, Meng Srun. Forestry in Cambodia: The Dilemma of Development and Preservation. Phnom Penh: n.p., 2014. Print.
The Cambodian government has played a large role in shaping the use of the country's forests. An unusually large area of Cambodia has been designated as protected areas and biodiversity corridors, over 38% (more than 7 million hectares) of the total land mass, but many protections have subsequently been overruled by concessions sold to both national and foreign companies for agroindustrial plantations and mining developments, even in national parks.
The Cambodian government has been broadly criticized domestically and internationally for these contradicting policies, and a general lack of enforcement of environmental laws. They have faced pressures to practice a more sustainable forestry overall. The fate of Cambodia's forests will largely affect local communities that rely on the forests for their livelihood. Around 80% of its population lives in rural areas.
Cambodia's primary forest cover fell dramatically from over 70% in 1970 at the end of the Vietnam War to just 3.1% in 2007, when less than 3,220 square kilometers of primary forest remained. Deforestation is proceeding at an alarming rate: nearly 75% of forest loss has occurred since the end of 1990s. In total, Cambodia lost 25,000 square kilometers of forest between 1990 and 2005, 3,340 square kilometer of which was primary forest. As of 2016, 87,424 square kilometers of forest remained including 28, 612 square kilometers of evergreen forest, with the result that the future sustainability of Cambodia's forest reserves is under severe threat."Logging threatens Cambodian tragedy - UN" . Thomson Reuters. March 6, 2003.
Extent of deforestation
In Cambodia forest cover is around 46% of the total land area, equivalent to 8,068,370 hectares (ha) of forest in 2020, down from 11,004,790 hectares (ha) in 1990. In 2020, naturally regenerating forest covered 7,464,400 hectares (ha) and planted forest covered 603,970 hectares (ha). Of the naturally regenerating forest 4% was reported to be primary forest (consisting of native tree species with no clearly visible indications of human activity). For the year 2015, 100% of the forest area was reported to be under public ownership.
Open Development Cambodia, an NGO in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, used US satellite data to show a significant loss of forest cover from 72.1% in 1973 to 46.3% in 2014. Most of the loss occurred after 2000. Since 2001, the Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC) has suspended all the forest concession activities and prepared a sustainable forest management plan according to international standards.
In an effort to conserve forest cover, a limited amount of forest is allowed to be cut annually though a bidding process in order to supply the domestic timber demand. A harvest limit of 0.8m3 per hectare has been established with a 13-year cutting cycle, according to the National Forest Programme 2010–2029.
The RGC has set a Cambodia Millennium Development Goal to maintain national cover of 60% of total land area by 2015. This would require 532,615 hectares of non-forest land to be converted to forest land. However, as 2016, the forest cover remains 48.14%, equivalent to 87, 424 square kilometers.
Forest distribution varies nationwide. As of 2016, the hilly northwest and southeast region have the highest forest coverage rate. Among 25 provinces, 7 provinces have forest cover of more than 60%. If the Cambodian government does not move toward a more sustainable forest management, the value of Cambodia's forests is likely to decline.Hansen, Kasper K., and Neth Top. Natural Forest Benefits and Economic Analysis of Natural Forest Conversion in Cambodia. Working paper no. 33. Phnom Penh: Cambodia Development Resource Institute, 2006. Print. ProvinceForest TypeTotal Non Forest (ha)Grand Total (ha)Evergreen ForestSemi-Evergreen ForestDeciduous ForestOther ForestTotal Forest (ha)Banteay Meanchey1,4602,8609,4378,05121,808593,011614,819Battambang59,48316,38220,075171,573267,513919,6971,187,210Kampong Cham6585964150,92352,281402,893455,174Kampong Chhang17,3195,41471,91347,018141,664387,797529,461Kampong Speu64,58721,677130,06519,178235,507460,964696,471Kampong Thom194,25114,85045,948224,640479,689765,0741,244,763Kampot125,7643,92427,7584,970162,416309,399471,815Kandal009914,64414,743341,630356,373Kep1,806901,2013,01612,15715,173Koh Kong839,93811,63224,40495,247971,221240,3741,211,595Kratie100,23995,364403,055136,410735,068462,2371,197,305Mondul Kiri131,439212,341803,66567,9751,215,420151,4721,366,892Oddar Meanchey50,05118,639104,91216,361189,963473,202663,165Pailin29,8771,45450351032,34475,367107,711Phnom Penh0000037,37437,374Preah Sihanouk48,9012,579229,43280,91468,291149,205Preah Vihear211,737141,836698,88042,0191,094,472308,6151,403,087Prey Veng190921,6131,724474,436476,160Pursat440,52873,157138,30975,625727,619430,9721,158,591Ratanak Kiri234,776173,824334,555150,763893,918284,5421,178,460Siemreap44,66223,018117,679134,358319,717734,7321,054,449Stung Treng261,240252,779395,11762,181971,317230,3441,201,661Svay Rieng28005,1895,217281,608286,825Takeo1,91609,1152,58413,615335,428349,043Thbang Khmom554149125108,844109,672383,450493,122Tonle Sap (Not province)0001,5631,563253,207254770Total Area (ha)2,861,2331,071,9473,336,3491,472,8728,742,4019,418,27318,160,674Percent (%)15.765.9018.378.1148.1451.86100.00
Tree cover loss Global Forest Watch publishes annual estimates of tree cover loss and 2000 tree cover extent derived from time-series analysis of Landsat satellite imagery in the Global Forest Change dataset. In this framework, tree cover refers to vegetation taller than 5 m (including natural forests and tree plantations), and tree cover loss is defined as the complete removal of tree cover canopy for a given year, regardless of cause.
For Cambodia, the dashboard reports that from 2001 to 2024 the country lost about of tree cover (about 33% of its 2000 tree cover area). For tree cover density greater than 30%, country statistics report a 2000 tree cover extent of . The charts and table below display this data; in simple terms, the annual loss number is the area where tree cover disappeared in that year, and the extent number shows what remains of the 2000 tree cover baseline after subtracting cumulative loss (forest regrowth is not included in the dataset).
+ Annual tree cover loss Year Tree cover extent (km2) Annual tree cover loss (km2) 2001 87,996.61 284.91 2002 87,447.45 549.16 2003 86,884.03 563.42 2004 86,106.63 777.40 2005 85,463.64 642.98 2006 84,631.53 832.11 2007 83,799.22 832.31 2008 82,919.82 879.40 2009 81,701.90 1,217.92 2010 79,322.16 2,379.74 2011 77,441.61 1,880.55 2012 75,501.97 1,939.64 2013 73,618.77 1,883.20 2014 71,974.38 1,644.39 2015 70,636.33 1,338.05 2016 68,818.19 1,818.14 2017 67,625.21 1,192.98 2018 66,456.93 1,168.28 2019 65,056.30 1,400.63 2020 63,637.19 1,419.11 2021 62,220.03 1,417.16 2022 61,181.23 1,038.80 2023 59,972.77 1,208.46 2024 59,066.47 934.77
Causes
Government resource management for development The Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC) sees great potential in Cambodia's forests to further the country's development.Ikunaga, Meguri. The Forest Issue in Cambodia : Current Situation and Problems : An Analysis Based on Field Research. Occasional Paper. Tokyo: Foundation for Advanced Studies on International Development, International Development Research Institute, 1999. Print. The government can use timber exports to acquire foreign currencies and create necessary revenue to support reconstruction and development. The World Bank considered the forest to be “one of the few important resources for development in Cambodia.”Cambodia Forest Policy Assessment. Rep. no. 15777-KH. Washington DC: World Bank, 1996. Print. Starting in 1992, the RGC used revenue generated from the sale of forest products to finance various development projects.
Forest revenues as a percent of total government revenues decreased from 14 percent in 1994 to 5 percent in 1996.Azimi, Ali. Environments in Transition: Cambodia, Lao PDR, Thailand, Viet Nam. Manila, Philippines: Asian Development Bank, Programs Dept. (West), 2001. Print. This revenue decrease and visible mismanagement of the forest sector spurred the IMF, World Bank, Food and Agriculture Organization, and the United Nations Development Program in 1994 and 1995 to review Cambodia's forest policies. Some forest policies have been reformed however the causes of deforestation cannot be fixed solely through policy.
Despite potential gains from utilizing forest resources, the government has faced pressures from domestic and international groups that are concerned about deforestation. Domestically, local communities rely on forests for timber and non-timber resources, as well as the positive contributions of the forest to rice farming and fisheries. Internationally, there are many nongovernment organizations and environmental organizations that have expressed concern over deforestation in Cambodia. In the 1990s, the Cambodian government passed and lifted many government bans on timber exports as a result from these pressures.
There are some barriers to forest development and sustainable forest management. In 1999, 35% to 40% of the forests were considered dangerous due to land mines, ongoing conflicts, and rogue armed forces. Cambodia has the highest number of land mines per capital. Land mines have prevented the utilization of forests. Another barrier is an absence of reliable data on existing forests relating to their extent, composition, and problems of access. Cambodia has very little data on their environment due to their prolonged civil war. UN organizations and international NGOs support most of the environmental activities such as collecting data. In addition, estimates of forestry output are unknown but are assumed to be over the legal mount due to illegal cutting.
Global Witness, a British NGO, criticizes RGC's management of forests. In a briefing document published in 1996, Global Witness describes how the RGC secretly creates forest policies that benefit them, their allies in the Thai government, and foreign businesses. Global Witness asserts that RGC's management of Cambodia's forest goes against the Cambodian Constitution. One example the Global Witness draws on to illustrate the collusion occurring within the RGC is the 1995 ban of cutting fresh timber and timber exports. Publicly the RGC implemented this two-year ban in order to fully assess the state of forests around the country with an ultimate goal to create a sustainable development plan for future forest use.The Unsustainable Exploitation of Cambodia's Forests. Briefing Document. London: Global Witness, 1996. Print.
However, during this time, the RGC privately participated in forest concessions with foreign companies. One point of contention is that these forest concessions required the approval of only three government officials: the two Prime Ministers and the Minister of Agriculture. Global Witness argues that the fate of Cambodia's forests and therefore livelihoods of many Cambodians rested in a few hands of those with opposing interests.